1st Cabin Weekend

Friday afternoon, Andi and I loaded up the truck and headed East to our new summer cabin in Wisconsin. Since last summer was pretty much the BEST.SUMMER.EVER., our group of friends decided to rent a cabin again for the summer months (May - October). And while we had an amazing time last year in Crosslake, MN we opted for something closer to the Twin Cities and found the perfect spot near Turtle Lake, WI (just about 90 minutes from our house).

This past weekend was our first at the cabin, and I wasn't sure what to expect since Andi and his friend Brian were the only ones who'd seen it out of our group of four couples. I trust Andi's judgement (he's just as picky as I am) but I also knew how wonderful our summer cabin was last year and I wasn't sure we could find something just as awesome for the same price. The good news? We did and it's half the distance.

Andi and I loaded up the truck on Friday after work and made it to the cabin by 6pm. The drive was so quick and easy. We made it in just over an hour, and that was with traffic and pulling a giant trailer behind us. I was pleasantly surprised how big and beautiful the cabin was. It's everything our Crosslake cabin was but with a comforting, lived-in vibe and the footprint is laid out much better than last year's digs.

Our new cabin has three basic levels:
Upstairs (kitchen, master bedroom, bathroom, living room)


Upstairs Living room




Kitchen / Breakfast Nook
(and Derrick playing an old-school Casio keyboard while drinking a beer)




Kitchen

 Mid-Level (two bedrooms and a bar/lounge area)

Bar Area + 2 Bedrooms

We coined this room "Brown Bear Lodge" because of this ...

1 GIANT stuffed bear on display

Chloe wasn't sure what to think of her new friend Brown Bear. And truthfully, it's hard to tell what we all thought either. (At least most of the dead stuff on display had been removed from the cabin).

Downstairs (bedroom, bathroom, laundry room and rec room with couch / pull-out bed)

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Andi and I spent most of Friday evening unpacking the trailer and moving all of our stuff inside. Ellie and Derrick arrived a while later and we drove up the road to The County Line Bar for some dinner. Unfortunately, we just missed the dinner bell so I was denied a hot, juicy burger like everyone else was eating there. Best moment? Derrick ordered an IPA Beer and the waitress looked at him like he was an alien. As you can guess, they didn't carry it. Ellie proceeded to order a Jameson and Ginger (the waitress replied with a "huuuh?"). It would appear Jameson Whiskey and Ginger ale in general are hard to come by in rural Wisconsin. For once I felt lucky when I ordered a Sprite. It even came in a can.

It was a cold and rainy Saturday so Ellie and I unpacked and organized inside the house while D and Andi worked in the garage and helped the cabin neighbor with a few favors around his house. We drove into the nearest town called Cumberland for lunch at Nezzy's. There's a pizza place inside a haunted house in Big City Cumberland that I'm dying to check out this summer, an old-school Caribbean-themed supper club everyone raves about (very intriguing) and Louie's Finer Meats - the best damn butcher store I've ever seen.

Louie's

Louie's giving Andi the royal treatment

Derrick and Ellie

Andi and I at Louie's

Our friend Joe was at the cabin when we got back, and the three boys worked on putting the dock in the freezing cold water. Ellie and I watched like good wives do.



Derrick, Joe and Andi

The boys treated themselves to a dip in the hot tub afterwards. Pregnant chicks aren't allowed. Buzz kill.

As if it were even possible, the weather was even crappier on Sunday. May 1st and it was snowing. WHAT.THE.HELL. Everyone decided to pack up early and head back to the cities. We had planned to ride Andi's new ATVs around but it was just too muddy and cold. Despite the crummy weather on our first weekend, we're going to have a blast at the cabin this summer. It's instant relaxation and so much fun to spend every weekend with some of our favorite people.