Presently, I am sitting on a cushioned wicker chair,
surrounded by wilderness (technically, I am enclosed in a screen porch which
protects my frail body from insects.) My computer display tells me something I
have never seen: Not connected—No connections are available. It’s beautiful.
This vacation started five days ago during a downpour—with Lindsay
Buckingham’s Holiday Road playing over my speaker and the girls humming
along—with a long drive from home to the Cut Foot Sioux Resort in northern
Minnesota. It was four days of fun, fishing, swimming, and relaxing with my
favorite ladies. As some of you may have read, I celebrated my four-year
sobriety anniversary on this trip, although I was bordered by normal people
enjoying normal-people beverages for the entirety of that day. Stuff like that
doesn’t bother me much anymore. The only thing I really think is, it must be nice to be normal. I will
celebrate my achievement with my fellows when I get back; I’m in no danger.
Fishing. I don’t really care for water, much less the
swimmers who inhabit it. I haven’t been fishing legally in years, and I
probably haven’t enjoyed it since childhood, but I made the best of the
situation this (week)end (foodservice people vacation on weekdays) and caught a
few keepers, and even fileted a couple northern. The “Y” bones are tricky, and
fish flop around a lot, and I plan to never kill a fish again. I also caught
some decent sized walleye but had to throw them back because of the size
restrictions imposed by the MN D.N.R. Here’s a picture of me trying to hold a
fish which is my hugest pet-peeve on Facebook.
There was much to glean from the first leg of the trip. I
loved following the loon family and listening to their calls. Eagles soared
high above, and we watched an osprey catch a fish a mere fifty feet from our
pontoon. Nature is what pleases me, and I haven’t been short on the visuals
yet.
One of my favorite moments of that first leg was going to a
butcher shop in the middle of the woods. The worst part of that shopping trip
was that they were out of pork cutlets. Only people who know what those are
will understand how impactful that can be.
The girls had their own fun with some other children who
were there for the week. It’s always easier when other kids are around to distract
them from clinging on to us 24/7. The story is different at our current
location where it is just us four, but of course, this is much needed family
time.
Campfire. It’s been years since I sat around a proper
campfire. Last night was the first, and I will get to that in the next post. I
should write more about Cut Foot while it’s still in my mind.
We were in a small cabin with Amanda's father and his girlfriend.
That’s six people in a small area for four days. Fortunately, the weather was
permitting, and we spent nearly every available moment basking in the sun and
cooking meals on the grill. We made several walks down to the resort office
which doubled as a grocery store/bar/gift shop/bait shop/gas station/etc… They
also had ice cream which is what we were after. Kids and adults all should like
ice cream. If you know any adults that don’t like some form of the dessert, you
shouldn’t trust them. We indulged ourselves. My favorite part about eating ice
cream with children is that we make the same amount of mess on our faces and
shirts. Actually, I’ve just been told that that is just me, and most adults are
more responsible about keeping themselves neat and tidy, even on vacation.
The four days sped on by in a flash and it was time to pack
up, sleep, and hit the road in the morning for a three-hour tour that would
bring us to Minong, WI to my aunt and uncle’s cabin on a small, pristine lake
in the middle of not much.
More to be revealed…