Our Lakeside Reunion Review

We had great fun here at Whispering Winds Resort in Cook, Minnesota on Lake Vermilion in the far northern region of Minnesota. Our party of seven consisted of: Jill and Judy from Atlanta, Dennis and Allison, my husband-Lon, son-Jared, and me, all from Beloit.

Jill, Dennis and Lon are siblings.

Judy is Jill’s friend and Allison is Dennis’ wife.

When Lon and I started dating in 1966, his sister, Jill, who is several years younger than me, and I hit it off right away. We were both tomboys. Jill’s rather advanced level of maturity and my immaturity put us on an even playing field. Together we got into mischief of all sorts and our similarities bound us together like sisters. This past week, we had the chance to enjoy each other’s company again and to bring out of storage the dusty memories of all those silly times we shared forty years ago.

Even back then, Jill and I imagined how when we were old and gray we’d sit side by side in our rocking chairs, reminiscing over our treasure chest of special memories. Until we arrive at that stage of our lives, we each have a pair of doll house size rocking chairs on shelves in our homes to keep the spirit of our unique relationship alive. I can’t look at them without getting a warm and cozy feeling; Jill’s a sweetheart through and through.

Jill’s friend, Judy, is one heck of a great gal. Her pleasant personality and her ever-present pitch-in and help southern attitude made her an integral part of our week long party. I love Jill and Judy’s southern drawls and their laid back and easy-going dispositions. For many, many years, the two of them have been doing commercial art work together comfortably in the basement of their home in Atlanta.

Allison and Dennis, besides being an exceptionally fine and generous couple, know how to have a good time and how to put on some mighty good meals. The two of them cooked massive quantities of potatoes, bacon and eggs for breakfasts, and fish and potatoes for our family caught, fresh-fish dinner.

Allison and I brought some prepared dishes from home so we wouldn’t have to spend much time in the kitchen once we got here. I made a double recipe of Jared’s favorite potato salad and two pans of frosted brownies. I boiled eggs ahead and brought along the additional fixings for deviled eggs to enjoy as hors d’oeuvres. Allison whipped up and brought her delicious lasagna and pulled pork for sandwiches. Everything we ate truly hit the spot. The many hours we spent in the fresh northern air each day caused our appetites to soar.

Wednesday evening, we ventured away from the resort. We traveled just about one whole mile for supper at The Landing.

Everyone fished endless hours during our week here, except me. (I'm the self-appointed historian). If honors were to be given for the best catch, Jared would be the recipient. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, Jared caught a forty-three inch musky on Saturday night at around 12:20AM. Last night, Thursday night at 10:30PM, he pulled in a fifty inch musky. That huge fish put up the fiercest boatside fight Jared has ever experienced. Once in the net, the musky thrashed and fought so hard that Jared was drenched with lake water by the time the fish finally landed in the boat. I’ll post the pictures he took as soon as I get them onto my computer. He released both muskys so all we have is the pictures he took on his camera.

Jared got up every morning around 9 or 9:30 and fished most of the day with Lon as his fishing buddy. Jared and Jeremy, the resort owner’s son, left to fish again when it got dark out and didn’t return until 2 or 3:00 in the morning. Now that’s serious fishing, if you ask me. I heard him come in the cabin a few times in the wee hours of the morning and I couldn’t help but wonder how he could keep going as he did. Time flies for him when he’s fishing in the same way it does for me when I’m writing and uploading photos for my blog on my computer. Passions are blessings and we’re fortunate to have them to enjoy.

Everyone, besides me, caught a goodly number of fish. Day after day, hour after hour, Dennis, Allison, Jill, Judy, Lon and Jared brought in northerns, blue gills, rock bass, perch and small-mouthed bass from the cold lake waters. Jeremy cleaned them beautifully, leaving not a single bone in the fillets.

One evening, early in the week, Dennis, Allison, Jill, Judy, Lon and I played a game by the name of Apples to Apples (or some such thing). We unanimously agreed it was a lame game but we made the best of it and enjoyed the time we spent together around the table. Cherished family memories popped up frequently as the evening progressed.

Late yesterday evening, Lon and I faced Dennis and Jill in a euchre game. Although, Lon and I hadn’t played cards for a heck of a long time, by hook or by crook, we came away the winners.

Everyone left early this afternoon except for Lon, Jared and me. Dennis and Allison have a wedding to go to tomorrow. Jill and Judy plan to visit Aunt Bonnie in Genoa, Illinois also tomorrow. We’ll spend tonight here and hit the road early tomorrow, around 9:00AM.

So that’s the record of The Peters’ Family Vacation, July 2009, as seen through Shaddy’s eyes.

(I’ve pictures that I took on my new camera which I will post as soon as I know how. Meanwhile, I posted a few taken with my faithful Sony here for your viewing pleasure.

I've included photos of the other cabins at this resort. The large red building is the lodge which is presently used solely as the owner's residence. Ron plans to spend the next three years redoing it. The two story light colored building is the brand new unit rented out for the first time today. Ron, the resort owner, did all the work on it with help from his son, Jeremy.

The fishing pole and lure photo exposes two of Jared's musky fishing secrets to success. The most difficult ingredient in the recipe for catching the big fish is of course endless hours and days of hard casting).