Monday, 7/7/08
(I'm finally caught up to today!) This morning was a bit cool and dreary, but not bad weather for fishing, so after getting our license and bait at Froggy's, we finally headed out for the Potato Islands area by late morning. We only stayed out a couple of hours, as it started to get windy and looked like it was going to rain. We managed to catch about 10 perch (3 of them 11-inch ones), in our little trip, so we felt like we did okay. Seth and Leah came with us, and while Seth immediately got back in the groove of fishing, Leah had a harder time. It may take her awhile to remember why she thinks fishing is fun, as right now she claims it is "boring."
Everyone (the Gouwens, Terpstras & us) all headed out to the movie theatre in Bemidji for the 5:00 shows due to the rain which did eventually come. And by the time we arrived at the theatre, it was pouring buckets, just like last year! The girls, moms, plus William & Zachary, saw "Kit Kitredge, an American Girl," while the men and older boys saw "Get Smart." Everyone enjoyed their shows (the guys really came out laughing!). In the evening, some went out fishing (the rain had cleared), while others hung out at the lodge watching more movies (or blogging!), and others simply stayed in their cabins to read and relax.
Sunday, 7/6/08
Sunday we headed off to church with the whole gang. We went back to the Evangelical Free Church of Bemidji that we tried by ourselves last year. Everyone seemed to enjoy the service and coffee afterwards. We didn't mind the later 11:00 start time. Our big family picnic started around 2:00 here at Birch Villa. Everyone from Horseshoe came over and joined us, and we had our traditional pork chop fry with Aunt Sone's parsley bread, my potato casserole, and lots of other delicious side dishes. This year we had 28 people! In looking at last year's blog and photos
though, it's apparent that one important person is missing--Aunt Hank. We notice her absense this year, and hope she is getting along okay at home in Oak Grove.
After the picnic everyone just relaxed, went swimming, tubing or skiing (behind Bill's or Uncle Roy's boats), and just enjoyed a beautiful, sunny, Sunday afternoon. Some headed out early for some fishing. We enjoyed a late night movie night with the Terpstra family in our cabin as we watched "The Emporer's New Groove." Overall, it was a great, relaxing day!
Saturday, 7/5/08
After having breakfast in the hotel, we hit the road at about 9:05, and decided to try a different route this year--through the twin cities instead of Duluth. We did this in hopes of meeting up with the rest of our gang who all spent the night in Coon Rapids, a superb of St. Paul. Turned out, they all left their hotel about 15-30 minutes before we got to that area, so we were trailing them. Beth & Bill (& kids), Deb & Roy (& kids), and Uncle Roy & Aunt Sone (& Paul), were all on their way to Birch Villa too. Mom & Dad, and Glen & Pat (& Brad, Jordan & Trevor) were on their way to Horseshoe Resort. We found gas for $3.89/gallon in this area, thanks to Mom & Dad's scouting for us. While we stopped for a quick lunch at Quizno's, others took their time at more leisurely restaurants or stopped for groceries, and we ended up being the first ones to arrive at Birch Villa, at 3:25 p.m. Our total trip time this year ended up being 14:30, including our 2 lunch stops.
We checked out the resort to see all the improvements since last year. The upstairs loft inside the lodge is finished, and the outside decks are now in use. The docks and boat ramp are also improved and expanded. In our cabin, we found a "new" leather sectional, and new quilts on the beds. This year Beth & Bill are in cabin #3, Uncle Roy & Aunt Sone are next to us again, and Deb & Roy are next to them. After unpacking and saying "hello" to everyone as they arrived, we ordered pizza for the kids at the lodge, and Tom & I headed to Bemidji for our big grocery run. We had a nice, quick supper first at the Ground Round, and then hit Wal-Mart.
Friday, 7/4/08
Today is the 4th of July, and we will celebrate our country's birthday by driving across it. We will touch on or drive through 5 states: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and tomorrow-- Minnesota! We're on our way to Birch Villa Resort again, in Cass Lake, MN, and this is the blog journaling our travels. This is our 4th year going to Cass Lake, and our 3rd year at Birch Villa. Everything went smoothly this year as we prepared to leave, and we were able to set out on Friday morning as planned, by about 10:50 a.m. We left our new dog, Jolie Belle, home with our house/pet sitter, Lillie L. She will be in good hands.
After stopping to drop off Jared's car in Lombard at Beth & Bill's house (he's coming home early with them), we had lunch at Culver's. We stopped for gas in Wisconsin Dells and paid $4.03/gallon. We arrived in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, by about 6:30 (WI time). This year we are staying at the Best Western Trail Lodge & Suites. We loved our huge room! The kids hit the pool while we waited for some pizza to arrive for supper. We found Jeff & Jim's pizza to be quite good. After supper we were all quite tired and even though we had planned on going to see fireworks, we settled for watching them out of our hotel window.
We just started to get to know them a little this week. Their daughter was working on a very interesting art project involving taking pictures of girls in wedding dresses while tubing, playing pool, and other settings. She's been working on this for awhile. She packed 15-20 wedding dresses! We're looking forward to seeing/hearing more about the finished product next year.
