Road Trip: Day 7

Suzanna's expression captures our attitude toward being at the lake: woo-hoo!

Well, after getting to bed about 1:30 A.M., we arose at 5:30 (4:30 our time!) so that we could get to the cabin by midmorning. Susan's aunt and uncle Patti and Frank have a lake home on Upper Eau Claire Lake in Wisconsin, and they have invited all Patti's siblings and their families to spend the weekend together there (Susan's mom, Sue, was Patti's sister). Patti and Frank also let us stay at their house in the Twin Cities last night so that we wouldn't have to start the three-hour drive from Mendota Heights to the lake home at 11:30 last night (after having awoken at 5:30 A.M. yesterday, too). Thank you, Patti and Frank! After a quick stop at Caribou Coffee, we were on the road by 6:45 A.M. and at the cabin by 9:45.

The drive through lake country in northwestern Wisconsin is lovely: trees in every direction, bridges over little rivers, lakes tucked into glades alongside the road, and signs everywhere that we were in an area where summertime living at "the lake" is the norm (businesses geared toward fishing and water sports and wintertime storage of boats, etc.). If we hadn't been so eager just to get to the lake home, I would have driven the family crazy, I'm sure, with frequent stops for photos.

After an easy, beautiful early-morning drive, we arrived and started to visit with family, play in the water, and just relax. Patti and Frank have two side-by-side homes on the lake and have been doing quite a bit of remodeling and landscaping since we were last here, so first of all we had to get a tour. They now have a loft overlooking the main floor kitchen, dining room, and living room (yeah, the ceiling has been raised and an extra half-floor added since last time!), and that loft space is our assigned sleeping quarters. The girls will enjoy sleeping in the new beds built into the space where the sloping ceiling meets the loft floor.

A couple views of the lake.

The woods on the banks of the lake.

A view of Patti and Frank's lake home (well, the larger of the two side-by-side homes that they have here) from the lake. That deck has been the central gathering spot for family members throughout the day and night. With such temperate weather, it's a great spot to be!

The beautiful new kitchen was the site of much delicious cooking today. As Susan joined her aunts to make slushburgers for dinner at noon and a tasty supper of chicken salad and ham salad sandwiches, potato salad, pasta seafood salad, and chili-cheese dip and chips, I couldn't help but think that she was playing the role that her mother would have. Sue died nine years ago, but she is still greatly missed. She was on our minds today also because of an announcement by Susan's sister, Cassie: she and her husband, Nick, are going to have a baby! (Sue got to be a grandma only for about a year [with Suzanna], and we think of her with every grandchild-related event.) Although we greeted Cassie as soon as we arrived, she had to wait for a good time to spill the beans, so we didn't find out until dinner. Meanwhile, the other family members who already knew were wondering whether they could bring it up in front of us, watching us for signs of whether we had been told yet! We're already thinking about a summertime trip to South Carolina next year to meet our new niece or nephew.

Nick and Cassie, the happy parents-to-be!

The girls always look forward to spending time at the lake with Susan's cousins, who are so kind to play with the girls and entertain them with the water recreation that Susan and I don't do: skiing, tubing, and boating. (Susan can swim, and I can paddle a kayak, but that's not on the same grand scale, of course.) (Well, actually Susan went on a boat ride with Patti and Frank and even drove the boat, so it's just I and my kayak that don't measure up.) Anna swam with the girls; Kelli and Nick got in the water to help the girls take off on water skis; and J.J., Kelli, and Joe pulled the girls on a tube behind the boat. Mary took the girls on a hike to set a "bear trap" (with Oreo cookies, honey, and sugar serving as the bait) at the end of the road; later on, Anna took them back out to check on it, telling them scary bear stories while walking them through the darkening woods. Anna also lit a campfire at night and helped the girls make s'mores; they were so proud delivering the melty treats to all the relatives gathered out on the deck for the night.

Susan's uncle Dale and I help steady Hillary as Susan's cousin Kelli tells her what to expect in a little bit when the boat will start to pull her ahead for water skiing. (This is the most upright that I saw Hillary during her water skiing attempts.)

Abigail gives water skiing a try.

Here Kelli lends Suzanna a helping hand.

A long-distance view of the girls going tubing!

And a close-up.

Evening views of the lake.

Everybody gathered out on the deck for evening visiting, snacking, drinking, and laughing.

In the background, Susan's cousin Anna supervises as Abigail loads marshmallows onto a roasting fork; Hillary is seated on a stump beside Anna, and Suzanna is enjoying a s'more in the foreground.