Cabin Season

Patrick Ruesse, my favorite sports writer from the Star Tribune, has done it again. He has written a humorous column devoted to going to The Cabin. As you all know, Cabin Season is here again. Here is the article for your reading pleasure:

http://www.startribune.com/reusse/story/1263634.html

My family will soon be making the 6-hour trip to my in-laws cabin in North Eastern Wisconsin. For this trip, we virtually pack everything we own into the Suburban. I mean everything. Considering the drive is 6 hours, my kids actually do quite well. As long as we have snacks, we're ok. The all time record, by the way, for one of my kids asking for a snack on the way to the cabin is our alley in back of our house. We literally backed out of our garage into the alley, put the Suburban in drive, and heard "I'm hunnnnngry." We only had 5 hours and 59 minutes to go.

When I was a kid, if we drove anywhere over 45 minutes I became a miserable, whining, crying, "I have car-sickness," "Are we there yet?" complaining, Pain In The Ass. This is reason #56 why my parents did not own a cabin. (Reason #1 was that my mom was kind of a neat freak and hated rodents. A cabin out in the woods with some stray mice running around would have been quite a source of anxiety for her).

My parents were members of Hillcrest Country Club in Eau Claire, which was a mere 4-minute drive from our house (no complaining there). They spent their summers golfing, and I spent my summers in the Hillcrest swimming pool (which hovered around 62 degrees). I very much enjoyed my time spent growing up at Hillcrest, however. Lots of nice people, good memories, etc. The only real drawback back then is that it took my feathered 1970's hair quite a long time to dry. That would not be a problem today. Due to the time spent at The Club, my parents both became excellent golfers, which has obviously skipped a generation.

My wife had a different experience while growing up. Her family spent their free time at their cabin in NE Wisconsin, on a lovely spot on the Menominee river. The cabin has been in their family for generations, and is a source of pride and great memories for all of them. They actively laugh at me for my reactions to various critters, especially bats, at the cabin. Now, my children love the cabin and can't wait for the next trip up there. They seem to have no fear of the critters. (By the way, there have been no Sasquatch sightings at the cabin, but I have my suspicions) It warms my heart that they all enjoy spending time outside, fishing, swimming in the river, etc. These are all of the things that I did not experience at The Club. I tried fishing once at The Club, but there were no good fish in the water hazard on #7.

Anyway, enjoy the summer and the cabin!

Peace,

Jeff