This is the journal of our annual family vacation to Cass Lake, Minnesota, where we rent a cabin and fishing boat at Birch Villa Resort. Since I've just learned how to blog and am playing catch-up, my first week will be summarized more briefly in one entry (beginning of the week starts at the bottom):
Saturday, July 14: It's packing day for our relatives and laundry day for us. Everyone is on their way home, or to other vacation destinations, but we are glad we get to stay put for another week of fun and relaxation. Birch Villa is very quiet on Saturday as it is mostly empty, but the cleaning crews and lawn crews and busily preparing for the next round of
guests. It's fun to watch things get all spruced up and ready. This week Mark and his helpers have completed the deck on the lodge and poured the cement floor of their garage. I used the new laundry room today and found it very clean and efficient. Tom, Jared, Seth & Leah went for a 14-mile bike ride around Pike Bay (the Mi-Gi-Zi trail) and had a really good time). Saturday evening Tom and I went fishing but the lake was a little rough so we ended up fishing over in front of Birch Villa where we found calmer waters and a few perch.Friday, July 13: Friday morning we headed out to Strawberry Bar (rather late) with Jared & Chloe fishing. Neither one is a huge fan of the sport, so it took some convincing to get them to
come along (especially Chloe). Once there, however, they both found it to be quite enjoyable and we all had a great time. We were able to come home with a pretty fair catch--18 perch. Chloe caught 10 fish--3 keepers and 7 losers. She decided that she DOES like fishing this year. Jared, now 16, had to have his own fishing license this year, so we will have to see if it pays off. So far his one keeper is costing us $24. Ouch! Friday afternoon the girls headed off to Bemidji with their cousins to see Ratatoulle (sp?). Afterwards we picked them up and met Grandpa & Grandma and the gang at Applebee's for supper. Then Tom & Brad took the boys (including Nathan & Luke)
and older girls (Leah and Jordan) to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which just opened this week. Then Nathan spent the night at our cabin.Thursday, July 12: We woke up to another windy day, so we waited around for the waves to calm down. Tom and I enjoyed a nice long walk around the area. We did some reading in the afternoon and the kids really enjoyed the treasure hunt sponsored by Birch Villa. By early evening things had calmed enough for us to head out fishing to Pike Bay. We took Leah and Seth with us again. We had fairly good luck, catching about 20 fish, though not as big as those we caught on Strawberry Bar.
Wednesday, July 11: The weather calmed down a bit so Tom & I were able to get out and fish in the morning. We tried Strawberry Bar, but it was too rough, so we went around to Cedar Bar. We didn't know where to fish and the water was still rough, so we ended up catching only one keeper-which we threw back. We came home through the rain and wind. That afternoon, Deb & Aunt Sone wanted to try shopping in Walker so we went again (since we were cut short the day before when the stores closed at 5:30). I took Chloe and her friend Emily along. They had a great time. That evening we stayed in and around the resort.
Tuesday, July 10: Our weather has changed! A thunderstorm blew through during the night and we woke up to wind, cold, and general dreariness. There were some really strong wind gusts, and around 9:30 or 10:00 we had some excitement, when a tree fell right toward Roy and Deb's cabin. Thankfully, a tree right behind their cabin
caught the falling tree and prevented it from hitting the cabin where the kids were changing their clothes, or from hitting their 3-week old (new) car. Once the tree was cleared out of the way, it was obvious it was not a fishing kind of day. We headed off to Walker for some shopping (where we met Mom & Dad & gang), while the other half of the gang headed for Itasca. We (well, the girls and I) enjoyed the gift shops in Walker. Tom and the boys were bored stiff! Sorry, guys. But we ended the evening with pizza at Zhateau Zorbaz, which was fun for everyone!Monday, July 9: We had a perfect first morning of fishing. There was a gentle breeze and it was warm and sunny. We went to strawberry bar and caught 22 perch (nice-sized ones) with Leah & Seth. Of all of our kids these are the two who seem to enjoy fishing the most. We didn't get in until about 1:00 and by the time Tom was finished cleaning fish it was mid-afternoon. He decided he didn't was to overdo the fishing thing on the first day so went with me to Wal-Mart in Bemidji to get groceries that evening. (Psst! We enjoyed a little "date" at Coldstone Creamery without the kids first!) The kids are already having a ball, enjoying the time with their 3rd cousins. Luke and Seth have bonded--playing poker and Nintendo DS together whenever they're not fishing. Leah and Kara have found things in common, and Chloe, Erin and Leah G. (as well as Emily from Minneapolis) are inseparable. Jared pretty much loves sleeping in, watching movies in the evening (we're not allowing TV during the day), and being the big kid that everybody looks up to.
Sunday, July 8: Everyone headed off to church at the local Lutheran church in the morning. We met up with Mom & Dad, Aunt Hank, Nathan, Glen, Pat, Brad & Jordan (who were staying at nearby horseshoe resort). Afterward we all met at Birch Villa for the annual picnic of pork chops with all the trimmings. We spent much of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine, visiting, and just relaxing together. In the late afternoon, the kids went tubing behind Deb & Roy's boat (they had rented a larger boat). They had a great time. That evening we got our fishing gear ready for the next morning.
Saturday, July 7: We finally had the car packed and the house ready to abandon for 2 weeks by 3:20 a.m. (EST) We headed for Minnesota and drove straight through with only one breakfast stop and a few stops for gas, etc. Thank goodness the trip was otherwise uneventful. We arrived at Birch Villa at about 4:00 p.m. (CST), making the trip in 14:40. It was very hot when we arrived and the cabin was stuffy. We were all tired and sweaty as we unpacked, but the lake was refreshing as we took a quick dip. We greeted our relatives (Uncle Roy & Aunt Sone, Paul, Deb & Roy & their kids) who were trying out Birch Villa for the first time. We checked out the new lodge at BV and found it to be a great work in progress. Mark (the owner) has done much of the work himself and hopes to have it finished by next year. We can't wait to see the final outcome--it's so cool already! We headed to DQ up town for supper, and later Deb & I went to the local grocery store (Teal's) for just enough to get us through the weekend. We all slept very well that night!
Friday, July 6, 2007: This is the day we were supposed to leave. But plans were changed due a little problem with our car, i.e. it needed a new transmission! We didn't mind this minor inconvenience however, since Honda agreed to cover the cost 100%. On his way home from picking up the car that evening, Tom discovered a nail in one of our tires and we needed to have it replaced! Then as we were packing, he broke a tooth! It was one of those days!
