A "Too Much Fun" Visit and Vacation

This picture says it all.... nothing but a wonderful long weekend. A big bonfire... woods, loons calling and food on the grill. Perfect.





Wow, how much fun, visiting, eating and adventure can be packed into a few days?.... Lots!
Peggy and I drove to my friend Tom's house Friday night... heading south on 169, we enjoyed the biggest, longest lasting rainbow I've ever seen in my life. Over a half hour of colorful display, growing and arching horizon to horizon. A grand beginning to our vacation. Sipping coffee and eating treats along the way, we arrived about midnight. After introductions and some chat, we followed Tom, his wife Dory and son Jacob to their "log cabin" on the lake. It is a gorgeous lake home. We sat up and talked until late, then hit the hay.

Jacob played "Little League" and had to leave with Dory Saturday morning, so Tom, Peggy and I got into mischief... and sang karaoke. Tom had sold his resort, campgrounds and supper club and kept the professional equipment for karaoke. I've never done it before, and the 3 of us laughed and sang for almost 2 hours. What a riot!

We took the dogs and went for a long walk around the nearby campgrounds, lake and area, enjoying all the birds and beauty.

We got back to Tom's dock and had to do more
exploring. This is when it got funny again. The lake had blown in with some fine weed cover and the surface looked solid to the dogs.... both stepped off the dock and into the lake as if it was carpet. The look on their faces as they bobbed back up through the green was hilarious! Too late for an "I meant to do that" routine, they were glad to be hauled up and out of the lake. We had to bring them to the garden hose and wash them both off.

Peggy and I later took both dogs for a long walk around a point of the lake and looked at all the cabins. Birds were singing and it was perfect
weather.

Later, Tom's daughter Stephanie came home and we had a fine reunion, introductions and visit. We went for a boat ride around the lake, through a channel, "the narrows" and enjoyed loons and more sunshine. Dory came home from the ball tournament, Jacobs team took 4th, excellent and she started a big bonfire in their pit, then joined us in the boat for more riding around the lake.

We fired up the grill and started ribs for a late supper. Excellent food, rich chocolate bars for dessert and more visiting made the day and night
long and fun.

In the night, Tom's other daughter Brittany came home and was there when we woke up. Stephanie is sitting with Scooter, Jacob and me, and Brittany is in the chair under the big muskie that was caught in the lake many years ago.

Great kids, lots of hugs and talk about the "old times" with Tom and me. Peggy got an ear full of our old carousing days.



Peggy, Dory and the girls all together in the kitchen for this picture.. so much fun. Dory baked a coffee cake and a great egg dish for breakfast before Peggy and I drove to town to find a church service. We found an awesome church and "Celebration service" with lots of music, and the minister even did an interpretive dance.. fantastic. We each got gifts for visiting, a coffee mug, candy and a prayer book... very friendly.

Too soon, we had to head back. Stopping in Taylor's Falls for ice cream and a walk, we enjoyed looking at the "pot holes" in the stone.
Unbelievable prehistoric scenery in Taylor's Falls, and we talked to lots of people about Scooter and
Charlie as we went through some park area.

Home to Brainerd for a wonderful night, talking about all we had done and all the fun we had.

Not wanting the adventure to end, we loaded the kayaks and drove to Bay Lake. We put in at the public landing and paddled for 2 hours in the perfect weather. Bay Lake is known for it's "tame loons", they are more friendly there than most lakes, and we got some good pictures of them watching us paddle by. A gorgeous lake with islands, mansions and small family cabins. The lake was calm, just a breeze, and we had a ball!

After unloading the kayaks and gear, Peggy went to get a movie and I ordered a pizza. Nice to be home, relax and feel so good about all we had experienced the last few days. Truly, what Summer Fun is all about. We watched "Tropic Thunder", a surreal movie about making a movie, with lots of comical twists and an all star cast. And the "House Special" pizza was extraordinary.

Back to reality some now, work and catching up on stuff as this week is off to a nice late start.
We didn't want the vacation to end!

A short shift on the floor today, home to bake bread and see what the weather brings for opportunities to do things outside. The green beans are coming in great with some other things, and we had brought a big bag of beans to eat at Tom's.. lots more on the way now with summer squash and cukes.

Almost too much fun, great visiting, scenery and action with lots of Love.

Life and Love is Wonderful.......Peace!