Linda's Place: Family Vacation at the North Shore of Lake Superior

Spectacular Historical Retreat Home on Lake Superior
Yup! That's what the ad on VRBO said "Spectacular Historical Retreat"...... little did I know "Historical" was code for old, run down, and in dire need of remodeling!
This Summer Nikki & Jason, Emily and John, Andrew, my Dad, and I all carved out of few days at the North Shore of Lake Superior for some family vacation time. I love the North Shore. I fell in love with it the first time I went there. Andrew and I lived in Minnesota for 5 years before we ever got there. All my vacation time had always been used for weddings and catching up with friends and family from all that time being consumed by school.

People have always told me how incredible the North Shore was and when I finally had a chance to travel there, I was thrilled! I fell in love with the North Shore and it's unique scenery and activities. I had taken Emily, John, Nikki and Andrew when Emily came here for medical school, but Jason and my dad were there and I wanted to share that vacation with the entire family. So I started my search for an affordable place that would house all of us. I rented a five bedroom house that was on a small peninsula giving the house almost a 360 degree view of the lake. The kids agreed to go and I badgered dad into meeting us there.

But, I rented the house sight unseen off the VRBO web page. (vacation rental by owners). It sounded ideal for our group. The property was the site of a former resort from the 30's or 40's and the house was originally built in the early 70's. The basement had been totally renovated. Each of the four bedrooms in the basement had their own fireplace, bathroom and sitting area. The upstairs had not been remodeled yet. But, going on the photos and descriptions provided, and a long conversation with the property broker, I prepaid for five days and four nights - no cheap undertaking on my budget. To make the trip more affordable, I decided to save money by cooking most of the meals in the house. The property manager said the 'well appointed kitchen' was outfitted with everything we could possibly need.

Well, when Nikki, Jason, Andrew & I arrived at the house my heart sank into my stomach. Although the new area in the basement was beautiful and very clean, the old pink carpet upstairs was incredibly dirty and was so stretched out that there were wrinkles all over the floor. Several of the thermal pane windows were so cloudy in between the panes that it totally obscured the view to the outside. Luckily there were still enough good windows that we could still see the incredible views to the lake. The real heart breaker, though, was the kitchen. It was less than clean. I opened the cabinets and could immediately see they were hung on un-primed walls that were dirty and stained. It made the kitchen feel even dirtier. I grabbed a stock pot out of the cupboard and it was still greasy, is if it had been washed in dirty dishwater that had cleaned too many greasy skillets. Thank heavens we had already planned on eating out that night so I didn't have to cook in there.

We went to dinner at Betty's Pies, one of the best known places in Two Harbours. The food is great and the home made pies are second to none! It was hard to pull my spirits up, but Nikki and Jason were good sports and helped me cheer up a little. The desert at Betty's didn't hurt my state of mind, either! I was so thankful Nikki and Jason were upbeat and didn't show any disappointment in the accommodations. . . But I was still worried about Emily, John and Dad. I wanted so much for this to be a special vacation for everyone and I hoped they weren't too uncomfortable there. . . Actually, if I would have been thinking clearly, I would have realized that Dad has stayed in some pretty scary places over the years during his international travels. Nothing would have shaken Dad. He's the quintessential 'good sport.'

I didn't sleep well that night, and the next morning I was up by 5:30 and went in the Hyper Drive cleaning the kitchen. I took EVERYTHING out of the kitchen cupboards and drawers, loading it in the dishwasher. I lined the cupboards and drawers with clean paper towels, and before I put things back. Then I started washing the windows. I washed every window, inside and out. At least the windows that were not ruined were even easier to see out of. It made me feel a lot better and lifted my spirits! I knew I'd be able to cook our meals in the kitchen the rest of the week after all. All I needed to do is pretend we were camping!

Soon after I finished cleaning, Nikki, Jason and Andrew awakened. We went to the local grocery store to purchase the rest of the groceries for the weekend and awaited the arrival of Emily, John and Grandpa Lafe. Amazingly, the initial shock of the condition of the house wore off and the joy in the spectacular views out the windows started to take over. True to their nature, the kids worked hard to assure me that despite my disappointments, they were enjoying the time together and they enjoyed the beautiful views of the lake and the proximity of the shoreline so much that it didn't matter what the house was like.

We had a fun time hiking and looking around. John was on cloud nine with his camera and all the photo ops. Dad enjoyed sitting on the balcony listening to the waves hit the rocks below and watching the kids enjoy the scenery. Lake Superior provided a varied display of weather while we where there. We saw sun, rain, and thunderstorms, but we enjoyed them all. Dad even seemed to relax for a while. I enjoyed sitting on the balcony and was lulled by the sounds of the waves rhythmically crashing against the rocks. I had really hoped the kids would play some of the games we'd played over the holidays because it had been so much fun, but they were too busy with other things!

John took a lot of photos of the family while we were there, and John's photos of Dad were incredible. Everyone decided John caught the "real Lafe." John's photography business has been so busy that we haven't seen the rest of the photos yet - he won't publish them on his webpage until he's had a chance to make sure they are 'perfect' but I'll be sure to blog about them when he is done with them!

Everyone had such a good time relaxing and being together that we decided we'd like to come again - despite the shaky condition of the kitchen. (the property manager tells me the owner plans on remodeling the upstairs soon... but even if he doesn't. I think I'd even brave it again, just for the views! The close proximity to the shore and the spectacular views evoked a calm, peaceful feeling that softened every worry I had that the kids wouldn't enjoy their vacation....
So, here are a few photos I took of our vacation. I have the greatest family in the world!

Nikki and Jason at Betty's Pies! You can tell they aren't phased by the dirty rental house!

This shot of Nikki and Jason on the shoreline was taken from the balcony of the house.

The house from the shoreline. The spiral staircase dropped to a rocky landing where we had a fire and marshmallow roast. Dad had is first S'mores. I can't believe he's never had one before! How did THAT happen???

Nikki on the shoreline........
Only Grandpa Lafe can get away with feeding Zoe 'people food' from the table. I'm not sure how long it took Emily and John to break her of this once they got home!

Zoe discovered how to get up into the Loft all by herself. Getting down was a different story!

Emily and John went every where with their camera. I think John would have had fun had we stayed in a tarp hung over some sticks (as long as he kept his camera dry). All you have to do is give John a subject and camera and he's happy!

... Taken in Grand Marais- This proves Jason has his ducks (errrr, "Geese") in a row....

Emily and John on the shore in front of the house.

Andrew has two favorite positions -- horizontal & unconscious, or reading. The fireplace worked out to be a great foot rest! .........

Emily and John decided to see who could stay in the 40 degree water in Grand Marais the longest. Nikki is there with John's movie camera to "Document" the event! ......

As you can see below, John's resolve to WIN is wavering.............

At this point, Emily would say it's important to mention that SHE won the challenge! ....

Below is a photo of Nikki and Jason Grand Marais.

In Grand Marais the water is so smooth and the rocks on shore are so perfect that the urge to "Skip Rocks" cannot be ignored. I think I have a shot almost identical to this of the kids skipping rocks from our last trip to Grand Marais!.

These are the Photos John took of Dad. I think he captured several facets of his personality! ......

The weather at the North Shore was varied while we were there. Even the storms were enjoyable. The house on HoneyRock gave us a vantage point to enjoy sun, rain, sunsets, sun rises and storms....

Below are photos of the house and it's unique-ness! The fireplace was definitely a focal point!......... This is Emily and John in the kitchen... scary in the cupboards, Huh??!!! Close up of the lights on the fireplace

The Deck of the house... or part of it. It had a full 360 degree deck... all the way around!