by Jane Comeau
Summer isn’t summer without a trip to Minnesota’s second largest lake, Lake Mille Lacs. In fact, for more than 25 years I have skipped summer’s last stone into this lake’s massiveness and bid the loons my annual summer farewell.
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| Lake Mille Lacs at sunset. Photo by Jane Comeau. |
It’s tradition. It’s a family tradition.
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| Hiking in Father Hennepin State Park. Photo by Jane Comeau. |
Invited by our extended family members who own a cabin along Lake Mille Lacs, my parents and siblings headed out the Friday night of Labor Day weekend to take in a weekend of lake-watching, card playing and extreme, high-stakes badminton and H.O.R.S.E tournaments—often with $1 on the line.
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| A family member plays a heated game of H.O.R.S.E. Photo by Jane Comeau. |
As the years went on we explored the area’s offerings—including day trips to nearby Garrison to pose by the big fish, feeding frenzies of Macho Nachos at Zorbaz restaurant and an occasional “luck of the Irish” test at the nearby casino.
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| A day trip to Garrison, Minn. includes a requisite photo by the big fish. Photo by Jane Comeau. |
And even though we may explore something new every year, being with family is always paramount. This is our weekend to be together. To catch up. To reclaim the title as Euchre-player extraordinaire. To finally make that stump shot in the H.O.R.S.E. tournament. To gather around the counter and enjoy the fresh walleye (or gather around the counter over burgers talking about the one that got away). To enjoy new traditions, like karaoke and trying our luck at the nearby meat raffle. And, it’s our time to celebrate those who are no longer with us.
We also celebrate those who have joined us.
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| Skipping summer’s last stone on Lake Mille Lacs. Photo by Jane Comeau. |
I watch as my children now skip summer’s last stone into that lake’s massiveness and wonder: how will they celebrate their first successful stump shot?
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Guest blogger Jane Comeau mentally visits some of her favorite destinations several times a day. Most often she finds herself on a hammock in Cozumel, agate hunting along Lake Superior or searching for the perfect stone from Italy’s Umbrian Valley to bring home to her dear friend, the Rollerbag Goddess.
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Rollerbag Goddess Rolls the World by Charish Badzinski is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at rollerbaggoddess.blogspot.com.
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