As the summer calendar turned to August, we spent a glorious weekend on Lake Minnewaska in Northern Minnesota.
By John Roberts
Summer has a way of slipping away, first teasing us with the warm embrace of a lazy pace in mid-July before gaining speed once the calendar flips to August.
It was a good thing we had a long weekend trip planned to fully sink our minds, bodies and souls into summer for one last bash. Colleen has had the fortune of forging a bonding and lasting (obviously) friendship with an amazing group of college friends. The Girls plan an annual (or occasional) get-together to reunite and rehash old stories and undertake new experiences that spawn tales to be laughed about until the next time.
This year, we gathered at a cabin on Lake Minnewaska in Northern Minnesota. Colleen's friend Carrie and her hubby, Steve, were the gracious hosts for "Girls Trip 2015" (previous versions have seen the ladies reunite in Lake Tahoe, Chicago, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Wisconsin Dells, among others).
Well, as life goes on in the post-college world, girls become women, and women get married. This means, there are guys involved, too. Sometimes, we're invited (dragged?) along for the trip.
Let's just say: When you marry a woman, you marry her friends, too. This could end up going any number of ways. Good. Awful. Indifferent.
Once again, I lucked out with Mrs. In The Loop. I have always had a fantastic time with the whole group of girls and their husbands. Each and every one in the group owns an engaging personality and is simply fun to be around.
Summer has a way of slipping away, first teasing us with the warm embrace of a lazy pace in mid-July before gaining speed once the calendar flips to August.
It was a good thing we had a long weekend trip planned to fully sink our minds, bodies and souls into summer for one last bash. Colleen has had the fortune of forging a bonding and lasting (obviously) friendship with an amazing group of college friends. The Girls plan an annual (or occasional) get-together to reunite and rehash old stories and undertake new experiences that spawn tales to be laughed about until the next time.
This year, we gathered at a cabin on Lake Minnewaska in Northern Minnesota. Colleen's friend Carrie and her hubby, Steve, were the gracious hosts for "Girls Trip 2015" (previous versions have seen the ladies reunite in Lake Tahoe, Chicago, the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and the Wisconsin Dells, among others).
Well, as life goes on in the post-college world, girls become women, and women get married. This means, there are guys involved, too. Sometimes, we're invited (dragged?) along for the trip.
Let's just say: When you marry a woman, you marry her friends, too. This could end up going any number of ways. Good. Awful. Indifferent.
Once again, I lucked out with Mrs. In The Loop. I have always had a fantastic time with the whole group of girls and their husbands. Each and every one in the group owns an engaging personality and is simply fun to be around.
This is what happiness looks like after three days of summer partying at the lake.
Twelve of us joined up at Lake Minnewaska and proceeded to have the most amazing time cutting loose and relaxing in the sun and splashing around in the clear waters. Six couples, all with different personalities, blended to create a weekend full of "never a dull moment" stories to add to the list of memories for six girlfriends who have been together for two decades.
We all filled the hours with beers, bags, brats and boisterous conversation.
We all filled the hours with beers, bags, brats and boisterous conversation.
The girls: Greta, Ericka, Lori, Colleen, Areina and Carrie.
The new cornhole boards saw plenty of use. I love a game you can play while downing cold beers.
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Lake life is where it's at, and Lake Minnewaska -- which I had never heard of until this weekend -- is about as gorgeous as can be. The Midwest has got it made when it comes to lakes. We also have spent several summer weeks in Northern Wisconsin on unbelievably beautiful lakes.
Waking up and hanging by a lake all day long is about as summer as baseball and barbecuing. Like I always say: "I do love a reason to drink beer early in the morning."
Lake Minnewaska is Minnesota's 13th largest lake. Located in Pope County, Minnesota, between the towns of Starbuck and Glenwood. A combination of year-round homes (some are extravagant mansions) and seasonal cabins surrounds the entirety of the lake, which is relatively shallow for its size, reaching a maximum depth of about 32 feet across its nearly 8,000-acre basin. The clear waters are ideal for swimming and temps were about 75 degrees during our visit. The waters suffer from infestations of zebra mussels, though. Fishermen come to cast for walleye as well as bass and sunfish varieties.
Waking up and hanging by a lake all day long is about as summer as baseball and barbecuing. Like I always say: "I do love a reason to drink beer early in the morning."
Lake Minnewaska is Minnesota's 13th largest lake. Located in Pope County, Minnesota, between the towns of Starbuck and Glenwood. A combination of year-round homes (some are extravagant mansions) and seasonal cabins surrounds the entirety of the lake, which is relatively shallow for its size, reaching a maximum depth of about 32 feet across its nearly 8,000-acre basin. The clear waters are ideal for swimming and temps were about 75 degrees during our visit. The waters suffer from infestations of zebra mussels, though. Fishermen come to cast for walleye as well as bass and sunfish varieties.
Carrie paddles out to take a spin around the gorgeous lake.
Our group mainly stuck to the watersports (jetskiing, tubing, kayaking, swimming) and landsports (beanbag toss, chairsitting, drinking, eating, card playing) during the long weekend.
We hit the water often, boating, tubing and more.
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Now, we're relaxed, refreshed and already preparing for the next Girls Trip. Well, the ladies -- still buzzing on a high from their reunion -- have already had early discussions about what they want to do in 2016. The guys will have to wait to see whether we are forced to come along simply to make them happy. Oh, the suffering they put us through!
Pass me another beer.
Thanks for reading,
JR
Pass me another beer.
Thanks for reading,
JR
See! They included me, too. What a blast. Thanks ladies.
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