Y'all...we had the BEST VACATION E.V.E.R last week!!
Anybody want to guess what we had to do before we could leave? Anybody? Yes, you, the young man in the back row, what is your guess? CORRECT: chasing steers, so that sucked, but it didn't delay us too badly. Plus Captain drove like a maniac so we made good time.
Some friends of ours own a resort on Jessie Lake north of Deer River, Minnesota, called Loon's Landing. For four days and three nights, we stayed in one of their three cabins. Our cabin had three bedrooms and a pull out sofa so there was room for all seven of us. In addition there was a full kitchen (spotless, I might add), satellite TV, and a spacious bathroom with tub and shower. This is the view we had from our deck. Are you jealous?
Molly, Bigger, Mama Bear, and Cubby all rode up together while me, Captain, and Gammy rode up by ourselves. There is no way we could have all ridden together because our vehicle was crammed to the gills with stuff and no one inch of extra space was available! I do remember much of the drive up because I had my headphones plugged into my tablet so I could get last week's crochet homework for the crochet-a-long I'm doing. It worked out okay because Captain and Gammy kept each other company in the front seat while I was otherwise occupied.
The kids arrived before we did so got to call dibs on the bedrooms before changing into water gear and heading to the beach below the cabin. When we got there, they were just coming out of the water. Cubby was in her heyday and full of information.
Captain grilled brats for supper, and then we retired to the porch for libations and conversation. After dark, our friend, Addy, popped over to welcome us and visit. I had tapped into the bottle of Basil Hayden bourbon that James and Herman had gifted us on their recent visit, and I am told I had a good time but that I get louder by the sip when I drink. Memo to me: drinking half of the bottle at one time is too much!!
Lucky for me, I rarely get a hangover so on Tuesday morning Captain and I were up by 6:30. We got our coffee mugs filled up and then strolled down to the beach and out on the dock to watch the sun come up from the end of the dock. I really can't think of a much better way to start the day.
We got back to the cabin as everyone was starting to stir. Gammy had put an egg bake together the night before so she got that going in the oven. I was regaled with tales of my drunkenness from the night before. Man, I hate it when people tell me stuff I did that I don't remember!! Glad none of it was terribly embarrassing.
After breakfast was cleaned up (the person who cooks does not have to do dishes), we headed for the beach. Captain and Bigger went out in the fishing boat we rented for the day while the rest of us hung around the beach. When Bigger and Captain came back in mid morning, they asked if I wanted to go out for a bit. Why not, said I. Alas, we had no luck, but not for lack of trying.
We headed back in to have lunch which was just cold sandwiches and chips. As Cubby was standing out on the deck eating her sandwich, she started hopping around like a crazy person. Turns out she had a leech attached to the top of her foot and she wanted it off NOW! In order to tone down the hysteria, Bigger and Mama Bear told her the leech had just kissed her.
I'm not sure what Bigger told Mama Bear about the leech he found in her belly button...but that's neither here nor there!
A bit later, Bigger, Mama Bear, and Molly headed out to do some bait drowning while Captain, Gammy, me and Cubby were on the beach. I eventually had to take a nap and went back to the cabin.
After a good snooze, I meandered back down to the beach just in time to find Captain standing in the sand dripping wet. Cubby ran over and told me, "Grampa tipped the boat upside down."
WHAT?!
Not a boat, but a kayak. Please keep in mind that he has never--not once--been in a kayak in his life. But he decided to paddle this kayak out about 200 yards from shore where there was a pontoon platform with a slide on it. He managed to climb out of the kayak onto the platform, where he dangled his feet in the kayak to keep it moored while he dropped a line.
It must have been a hot spot for the fish because he pulled in 3 or 4 nice perch for supper.
However.
When he went to step back into the kayak, he was off center or something and the kayak capsized, and he floundered into the water. Thank GOD he was wearing his life jacket! However, he did lose his fish pole and his fish except the one he'd been holding in his hand.
I ask you: if you are in danger of possible drowning...do you hang onto the fish or let it go to swim for your life?! Whatever. He got back onto the platform and waited for someone to notice him and rescue him.
That's where I came on scene--right after he'd been rescued and brought back to dock. He went up to change into dry clothes and check for leeches. By the time he came back down in his swim trunks, I was in the water with Cubby and Gammy. Captain had a good time chasing Cubby and making her squeal and laugh. Pretty precious memories right there.
After Cubby got tired of the water and wanted to swing, we left her and Gammy to that and Captain and I used the paddle boat to go out to the pontoon platform. We were much more careful about getting on and off the thing, and we did both catch a perch before we headed back to shore where we dropped off the fishing gear and picked up Cubby for a paddle boat ride.
I just want to interject here: MY FIRST FISH EVER!!
It wasn't long before the kids came in from fishing with tales of the ones that got away and a secret cove they'd found where fishing was easy. No amount of whining, cajoling, wheedling, or begging from Captain would get the secret out of them. Not for lack of trying!
We all headed for the cabin to take showers and lounge before supper. Bigger challenged Captain to a rousing game of Battleship, Gammy relaxed in the recliner, and I was crocheting on the couch. Cubby came over and asked if she could do a stitch. You betcha, climb on up here!
Mama Bear made spaghetti and garlic bread and we had bag o'salad as well. Once the supper dishes were cleared, Bigger decided we needed to play a game of horseshoes, so it was kids against parents.
I"m pretty sure we weren't following league rules, or any rules really, but in the end the parents prevailed because that's how it is supposed to work! The skeeters were coming out in full force by that time so we headed into the safety of the cabin.
Bigger asked for a game of 500, so Gammy and I were partners against him and Captain. This is another game where we are pretty loosey-goosey with the rules, but it must have been my night to rock because the girls demolished the guys in cards!
By 10:30 or so, we were all in bed for the night. Boy, resting and relaxing will take it out of you!
Wednesday morning no one was moving very early except Captain and Bigger who went out fishing before anyone else was stirring. That was okay because it was my turn for breakfast, and it took me awhile to get the camper eggs all put together and cooked.
Once breakfast dishes were cleaned up, the kids headed out to try their luck. Captain went solo with the paddle boat out to the pontoon platform and by golly, he caught himself a mess of bass with a couple of perch and a sunny! You go, Captain!
He hauled those in and went to the fish cleaning shack to clean them. Cubby went along until she decided it was much too stinky in there. She kept waiting for the kids from the cabin next door to come out so they could all play in the water again.
When the kids did come down, Addy was with them. She gathered all the kids at the picnic table for an activity. This is the joy of a small resort...personal attention!!
She had the kids make homemade ice cream by putting the ingredients into a quart Ziploc bag and sealing that shut. Then in a gallon Ziploc bag, she put in ice and rock salt. Finally, the quart bag went into the gallon bag, sealed the gallon bag, and then the kids (or Gramma/mom) had to shake rattle and roll for five minutes to churn the ice cream. When the consistency was right, she passed out spoons and straws to enjoy their product. It was fun watching the kids sharing and learning together.
When the kids came back in for lunch it was with stories of catching weeds (Molly) and fending off biting insects unsuccessfully. Mama Bear got a bite on her foot that caused some concerning swelling, although she declined a trip to the emergency room.
They all decided to lay low on the beach for awhile so Captain and I went out alone. As he is trolling away from the beach, he comments, "I'm not really sure I know how to drive this."
WHAT?! And then I see the impish grin; what a goober.
We motored quite a distance from the resort before Captain told me to drop anchor.
Ten minutes later I'm hauling the anchor up because he wasn't satisfied with our spot.
Repeat times three.
During one of those times, as I was tying the anchor off, I hear behind me, "You've got a bite!" Well, dude, I'm a little busy here! So he grabbed the pole and reeled in the fish. A nice little walleye that should have been tossed back but had swallowed the hook up to its tail fin and was bleeding too badly to throw back. Technically my second fish ever caught, although I never laid a hand on it.
Now I was pumped. Captain re-baited my hook for me and I was into it, my friends. Suddenly, as I was jostling the pole trying to entice a fish to gobble the bait, my hook jerked.
OMG! Now what?! I set the hook and started reeling. And reeling. And I watched my pole bend into a U-shape. Lord almighty, I have caught the monster of Jessie Lake. I am envisioning a whopper of a muskie or some other impressive scaled beast.
Then I couldn't turn the reel anymore. Captain came over, and he couldn't turn the reel either. Suddenly, he handed me the pole and started hauling in the anchor line.
Now in my head is the scene from Jaws where the shark takes the bait and then takes off with the boat. Oh good heavens!
Nope.
Captain kept hauling in the anchor and, sure enough, about halfway down there was my hook embedded in the yellow nylon rope. I'd caught myself an anchor. Go me! Yeesh.
That was enough excitement for me and we headed back to the beach. As we motor in, we can see some sort of commotion going on at the beach, but we didn't pay a lot of mind as we docked and tied up the boat.
Turns out there was a water balloon launch contest going on. I didn't know it, but there was apparently a $100 prize up for grabs if anyone had been able to thunk us with a balloon in the boat. No one did, by the way!
I must have gotten too much sun out on the lake and I was feeling a little light-headed, so I headed to the cabin to be in the cool and quiet. Captain, Molly, and Bigger went out in the boat, and Gammy and Mama Bear stayed on the beach to watch Cubby play with the big kids.
When Bigger, Captain, and Molly were heading back in from the lake, Captain convinced them to stop by the pontoon platform to fish awhile. He got up out of the boat onto the platform without mishap, but Molly gashed her thigh and was bleeding profusely.
When she said, "Dad, this is really bleeding, maybe we should go in." Captain looked at her and said, "It is really bleeding. Drop your line." Can you feel the love?!
When they finally did get back to the cabin, I took her over to the resort office because one of the owners is a retired RN. He proclaimed she didn't need stitches (I told you so, Mom!) and gave her antibiotic ointment and band aids for it, stating she would probably live.
Our last night was a quiet one in the cabin given the various cuts, scrapes, and injuries we had. We had a rematch of the 500 game, and this time the guys won so that was a wash.
Addy came over to say goodbye as she would be gone in the morning when we left. It was a typical Minnesota goodbye that took about 2-1/2 hours. We reminisced and visited and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was awesome.
Thursday morning no one was moving very quickly. When I finally rolled out of our bedroom to get coffee, the first thing Bigger told me was that Captain has spent the night sleeping in the recliner in the living room in nothing but his boxers, holding the 2-gallon container of cheese balls in his lap...and snoring away. Can you believe no one thought to take a picture of this tableau?? Opportunity missed.
We had an easy breakfast of cheerios before starting to pack up and do the check-out housecleaning chores. Everyone pitched in, so it wasn't long before we were ready to check out and hit the road home. We settled our bill, bought some T-shirts, and had a family picture taken with the lake as a backdrop.
We were a 2-car caravan to Grand Rapids, and then we veered east while the kids headed south. Captain knew how much I missed seeing Lake Superior last fall, so he detoured to Duluth on our way home.
We stopped in Canal Park and had really excellent pizza at Old Chicago Pizza, and then wandered down to the lift bridge. There was a ship way out on the lake that would be coming in, but we didn't have time to wait for it. But, I'd had my glimpse of that wonderful water, so we headed home.
We had one last detour to Jay Cooke State Park to show Gammy the swinging bridge and the stacked slate stones underneath of it. We checked out the visitor's center and one last potty break before really hitting the road for home.
I dragged out my crochet and plugged in my audio book until we were well into the Cities traffic. I"m so glad Captain was driving because driving in the Twin Cities makes me crazy. Didn't seem to faze him at all, though.
As much fun as we had at Loon's Landing with Addy and her family--enough fun that we are definitely going to do that again--it was nice, as always, to pull into our own driveway.
Here's to your summer adventures being memorable and much, much fun!
When the kids came back in for lunch it was with stories of catching weeds (Molly) and fending off biting insects unsuccessfully. Mama Bear got a bite on her foot that caused some concerning swelling, although she declined a trip to the emergency room.
They all decided to lay low on the beach for awhile so Captain and I went out alone. As he is trolling away from the beach, he comments, "I'm not really sure I know how to drive this."
WHAT?! And then I see the impish grin; what a goober.
We motored quite a distance from the resort before Captain told me to drop anchor.
Ten minutes later I'm hauling the anchor up because he wasn't satisfied with our spot.
Repeat times three.
During one of those times, as I was tying the anchor off, I hear behind me, "You've got a bite!" Well, dude, I'm a little busy here! So he grabbed the pole and reeled in the fish. A nice little walleye that should have been tossed back but had swallowed the hook up to its tail fin and was bleeding too badly to throw back. Technically my second fish ever caught, although I never laid a hand on it.
Now I was pumped. Captain re-baited my hook for me and I was into it, my friends. Suddenly, as I was jostling the pole trying to entice a fish to gobble the bait, my hook jerked.
OMG! Now what?! I set the hook and started reeling. And reeling. And I watched my pole bend into a U-shape. Lord almighty, I have caught the monster of Jessie Lake. I am envisioning a whopper of a muskie or some other impressive scaled beast.
Then I couldn't turn the reel anymore. Captain came over, and he couldn't turn the reel either. Suddenly, he handed me the pole and started hauling in the anchor line.
Now in my head is the scene from Jaws where the shark takes the bait and then takes off with the boat. Oh good heavens!
Nope.
Captain kept hauling in the anchor and, sure enough, about halfway down there was my hook embedded in the yellow nylon rope. I'd caught myself an anchor. Go me! Yeesh.
That was enough excitement for me and we headed back to the beach. As we motor in, we can see some sort of commotion going on at the beach, but we didn't pay a lot of mind as we docked and tied up the boat.
Turns out there was a water balloon launch contest going on. I didn't know it, but there was apparently a $100 prize up for grabs if anyone had been able to thunk us with a balloon in the boat. No one did, by the way!
I must have gotten too much sun out on the lake and I was feeling a little light-headed, so I headed to the cabin to be in the cool and quiet. Captain, Molly, and Bigger went out in the boat, and Gammy and Mama Bear stayed on the beach to watch Cubby play with the big kids.
When Bigger, Captain, and Molly were heading back in from the lake, Captain convinced them to stop by the pontoon platform to fish awhile. He got up out of the boat onto the platform without mishap, but Molly gashed her thigh and was bleeding profusely.
When she said, "Dad, this is really bleeding, maybe we should go in." Captain looked at her and said, "It is really bleeding. Drop your line." Can you feel the love?!
When they finally did get back to the cabin, I took her over to the resort office because one of the owners is a retired RN. He proclaimed she didn't need stitches (I told you so, Mom!) and gave her antibiotic ointment and band aids for it, stating she would probably live.
Our last night was a quiet one in the cabin given the various cuts, scrapes, and injuries we had. We had a rematch of the 500 game, and this time the guys won so that was a wash.
Addy came over to say goodbye as she would be gone in the morning when we left. It was a typical Minnesota goodbye that took about 2-1/2 hours. We reminisced and visited and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was awesome.
Thursday morning no one was moving very quickly. When I finally rolled out of our bedroom to get coffee, the first thing Bigger told me was that Captain has spent the night sleeping in the recliner in the living room in nothing but his boxers, holding the 2-gallon container of cheese balls in his lap...and snoring away. Can you believe no one thought to take a picture of this tableau?? Opportunity missed.
We had an easy breakfast of cheerios before starting to pack up and do the check-out housecleaning chores. Everyone pitched in, so it wasn't long before we were ready to check out and hit the road home. We settled our bill, bought some T-shirts, and had a family picture taken with the lake as a backdrop.
We were a 2-car caravan to Grand Rapids, and then we veered east while the kids headed south. Captain knew how much I missed seeing Lake Superior last fall, so he detoured to Duluth on our way home.
We stopped in Canal Park and had really excellent pizza at Old Chicago Pizza, and then wandered down to the lift bridge. There was a ship way out on the lake that would be coming in, but we didn't have time to wait for it. But, I'd had my glimpse of that wonderful water, so we headed home.
We had one last detour to Jay Cooke State Park to show Gammy the swinging bridge and the stacked slate stones underneath of it. We checked out the visitor's center and one last potty break before really hitting the road for home.
I dragged out my crochet and plugged in my audio book until we were well into the Cities traffic. I"m so glad Captain was driving because driving in the Twin Cities makes me crazy. Didn't seem to faze him at all, though.
As much fun as we had at Loon's Landing with Addy and her family--enough fun that we are definitely going to do that again--it was nice, as always, to pull into our own driveway.
Here's to your summer adventures being memorable and much, much fun!
