If you own (or share) a cabin, do you find yourself experiencing “cabin hangover” every time you have to pack up to go back home? I ask for a friend who has little experience in this area, but believes he may be dealing with an acute case of the malady early on a Sunday evening.
This weekend my wife and I were invited to join members of her family at a sister-in-law’s cabin in western Wisconsin. For the first time in years their offer and our schedule were in sync, and now I’m… (Whoops) I mean my “friend” is paying the price.
I’m a guy who looks at his modest house appreciatively and often says to himself, “I just hope we can afford to stay here as long as we want to”, so, a cabin is hardly in the plans. Yet like always, after spending just one weekend at somebody else’s cabin my head is spinning and I’m trying to figure out how I can take on a second or third job to make this more than a sometime thing.
Why would that be? Let’s admit it, the drive out of town (no matter which direction you’re headed on a Friday in the summer) is insane! It’s definitely not worth the hassle, right? Wrong. It’s amazing how quickly all the stress dissolves when you arrive at your destination. And it’s not like the whole thing happens without effort.
The first thing my wife asked me when she got home from work Friday afternoon was why the van wasn’t packed to go. The same van she had just driven home in not two minutes earlier. Three coolers, one shared bag, two bags of groceries, one set of golf clubs, two “cornhole” boards and bags and one barely avoided blowout later, we were on our way.
When I was a kid the whole “cabin thing” escaped me. Thanks to the 3M company, my parents were transplanted New Yorkers who were equally amused and bemused by native Minnesotans, who when asked about their weekend plans would consistently reply that they were “Going up to the cabin on the lake.”
I remember my mom asking rhetorically “Do you suppose they really all go the same cabin on the same lake?”
The value of a cabin became a whole lot clearer to me when my neighbors built a cabin on Lake Pokegema near Grand Rapids. This was in the mid-70’s and when I was invited up this cabin was not at all what I expected. It turned out to be a clear look into the future.
My family traveled extensively during my childhood. Always by car and usually “back east”, but our travels had also included trips to the north shore and to the big American west. I felt I had a pretty good idea of what qualified as a cabin: A wood structure, either made of logs or clapboard, usually located among a substantial growth of trees and near a water source. The cabin itself would be just big enough for everyone to eat, sleep and hang out in the same tight quarters.
My neighbor’s cabin was a much different, and what I didn’t know at the time was that I was experiencing my first “McMansion” (albeit one by a lake). The neighborhood where we lived in White Bear Lake was almost exclusively 3-bedroom ramblers, and the friends I knew all lived in a variation on the same design.
This cabin was no rambler.
While it was 1-story, the cabin was made largely of brick and was much larger than any of the homes we lived in. It sat on land that had been cleared to the point where I can’t remember a single tree. What I do remember is that the structure was ahead of its time in offering the now ubiquitous “open concept” and a spectacular, unobstructed view of the lake. It also featured the channel my friend’s dad had dredged so he could dock his monster speed boat and much smaller pontoon.
What truly sold me on the cabin experience was having the local girls (who we noticed but did not have the guts to talk to during our marathon games of whiffle ball) show a lot more initiative by coming over to our tent during the night. It was at that point that I figured this cabin thing had a lot more going for it than sitting in WBL or the rear-facing seat of our station wagon, headed for Ohio, Pennsylvania or New Jersey.
Not having inherited a cabin or being able to buy my own, my family for years has been renting the same little cabin, poised idyllically on Lake Superior, in what’s become our most cherished family tradition. There is no TV and the entire cabin (bedrooms and bathroom included) is just larger than my kitchen space at home.
We move in, turn on music, open books, play games, go on hikes, eat, drink, jump in the big lake and get silly around the fire. We used to unplug entirely, but in recent years that has proved to be impossible, with day trips to the public library in Grand Marais required to use the WiFi.
This weekend’s cabin experience involved a two-level cabin that can comfortably sleep between 15-20 adults. It’s been in the family for generations and is need of renovation, but it’s got everything one could ask for, including Loons who sing you to sleep.
Between Friday evening and Sunday morning we packed in basketball, whiffle ball, bags (or corn hole), swimming, grilling, boat rides and my first time swimming in a lake other than Superior in years. Of course, it also included horse flies, mosquitos and clouds of small unidentified bugs that seemingly decided to die in-mass on top of one of the three coolers overnight.
The weekend also included the revelation that this cabin might be going up for sale at the end of the year, and maybe the two adjoining cabins that are also in the same family. So here I am, trying to figure out a way to buy a cabin I can’t afford just so I can plan for days, buy and make tons of food and load up on alcohol (optional), just to fight traffic and get eaten by bugs... all so I can feel sad when I get back home on Sunday night.
Sounds like one hell of a good deal to me.
Berrios is an emerging ACE
As their season continues to slip away from them the Minnesota Twins still continue to give us reason to hope and to watch.
Last week we discussed how Eddie Rosario and Eduardo Escobar have carried this team offensively. Today the same must be said about emerging pitching Ace Jose Berrios. While Earvin Santana (the club's best pitcher a year ago) continues to recover from off-season surgery to his throwing hand, Berrios is getting better every time they hand him the ball.
On Sunday Berrios struck-out a career-high 12 Texas Rangers in 7-innings of shutout ball, allowing the Twins to snap a 3-game losing streak in a 2-0 victory. It marked the fourth time this season Berrios has tallied 10 or more strikeouts in a game. Just 24-years old, Berrios lowered his ERA to 3.15 and his 12 strikeouts in a game are the most for a Twins pitcher since Francisco Liriano struck out 15 batters back in 2012.
As Santana preps for another rehab assignment tonight, Berrios is clearly emerging as a pitcher of elite status. He’s 4-1 in his last 7-starts, with an ERA of 2.17 and 59-strikeouts (more than 8-per game).
With an overall record of 8-5 Berrios, like his fellow starters, has been victimized by the Twins underachieving bullpen. Much 'unlike' fellow starters Lance Lynn, Jake Odorizzi and the recently demoted Fernando Romero, Berrios has been amazingly consistent in his starts, both at home and on the road.
The hope here is that the Twins will give much ballyhooed left-hander Stephan Gonsalves the opportunity to take Romero’s spot in the rotation. The season is quickly getting away from this team, but with a favorable schedule into the All-Star break it should be all-hands on deck to make sure Gonsalves spends as much time with Berrios as possible.
Lynx Show McNiff They Are Very Much Alive
A few weeks ago I posted the opinion that the defending WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx may have their best collective days behind them.
Since then the Lynx have posted four consecutive victories, including Friday night’s signature win, a road victory over the division-leading Phoenix Mercury... a team that was riding an 8-game win-streak.
Lindsay Whalen scored 15-points in Friday's win, the first time she had scored in double-figures since the season opener. I’m not sure how many more of those games the Gophers’ women’s coach has left in her, but it’s clear the Lynx are a better ballclub when Whalen can contribute at a high level.
As for me, I’m always happy to be wrong when it comes with a victory for the locals.