We've arrived!

We finally had the car packed and the house ready to abandon for 2 weeks by 3:20 a.m. (EST) We headed for Minnesota and drove straight through with only one breakfast stop and a few stops for gas, etc. Thank goodness the trip was otherwise uneventful. We arrived at Birch Villa at about 4:00 p.m. (CST), making the trip in 14:40. It was very hot when we arrived and the cabin was stuffy. We were all tired and sweaty as we unpacked, but the lake was refreshing as we took a quick dip. We greeted our relatives (Uncle Roy & Aunt Sone, Paul, Deb & Roy & their kids) who were trying out Birch Villa for the first time. We checked out the new lodge at BV and found it to be a great work in progress. Mark (the owner) has done much of the work himself and hopes to have it finished by next year. We can't wait to see the final outcome--it's so cool already! We headed to DQ up town for supper, and later Deb & I went to the local grocery store (Teal's) for just enough to get us through the weekend. We all slept very well that night!