Wednesday, August 22, 2012

"AT THE LAKE" IN MINNESOTA

If you live in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul it is quite common to make an escape up to northern Minnesota whenever the opportunity exists.The opportunity presented itself when my childhood friend and her husband invited us to spend a weekend at their lovely home on Lake Hubert (one of the 10,000 lakes in the state).We packed up on Friday night and hit the road and stopped for dinner along the way. We had to put up with some heavy traffic which is typical during rush hour and especially on Friday during the mass exodus from the cities. 

We were greeted by our old friends at their lovely home on the lake which they share with their children. The next morning we were introduced to Jean and Dave's morning routine of an eight mile bike ride around the lake and a stop for coffee and donuts at  Schaefers Foods.   From what we could tell the stop includes lots of schmoozing with the other summer residents. Of course, I didn't realize my best friend from kindergarten has become a jock - there was no way I could keep up with her on the bike (or on the stand up paddle boards which she sleekly cruises around the lake on).




We stopped for fresh sweet corn and cooked it up with some fresh salmon (fresh walleye is more typical in MN) for a meal and also went to the popular  Bar Harbor  Supper Club for dinner on Saturday night. The prime rib at Bar Harbor is great and so is the lake view.  Gull Lake is the larger lake in the area with places with docks so boaters can stop can enjoy and meal or drink along the way (a bit like Lake Minnetonka). We also noticed a big crowd at Zorbas on Cross Lake.




I have included photos of some things are typical of the cabins and lake homes in Minnesota like hammocks (between two trees are the best), outside fire pit (for smores), fishing boat, dock and an outhouse (whoops that was in the old days). Noticeably missing is the MOSQUITO because I did not see one. Another thing that is quite common is the fact that lake homes are passed down from generation to generation. Of course, this can also lead to problems like who is responsible for what and whose turn it is to use the place but I won't go into that.
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