*****Forewarning: I took 187 photos and 5 videos in 3 days. This is going to be a long post!
Got home late last night after a fabulous weekend retreat with my best friends. We rented a cottage on Madeline Island, which is the biggest of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior (Northern Wisconsin). Lanee is a veteran of the island (she used to nanny at the resort we stayed at) and thought it would be great to have us girls go up there in lieu of a bachelorette party for her upcoming wedding. Great idea!!
We got on the road Friday later than planned, but made it to Duluth by mid-afternoon. The drive wasn't much fun because of all the rain and wind (but we never let it rain on our parade!). We stopped at Little Angie's Cantina in Canal Park for a late lunch and Margaritas before crossing over into Wisconsin for the second leg of our journey.
More rain through Wisconsin.....the lake was really choppy by the time we got to the Madeline Island Ferry in Bayfield, WI. Huge waves. Needless to say, my first-ever ferry ride (with a car) wasn't smooth-sailing. Our car was parked so that we were faced backwards when the boat was moving. It was a really rocky ride and oh man, do I get sea sick. And I totally forgot my meclezine for motion sickness. I stood outside the car in the freezing, whip-you-in-the-face, wet wind so that I wouldn't get sick! Being the photojournalist that I am (ha!), I got this pic of Kim and Mary with another Ferry in the background.
About 30 minutes later we made it to Madeline Island. Did I mention that we accidentally butted in line and snuck our way onto the Ferry? Lanee, Sony and Olga had to take the next one! We had a little time to kill before their boat came over.
Our cottage (Mariner's Rest) was just a short distance from the Marina. It is part of a resort called The Inn. Such a cute place, even better than I expected! 3 bedrooms and three full baths!
and a fireplace that Sonja did such a great job of keeping warm and toasty all weekend long.
We had pizza for dinner and then went to have a drink at the only bar on the Island that was still open. Got the only picture of all six of us that night. Played a quick game of darts with Kim and played pretty awesome considering I've played only 2-3 times in the past 5 years!
Spent the rest of that evening back at the cottage having heart to heart discussions. Played some poker.
Woke up to more dreary weather. Made a huge breakfast. Went on a wet, muddy drive around the island. Boo Rain!
Watched some movies and played Cranium, made a huge spaghetti dinner. Had a great time together despite the crappy weather. We played charades later that night....that was one of the highlights of the trip! My girls crack me up!! I totally wish we had taken a real video camera with us to capture it all. We had a total blast playing Cranium too!
Sunday was the best day of all because "the sun came out and dried up all the rain". Woo hoo! Our first stop was the Indian Cemetary. Members of the local Ojibwe Nation still keep watch over the graves of their ancestors and bring offerings. Its pretty cool and I got pictures, but I know these things are often sacred and I'd hate to be insensitive by posting them here.
Click here to learn more about the Ojibwe people.
We went to Big Bay State Park and went on a scenic photo hike. So, so pretty!
We also visited a beach and made our mark
It was a great weekend with my girls.....I hope we can start doing this together every year!
looks like you guys had do much fun, wow, wish I was there, lol
take care
Posted by: toya | September 26, 2006 at 06:57 AM
It sounds like a seriously awesome trip! love all the photos!!!
Posted by: Gretchen | September 26, 2006 at 08:12 AM
Love the post.. It was a great time and I am glad that we got to spend time together.. It's been way too long.. Can you send me all the photo's?
Posted by: Kim | September 26, 2006 at 08:19 AM
Looks like you had a great trip Kristi!! That place looks BEAUTIFUL, might have to check that out some time!!! I would not have faired the ferry trip well either...I get motion sickness just from riding in the back seat of a car...I can't imagine how it was Friday for you...I got queasy just reading that. lol
Posted by: Julie | September 26, 2006 at 08:43 AM
Glad you had such a good time girl!
Posted by: Adrienne | September 26, 2006 at 08:56 AM
Beautiful pictures! Looks like a great spot for a weekend trip (especially with the gals)!
Posted by: spazzgirl | September 26, 2006 at 09:31 AM
Kristi, that looks like it was an amazing time! Great pictures...so fun!
Posted by: sarah | September 26, 2006 at 10:34 AM
Wow sooo pretty! Looks like you had soooo much fun!
Posted by: Briana | September 26, 2006 at 05:10 PM
Looks like a good time Kristi!! I love all the pics!! Can't wait to see you scrap them!!
Posted by: Valerie | September 27, 2006 at 09:48 AM
Wow-it looks like you had a great time. What a fun trip and you got lots of beautiful pictures. I wish I had a close group of girlfriends to go on weekend trips with. Fun!
Posted by: Krystyn | September 27, 2006 at 10:51 PM