It is a Minnesota tradition to "head north" for the weekend, even if you are heading west, or northwest... or, god-forbid, east. The concept is to get away from the stress of your normal life, to escape to a simpler time and place, to relax, fish, and read. I didn't experience this as a child. My family didn't own lake property or a cabin; our vacations were out west to see our grandmother, Gigi, in San Diego.
I didn't get the chance to go to the family cabin until I met my wife. Her family has been going up north for generations now, almost every weekend in the summertime. Stacy's grandfather came back from WWII with a little cash, so he and his father bought some land and built a modest cabin (with an artisan fireplace) together... by hand. The cabin has been turned into a four-season home now, but the structure remains basically the same.
It is beautiful.
So for the last half decade or so, I've been able to enjoy this land, this shoreline, this nature a handful of times each year. Most of my trips have involved working on a Friday until 4:00 or 5:00, getting home, throwing some clothes in a bag, stopping by the liquor store, and hitting the road to fight traffic. Stacy and I have arrived as late as midnight on a Friday. Our only real concern was stopping along the way to let the dog pee.
Our next trip is different. This will be our first trip to the lake with Grayson. This will be Grayson's first trip up north. This means we need to plan. We've made lists. This requires more than one suitcase. Did you know there is baby-specific sunscreen? (Okay... I knew this too, but I'm trying to prove a point.) We have to make sure we've got waterproof diapers and shady hats. We need to make sure to take toys, enough regular diapers for a long weekend. And we can't just expect him to figure it our or make due if we forget something.
It is 10:30 the night before we leave, and we're not done packing. But we have a list. AND the whole family is looking forward to Grayson's first trip to Pequot. I can't wait to see his reaction when he sees the lake for the first time, or when he takes his first cruise on the pontoon. I've got a feeling he is going to fall in love with life up there, up north, and that this will just be the first of hundreds of trips throughout his life.
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