It’s when you are gliding across a lake in a small fishing boat that you start understand why. Why so many people in my beloved state of Minnesota have cabins. During the summer months, when you ask a native Minnesotan what they are doing this weekend, at least half of them say, “Going to the lake”.
I grew up in Wisconsin, where we called our cabins “cottages”. I don’t remember trips to the cottage (or cabin) as such an integral part of our Wisconsin culture – not like it is in Minnesota.
My husband and I never got into the up-north cabin scene. First of all, we did not want to have to take care of two residences, what with the mowing and the upkeep and the Herculean task of putting a dock in in May and then pulling it out at the end of the season. And, let’s be honest, we could not have afforded it anyway. Many Minnesotans, although not all, have cabins that have been passed down through the generations, which are now shared with siblings.
No, John and I never felt a yearning for a second property on a lake. We felt fortunate to travel and camp and visit places we might not have gone to if we were tied to a cabin up north.
But this week, as we have done for the past few years, we rented a cabin on a Minnesota lake. What a glorious week it was.
John loves to fish. He loves to fish almost as much as he loves me. He fished so much this week, that by the time we were leaving, he said, “I’ve actually had my fill of fishing”, words never spoken by him. Ever. I love to read and walk and sit in a chair on the dock. He fishes, I relax.
But here was the best part of the week: the daily “lake cruises”. After John had exhausted his fishing needs for the day, he would take me on a ride in the boat. Sometimes we rode “super-fast”, as my grandson would say. But most times we just cruised along the shoreline, admiring cabins, which have now become McMansions, which I think is very unfortunate. A cabin is supposed to be a cabin. But perhaps that is my envy speaking.
As we cruised, we saw loons – a sight that never fails to thrill. A solitary loon one evening, a group of eight loons another evening. A bald eagle – again, a sight that continues to thrill. Sunlight shimmering on the water. Fish jumping. The placid surface of the lake, occasionally interrupted by a boat attempting to get a little kid up on water skis. The gentle rocking of the boat.
This week’s JOY: a week on one of Minnesota’s many beautiful lakes. A daily lake cruise. And knowing we could drive away without having to pull up the dock.