Anyway, we camped at a place near Wabasha, MN (home of "Grumpy Old Men"). Beautiful pine woods -- much more like Northern Minnesota than most places around here. I LOVED it. Well, except that it had trailers that looked like they'd been there since Elvis was on top of the charts or earlier, the sites were pretty close together, a seasonal camper across the road didn't appreciate that I asked him to turn down the goat-roper music he was playing (I didn't use that turn of phrase with him), and at this particular spot alcoholic beverages are not appreciated.
Uhhhh, excuse me? Seriously. They were gonna get mad if I, a person over 21 years of age, consumed a legal beverage on my campsite? Guess how fast Rob and I pulled out our Rolling Rocks. Hey, they didn't say they were prohibited.
Oh, and there was all this ... god stuff. Bible quotes in the store, a big sign advertising the Jesus channel on the radio, Bible quotes in the map/rules document, a church service every Sunday. I don't mind if you have a belief system. Actually, I rather respect and admire people who do and who live their lives by their beliefs. But honestly, you are a business. I don't need you to shove your belief system down my unwilling throat. And so, next time I want to camp near Wabasha, I will NOT choose you.
Anyway, the point of the weekend was the Leukemia fundraiser at the Lake City Yacht Club. They have members give sailboat rides for a fee and all the proceeds go to leukemia research. I sailed on little boats with my grandparents at their lake cabin as a child. I loved it, and I wanted my kids to have a chance to experience it, too. I made reservations a couple of weeks ago through the Chamber of Commerce. Easy.
Little did I know we would end up on a 32 footer (far bigger than anything I had ever sailed on before) with 2 of the most wonderful, kind people we could have hoped to meet. Elliott and Katie were awesome -- they let the kids steer, hang their feet in the water off the back, explore the cabin, hug the mast and look waaaaay up to the top, help with the ropes -- it was terrific. They had a great time and I did too, although I missed my grandpa Keith terribly the whole time. He would have loved to see my kids scampering all over the deck, hanging off the side to look at the water upside down while the spray splashed their faces ...
It was a gorgeous day and we were out on the boat for an hour and a half. Well worth the $60 we paid. I can hardly wait until next year.
Here are the pix:
Nothing spoils a family camping trip faster than loud drunken idiots. So, I guess I prefer a campground that says alcoholic beverages not appreciated in that respect. Because there's a huge difference between people sipping beer and wine while they enjoy a nice campfire and loud drunken idiots!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at how different your boys look, since you left Cali!! Dustin didn't even recognize Spencer. But was very excited to see his pic!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great looking family! It sounds like a wonderful outing.
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