Away

Two weeks ago, Steve & I went away. It was heaven.

We originally were going to drive to Minneapolis on Sunday to drop off our kids with my parents...but since the big storm was coming we all decided that traveling on Saturday was a better option. So we packed up & drove down on Saturday. We met my sister & her family & did the swap-a-roo with the kids. I tried really hard not to cry after leaving them, but it didn't work. I'd never been away from August before & all the usual irrational Mama-feelings started coming out: "what if he doesn't remember me when we get back?" "What if he's mad at me & won't come to me?" "What if something happens to him?" Dahlia? She can hold her own, I know this, but my little baby August? You get the idea....Luckily I started to feel better as we pulled into IKEA. Because what makes me feel better than child-free browsing at IKEA?

Again, our original plan was to go up to Bluefin Bay in Tofte on the beautiful shores of Lake Superior on Monday, stay 2 nights, relax, do some skiing, do some reading, eat uninterrupted & drink wine. I had booked a nice suite & was so ready for it. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to go up Sunday night & stay for 4 nights! Why not? The resort had a special - stay 4 nights, pay for 3; plus we could still keep our "Romance Package" on ($150 of dinner, breakfasts & champagne for $90) & I called & switched our "Suite" into a one bedroom condo for the same price! It was a rush (for us) to pack but we did & hit the road.

It was fantastic. On Sunday night & Monday the lake was soooooo stormy. Huge waves - 10ft? 15ft? 20ft? I dont' know - HUGE were cresting & crashing all night & day. The wind was fierce, but it didn't matter because our living room looked right out on that majesty. I spent many many hours just watching it roll.

On Monday Steve ventured out in the nastiness to ski, I curled up in my chair with the waves & a book. I cooked dinner (crock pot - whohooo!) in the condo on Monday - it was so relaxing. We cracked our complimentary champagne & thoroughly enjoyed it! Tuesday more lounging, napping & some skiing. Happy hour at our condo followed by a fabulous dinner (I had the walleye - delish) at the Bluefin Grille; Wednesday? More napping & reading! Steve skied again but I was feeling luxuriously lazy. Another happy hour at the condo followed by a frozen Sammy's pizza that we brought with us & live music at the Bar.

Thursday we had to get up & get packed quickly as we had to drive back to Duluth, unload our stuff, drive to the Cities to pick up the kids & then BACK to Duluth. Yeah, that day sucked, but our days away were well worth it. Although Dahlia throwing a ridiculous nonsensical tantrum from Hinckley all the way to Duluth wasn't such a great thing.


I loved this resort. I would recommend to anyone - any time of year! They have x-country skis & snowshoes to borrow if you don't have your own; they are minutes away from a beautiful network of x-country ski trails (The Sugarbush Ski Trail System); minutes from Carleton Peak, Oberg Mountain; Lutsen Ski Hills, et al. is a few miles up the road; they have an indoor pool/hot tub & an outdoor pool/hot tub (yes! open all year) which looks out on the lake. There's a great restaurant for dinner with full bar + a little cafe for breakfast & lunch. There's a skating rink, bonfires & sleds to borrow too. Our condo was perfectly situated so we couldn't see any others, which we loved. I would stay there again in a heartbeat, in fact I want to...next year. The staff was incredibly friendly & helpful & everything felt very calm, private & secluded while all the while feeling very much like we were in a 'village.'


Ah, my heart belongs to the North Shore!

My heart also belongs to my kiddos. I was one happy Mama to see those two smiling faces on Thursday afternoon. Even when they were driving us nuts on the drive home, I was happy that we were all together again as a family. (THANK YOU SO MUCH, MOM & DAD FOR WATCHING THE KIDS!!!!!!!)