When we learned our county fair was canceled, I asked Mark if we could plan a short trip. The fair was something the kids were looking forward too, it was the only activity and fun event for the summer. So, I planned our trip to Minnesota. I searched the internet for lake resorts within 6 hours and wanted to somehow visit Laugerman's. I had not seen any of them since Rose's funeral. I have been video chatting with Laura a couple times a week since April. I feel like we have gotten close. Her and John are all I have left of the Dean Laugerman family and I want to stay connected. I found a place called Appeldoorn's resort along Lake Mille Lacs. The lake was an hour north of Mark and Laura's. Laura invited us to stay and helped make arrangements for John Laugerman and John Jones to meet us too. All 5 of us piled in the tahoe with luggage and bags filling every extra corner. We were crammed in! We made it to Laura's around 5PM Sunday night, July 19th. Both Noah and Austin were there as well and took right to showing all their "toys" to the boys. Austin had his large guns to show in his cool room. Noah took each of the kids out one at a time for spin in the Firebird. We are talking burn out, spin the tires and drifting. They came back all smiles. Luke got a ride in Austin's Mustang with a peel out also. Noah also let Jake ride his four wheeler, which had no brakes and Jake had to find out on his own. Later Noah and Austin brought out the flame throwers! I could not see, but I heard and could see a bright quick flash of light. That seemed terrifying to me. Those boys are fearless and love crazy thrills that terrify me. Maybe it is a good thing they don't live closer.
Mark and Jacob had never been to cousin Mark and Laura's so they got the full tour. Laura has made many changes since I visited last, everything was so nice. They live in such a beautiful area with lots of timber between them and neighbors. John Jones and John Laugerman both came and stayed for a couple hours. This was the first visit John J. had made during COVID and has been very cautious. With his heart and age,we felt fortunate he made the hour trip to come see all of us. John's kids were on a trip with their mom and Anne wasn't able to come. I hope to someday get to know her better. It was still great to see the John's. Laura had a weenie roast and smores outback in her yard. When it got dark, Austin and Noah shot off a few fireworks. Laura and I looked through some old photos and Angie's 4h book before heading to bed. Mark and I slept in their guest room which was formerly the hot tub room. We all slept in and visited with Laura before heading on north. It was 2:00 when we arrived at Appeldoorn's on Mille Lacs Lake, an hour north of Laura's. The sun was shinning and the water was beautiful. The lake was huge! 20 miles long and 10 miles wide! We had a cabin right on the beach, we could open the door and were just feet from the lake. I loved the view right out the window and being so close. We got suits on and went right in the water. The kids and I got floaties and floated out into the water. It was 75 and perfect, little did we know this would be our nicest day. We climbed around on some of the water mats and enjoyed the sun. Mark read his book in a chair. We looked at the forecast and it was showing rain and chilly for the next day. We decided to take in as much of our beautiful day as possible and last minute rented a pontoon. It was great, the lake was glass smooth. We had never taken out a pontoon. It was smooth, quiet, spacious, and comfy, my kind of boating. The air felt chilly when we were cruising along and a sweatshirt was even chilly. Luke tried fishing off the boat, but nothing was biting. The sunset was beautiful with pinks and purples in the sky. I so enjoy the beauty and peacefulness of God's beauty at lakes. I guess that is why people flock to them. After dark we could hear a loud buzzing noise outside our cabin. When we looked up at the sky, we could see a cloud of mosquitoes! It was terrible, all those bugs made an eerie sound and I cannot imagine being out in the elements. So thankful for our cabin inside. Our cabin had two drop down from the wall style beds and a futon bed for the kids in the tv room. It was an older cabin, but just right for all 5 of us. My favorite was the recliner in front of the deck doors overlooking the lake.
Day 2, we knew it would be cool, rainy, and cloudy so we let the kids sleep in. I had been fighting some kind of bites that started on Saturday and bothered me the whole trip. I thought they were chigger bites, but each day I had new bites. I lathered on creams and even had to get up in the night and hold ice on them. They lasted for 5 days and were terrible ithcy welts. I am highly allergic to any bug bites, and they may have just been mosquito bites, but they sure made me miserable. Our second day we went to a water park an hour away. Surprisingly, the kids enjoyed that almost more than anything else we did. Back in our cabin there was some tv time and out of boredom, Jayden put together a Pinnocchio puzzle. We went through a gun store/ museum and out for supper in the evening.
Day 3 was even colder in the morning and the sky was full of big dark clouds. We made the most out of the day and rented UTV's for a 3 hour journey. Most of the trail was flat and through the timber, however there were some with curves and lots of puddles. Mark drove the 4 seater and I the 2 seater. Jayden found it to be a bit boring. She is used to being on the sand dunes on speedy thrill rides. Luke wasn't a fan of going fast and would motion for me to slow down. We let the boys drive even though legally they were supposed to be 22. We enjoyed our ride on a cool day through the wilderness. We stopped once to check out our surroundings and within seconds, mosquitoes found us. So that alone is reason why this trip may be a once and done trip. I prefer Colorado's cool nights and mornings and warm sunny days. Mosquitoes are not a problem and the air is dry rather than humid. Here the cool brings on the biting mosquitoes, and they are large. Late in the day, the sun would peek out for a few minutes at a time. It was like a ray of warmth you wanted to soak up. Luke and I jumped in the kayaks and went for a ride way out along a little island. We could really move and Luke discovered he was really good at it and enjoyed it.
Our stay was short, 3 nights on the lake. Our check out was 10am and the sun was shinning without a cloud in the sky at 7 am. Go figure, the day we leave is the best day here. We talked it over and decided we all wanted to make the most of it and stay awhile. We got packed up and set some of our things outside the cabin and used the bathhouse before leaving. Luke made several more kayak outings, we all read books on the beach, and we rented one wave runner to share. We each took turns out in the water zipping and zooming. They are so much fun. Jake is a speed demon and really tears it up going full throttle. He also had a little trouble bringing it into the dock a little fast. Even Luke drove solo for awhile. Jayden and I thought the water was chilly so we drove graceful trying not to get wet. The temp was 71 and the water felt super cold so we didn't swim or float. It was so enjoyable to soak in the sun on a sunny day. We left at 3 and made it back home at 9PM. We heard that Minnesota was starting to mandate masks indoors. On our travels home, we noticed people in gas stations with masks on.
Comments