Vacation at Lake Superior

Our week at a Cabin on the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin was fantastic. Truthfully, I'm not used to a vacation where you have no outings planned and its just all relaxation, but it was completely terrific. We shared our place with Nana and her friend TK. My husband really needed a break from the daily driving he has to do for his job, and our kids were an absolute dream to be with. There was not one mention of the television, we all read books, got excited about the rocks and geology, napped, swam, and gazed dreamily at the water and passing sailboats and loons.



Lake Superior's water levels are down more than 18 inches. Almost an historic low. I guess there wasn't much snow last winter and the water has evaporated more than usual. At any rate,our beach was on a little bay and we could wade out very far. The water was crystal clear and still. Early in the week it was too chilly to swim, but after several days of quiet waters, and unlimited sunshine, we could splash away all we wanted. That's exactly what the kids did!



One day I'll have a better camera and I'll be able to take arty photos of flowers with all the right colorations and such, but for now, enjoy this wild lupine. It was blooming all over the place in the north woods to the delight of a considerable amout of butterflies that I never photographed. Lupine needs chillier temperatures, moist air, and full sun. It will not grow in my yard.....


My husband dreamily says he want us to try to go away like this every 3 months. He remembered that back in high school when you take those aptitude tests for what career you should work toward, he came up with high scores as a forest ranger. At that time he didn't think that made any sense, but now, he longs for a job like that and is thinking that we should volunteer at national parks during our retirement which is decades away. He even decided that we should try to go to all the National Parks in the USA. Wouldn't that be nice!

He also wants to see every one of the presidential libraries, birthplaces, and museums. (FYI, the Kennedy Museum in Boston stinks, the Ford museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan is great... isn't that pretty much the opposite of what you'd expect?) I just hope we can swing this next summer too. Next summer is the year we go to the Colorado Rockies which is my most favorite place ever.