The Origins of Our Resort Business

I've been meaning to write this post for a LONG time but could not find the right pictures to go with it. It's a visual image of the seeds of the resort business that we ultimately ended up pursuing and enjoying so much. I suppose before you get too deep into this story, you should read my "Tombstones and Pine Cabins" story.

These pictures were taken decades ago and were the inspiration for the Tombstone story. It was cabins just like these that we vacationed at each year along with family friends. We traveled north to Minnesota and south to Missouri. ALL exotic destinations in the eyes of a bunch of kids ranging from 6 to 10 years old.

The memories made during these summer fishing trip get-away's have now stuck with me for 50 years. As kids, we seldom fished much. Our entertainment was playing in the sand, playing in the water, chasing garter snakes and getting sunburned. Of course we would also partake in the picture taking with the fish caught by the adults. In the "Tombstone" story, I relate how the memories of these trips were triggered by the smell of a Tombstone Pizza cooking in our oven years later when our own kids were about the size we were in these pictures. As we rekindled the tradition of visiting the lakes for our family summer vacation, my memories had the opportunity to be "re-lived" in watching my kids play in the sand and the water and get their own sunburns.

I don't remember my kids chasing snakes but I do remember them following a set of bear tracks from the sand behind one of our cabins, to the picnic table top and then towards the woods. I'm afraid I had to draw the line for them when it came to tracking down black bears. A few years later when they became adults, we trekked a camper caravan up to the Boundary Waters of N. Minnesota where they experienced another bear encounter that started with a bear invading one of their coolers and ended with him finishing off the left-overs of a birthday cake down on a picnic table by the lake.

Does this add up to Memories?   You bet it does!

I can't think of a better way to create memories that are shared for years around campfires and picnic tables than those created at a cabin by a lake. Even today, those 4 kids in the picture (5 all together. I'm not sure where the other one went) cross paths occasionally. Guess what stories come up? That's right.....sand, water, chasing garter snakes, sunburns and tombstone pizzas!

Of course there are other stories too that are retold and recounted around the campfire of a treehouse resort or a trout lake. Some of the players are now gone and have become gentle memories themselves, others are still alive and well and STILL...... get a twinkle in the eye and a grin on the face when the old resort stories start up!

With all of that rich history and nostalgia, who could resist climbing into the saddle (or boat seat) of the resort business? My GREATEST source of satisfaction is watching families create memories in a setting that I had something to do with creating.

Here's to My parents Ray and Mary, my sister Robin, Our family's dear friends Ray and Eve, their kids Tammy, Todd and Tanya. for being a part of the experience YEARS ago. And Here's to our own kids Mandy, Adreane, Caleb and their spouses for continuing the memories into the next generation!

See You at the Lake!