The Last Days of My Summer

My last week at the lake was the first week of August.  I scrambled to get some last minute work done on the estate records and to get the sale of Doug's house set up.  But the good part was that I had good friends and family with me for most of the week. 

My sister, Judy, arrived Tuesday and pitched in to help me get things put away & finished up; then on Wednesday, my good friend Lynne who lives in D.C. but is originally from Aitkin, and Damon, Sarah & Heath arrived.  Damon hadn't been to the lake during the summer since he started working for Union Pacific - his work schedule hasn't allowed it.  He was impressed with the improvements he hadn't seen and in fact, he likes the Clubhouse so much when I called to let them know breakfast was ready  he answered  - "Damon's Cabin"

We had a wonderful few days - Heath went out in the kayak for the first time; Damon made his pilgrimage to Reed's in Walker & we had lunch at Chase on the Lake; Heath met Paul Bunyan; and we played games, laughed & appreciated being together at such a wonderful spot! These photos are worth a million words!

I said goodbye to my last guests on Friday and had Saturday to finish packing, shipping some last things to NV, putting things away and saying my goodbye to my summer.  Ann is going to be the guardian of several large files of records that must be kept for six months after we close the estate. On Sunday I had my last morning fire, burned some non-essential estate papers just for the cathartic effect, finished up some laundry and said goodbye to Ann before I hit the road.

I ran into traffic problems - again - and missed my flight so went to Judy's, where I leave the car, to see if I could make other arrangements.  I was able to get on an evening flight and thanks to Mel, who scooped me up for a fast trip to the airport, I didn't have to pay a fortune to make the change.  But alas, my travel trials were not over.  The new flight was delayed an hour leaving Mpls due to mechanical problems and then we circled Denver for another hour because of storms.  I called Christine, my airport shuttle driver, and told her to just take my car to her house & I would pick it up there.  I finally arrived in LV about 1 a.m. - exhausted and sad that I had missed seeing the desert horizon, which always takes my breath away because it is so different from The Point. 

As I look back, I think summer couldn't have been better.  I had to reconnect with the place that began as a shared dream for the future, soak up the spirit of the place, and replay the memories of so many good times there.  It was good that I had so many people who matter in my life to be with me as I went through an important part of my grieving and growing and finding new direction. Thanks to all who came to be with me this summer; thanks especially to Ann, my long-time friend for sharing her exuberance for life, listening to me talk through all the things I needed to figure out and reminding me that I will be OK - no matter what!  Goodnight, moon!  Goodbye to the Point!

July at The Point

When July came, I couldn't believe summer was half gone.  When I came in May it seemed like I had forever to unwind but somehow the time got away from me.  Kay, Christine and I drove to the airport on the 4th of July.  Kay's flight left first so Christine and I met my good friend, Ann, for a great lunch at a restaurant at Minnehaha Park & we got a huge downpour to boot!

I spent the night at Ann's and we drove up to the lake the next day and Roberto joined us mid-week.  Because Ann was gone most of June, we hadn't yet done the early summer brush mowing so the three of us worked like demons to get all the trails mowed and the historic Mikkelsen outhouse rehabbed and we got inspired to create a courtyard seating area between the Mikkelsen Cabin and Hobby House.

On Friday, Reoberto had to return to the city for work and my friends Chris and Hassan arrived for the week-end.  Their visit was full of good conversation, an evening cruise around the lake and delicious meals topped off with our now traditional Chocolate Splash port & some special treats they brought back from Japan.  We also had roaring bonfire by the lake to burn up some brush I had cleared throughout the summer.  I think it is safe to say - a good time was had by all!

Ann & I left on Sunday with all good intentions of getting me to the airport to catch a flight to Santa Fe - I was using up a free ticket and freeloading with Kay, who was at a conference there.  Unfortunately, we were on I94 heading south on the same day some crazy shopper made a U-turn on the freeway causing a gas tanker truck to overturn and the freeway to be closed down for 8 hours.  I missed my flight but after a 12 hour scramble, was able to get on another flight the next day.  I had a wonderful time in Santa Fe, including fulfilling a long-time goal of visiting Georgia O'Keefe's home in Abiquiu.

I returned to MN and made a quick trip to Wilton to visit with some of Doug's family then went back to St. Paul so I could be with Damon & Sarah for Heath's heart murmur repair procedure.  Like all kids, Heath is a resilient little guy and he is completely healed but it was not what anyone would call a fun experience.  He is always such a happy boy but when he came out of the anesthesia, he was NOT.  He didn't like the tubes & leads to all the monitors; he was hungry but didn't feel good enough to eat; and he was inconsolable for several hours.  Everyone made it through the ordeal but I'm sure it will go down as one experience none of them will want to repeat. Here he is right after he got to his room and 12 hours later at home - what a transformation!

Heath had to stay the night in the hospital so after they got home, I picked up Ann & we went back up to the lake. Ann's brother was still there but the rest of the family had gone back to D.C. and friends Karen & Ellie came for an overnight. We had a couple of nice days before Bob had to leave.  Ann & I served as his take-off crew to make sure the wheels of the plane got off the ground at the right time - the skills we have learned over the years are amazing!

On Friday, I heard from Allen, long-time friend & Damon's uncle, that he was leaving Atlanta that night heading for St. Paul to meet up with "biker" friends for the trip to Sturgis.  He arrived early Sunday morning in St. Paul and after a few hours sleep, came up to the lake for a quick visit.  Ann, Allen & I all met in 1970 in the dorm we all lived in at the Univeristy of MN.  Over a great dinner and much reminiscing, we realized that we have been friends for nearly 40 years & there couldn't be better friends!

The next week I drove to the airport to pick up friends Dianne, a first time visitor, & Darcy, a repeat visitor.  I had warned them that we would have at least one big project to work on while they were there and I came through on that promise the first day.  We had seven trees taken down last fall & Mikkelsens had several too and it all needed to be split. We tried to get it done the week before when there was no company but the wood splitter we rented didn't work. Since Pete & family had come for a few days too, I knew we had a crew that could get the job done. So we started right after breakfast and finished by dinnertime and we were all exhausted but proud of a job well done.  The many stacks of split firewood will make for great lakeside fires for several  years and there will be lumberjack stories for as long!

After a good night's rest, I took Dianne & Darcy sightseeing - Itasca State Park & the headwaters of the Mississippi, Paul Bunyan, the Tiger Muskie & Lucette, shopping in Walker & dinner at Chase on the Lake to celebrate Dianne's birthday. We had quite a bit of rain but managed to have a good time nonetheless.  On Monday, I drove them to Karen & Ellie's in Crosby because Karen had to go to the city that day and it saved me a day of driving.  And I had work to do on the estate so it was a godsend to have those hours to get it done. 

So there went July - too fast & I had only 10 days left at The Point! 

Quiet Waves After The High Tide - End of June 2009

I wasn't vigilant about posting after our family gathering at the lake, so I am going to do my best to share the highlights of the rest of the summer in my next posts.  My last one was on June 18th; this one covers the rest of June.

Aunt Barb had signed on for a two week visit so we had some calmer days after most of the family left. Not having seen many of us for years and not having been around that many of us for decades, she was understandably overwhelmed by our sheer numbers and the associated levels of activity and noise.

Mary Kay & Alan stayed on for a couple of days after everyone else left so we took a field trip - to Dorset, the home of Sisterwolf Books and some great touristy shops; stopped to see the Paul Bunyan statue in Akeley; and went on to Walker for more shopping and dinner at The Boulders.  It's so easy to just stay at the cabin when you come Up North but there are actually some fun & interesting places to see.  Barb had fun reminiscing about her childhood memories at the cabins her parents (my grandparents) had.

The day MK and Alan had to leave we caravaned to Brainerd and stopped to see Lucette, Paul Bunyan's girlfriend, in Hackensack and Babe the Blue Ox at Paul Bunyanland outside of Brainerd.  Alan took a great photo of Barb & Babe that may become her Christmas card photo - so be on the look out for that!

Brother-in-law Mel and his cousin Jay came up for a couple days of fishing and they helped with projects that needed doing. Then on Friday, Barb & I drove to Fargo for Monique's birthday dinner and to pick up Mom.  As we drove back to the cabin, Pete, Tracy and the kids were coming from the city so we had another part of the family there for the week-end.  I'm so glad Pete & family were able to come up to the cabin several times this year.  They feel right at home now - and, as Doug would say, that's a good thing!

Barb asked me to help her find a childhood friend who still lives in MN and thanks to the internet, we were able to locate Vivian in Owatonna and made a plan to visit her the day before Barb had to leave.  So we drove to the city one day and to Owatonna the next day - lots of windshield time but so worth it to see two octogenarians looking at photos of them when they were girls and reminiscing about their lives.  It did my heart good to be reminded that friendships sustain us throughout our lives.  We then went on to Waseca for a tour of Bob & Lana's new home and dinner with the Waseca Whitneys, after which Barb & I went back to Mpls and Mom stayed for the next part of her MN time with Bob & family.

Carol, Judy & I took Barb to Trader Joe's to get snacks for her trip home and some things she discovered she liked while she was here and then I dropped her at the airport for the flight home.  A couple of hours later, I picked up Kay and the next day I picked up Christine - the next set of guests.  Kay & I got to have dinner with friends Pete & Jeanine on Thursday night; on Friday night, Kay, Christine and I got to have Juicy Lucys at Matt's Bar & Grill with Damon, Sarah & Heath; then we headed north on Sat. morning. 

Kay & Christine's week ended up being quite rainy but we managed to have a good time nonetheless.  Plus I got alot of work out of them - the biggest project was extracting a rock near the fire pit that people often tripped on.  Highlights of the week included the Paul Bunyan Days parade in Akeley, visiting the bison ranch near Nevis and the obligatory shopping trip to Walker and meeting Karen & Ellie for a reggae music festival at Chase on the Lake. 

The week went by too fast but it was good to be with good friends to close out the month and to keep me sane as I closed on the sale of part of the land Doug owned in WI.  And then it was July - I'll tell you all about that in my next post!