Caution to the Wind

Despite a global pandemic, despite political and social unrest, despite killer hornets and Saharan dust storms…we are bound and determined to continue our annual tradition.

Thus begins, Cass Lake Adventures 2020.

Although the title indicates we’ve thrown “caution to the wind,” let’s be real. That’s an exaggeration. There was at least “some” caution on this trip. For starters, we packed our masks and hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes. We were also instructed to bring our own comforters and blankets to use at the resort.

Our hotel, though still in Minneapolis (the epicenter of the racial tensions just one month earlier), was in a quiet suburb a few miles north of the Mall of America. We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel (using a Marriott reward we had earned) and loved it. It seemed empty, based on the number of cars in the parking lot, and we had the Olympic-sized pool and hot tub to ourselves for a morning swim.

It was just us two happy empty nesters on the Fri-Sat. trip and we really looked forward to our first date night in months! We left around 10:15 Friday morning and arrived at the hotel by around 6:15. Shortly after settling in, we found that “Bohemian Rhapsody” (the movie) was just about to start on HBO. We had both been wanting to see it so that’s how our date night began. (We gave it two thumbs up!)

Date night continued with dinner. We debated getting takeout, but since we weren’t familiar with the restaurants in the area, we opted to take a drive to see what we could find. We got lucky and found “Carmine’s,” a casual dining restaurant in a quiet area with outdoor patio seating. The weather was perfect as we enjoyed drinks and dinner, socially distanced from the few other patrons that were there.

After that morning swim (I actually swam laps!), we found breakfast at Perkins and were happy to discover we now qualify for their 55Plus meals! (I don’t know…should we really be happy about that??) We had debated for some time whether to go to the MOA or not but decided we’d just run into L.L. Bean. That led to venturing into the mall itself and brief stops at about 6 more stores, all on the first floor. So all in all, our typical 12-hour shopping spree was a brief two hours in a much quieter mall, wearing masks and following all safety precautions. We picked up a few needed items and of course, some excellent bargains before heading north to the lake.

In Brainard, we picked up sandwiches at Firehouse Subs and ate them in the car. We made our a big grocery run at Cub Foods before driving the final hour and half to Cass Lake. We arrived at our final destination at 8:20 p.m. and said “hello” to Bill and Beth, Paul and Mellissa (and Ben and Elle, of course…who’ve really grown in the past year!).

We settled into our cabin, poured a glass of pinot noir, and had a toast “to the lake!”

It’s so good to be back.

Note: Today is Leah’s 23rd B-day! We celebrated on Thursday night in between packing. She is standing up in her friend Janessa’s wedding today and the girls will be driving up tomorrow. Below are pics of our party, as well as Migizi, now 5 years old. Looks like he wants to go visit his homeland!