Vacation 2010

This blog post contains daily summaries of our recent family vacation. After putting 1,000 miles on the van, eating plenty of sugary foods, putting on plenty of sun block, and hanging out with the fam, we had a really good vacation.

Pics and videos are at the end of the blog post.

Chris


Saturday, July 31

Wedding Day

Today was a day of celebration as my cousin Kathleen got married. It was great to see family members that I had not seen in many years. The ceremony was very nice, the bride and groom looked great, and everyone enjoyed the ‘candy bar’.


Sunday, August 1

To the Cabin

On Sunday we headed east to Hackensack, MN to start our cabin vacation. It was a nice quick trip from Superior to Hackensack. We are used to traveling about 7 hours to get to the cabin. This trip took us less than 3 hours. By the end of the day on Sunday, most of the West family was there. Steve, Marie, Andy, Molly, Kai, Jonah, and Holly. The kids were excited because not only were they at the cabin, but they got to meet Kai for the first time.


Monday, August 2

From Dreary to Sunny

Today started out as a dreary day, but ended up becoming a beautiful day. The kids were able to play outside and spend time in the water.


Tuesday, August 3

Samuel’s Birthday

Today we celebrated Samuel’s birthday at the cabin. We started the morning out with Pop-Tarts for breakfast and enjoyed the beautiful morning in Hackensack. For lunch we headed to Walker for the traditional pizza place and candy store visit. The thirteen of us enjoyed some really good pizza, went to a few shops and then made a trip to the candy store. Later in the afternoon the kids had fun in the water and were able to use the new water toys that Samuel got for his birthday. For dinner we had hot dogs over the bonfire and brownie sundaes for dessert.


Wednesday, August 4

Turtle Races and Jumbo Marshmallow Home Run Derby

Longville, Minnesota is the Turtle Racing Capital of the World. Every Wednesday during the summer, hundreds maybe thousands, of people show up to see the famous turtle races. The town closes down one of their downtown streets for the event. The Payne family usually shows up for the carnival-like games, and leaves before the races. This year was no exception. The kids had fun playing the games, and winning the cheap prizes. After the races, we had fun playing in the water. It’s great to see that all of the boys enjoy going in the water. In the past there was always at least one kid that did not want to go in.

This week we invented a new game. We call in ‘Jumbo Marshmallow Home Run Derby’. The idea is that you take jumbo marshmallows, (they’re really more useful when hit with a baseball bat than cooked over a fire), pitch them to someone and let them hit it as far as they can. The amazing part is that the marshmallows keep their shape after being hit over and over again. We used two marshmallows, and must have hit each one at least a dozen times, and they kept their shape.


Thursday, August 5

Work Day (it was actually just a work morning) and Thanksgiving in August

One of the many cabin traditions, some of which have been mentioned but not noted as traditions, is to have a work day as part of the visit. This year the job was cutting and stacking wood. It was a great team effort. The men cut the wood (with a hydraulic wood splitter) and Cari, Molly and the boys stacked the wood. While cutting the wood we found two separate mouse nests, one in the wood splitter and one in the pile of wood. Not only did we find nests, but we also found seven baby mice.

After cutting the wood Cari and I went to town for lunch. We found a nice little café in Hackensack that served sandwiches and salads.

Later in the afternoon Steve, Marie, Cari, Andy, and Molly went to an open house for a house down the road that was for sale.

For dinner we had a Thanksgiving feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing. For dessert we had Carmel corn. Yummy!


Friday, August 6

Another Beautiful Day

We have had great weather while on vacation. The kids were able to spend more time playing in the lake and playing outside. Steve, Marie, and Cari went to the Pine River rummage sales. They came back with a delicious blueberry pie for dessert.

During movie time we saw a deer come really close to the cabin. It got as close as the picnic table and then it ran off.


Saturday, August 7

The Last Full Day

On the last full day at the cabin the boys spent time at the park in Hackensack and enjoyed another beautiful afternoon in the water. The goal of lunch and dinner was to eat as many left overs as we could so we had less food (and garbage) to bring home.


Sunday, August 8

The Ride Home

We were on the road around 8:45 am to head home. After working our way through construction detours we made it to Cambridge, MN for lunch at McDonald’s. For an end of vacation treat we stopped at a Dairy Queen in Barron, WI.