Column: Cabin will always be a place to get away

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 14, 2001

Each summer our whole family goes up to a cabin in Wisconsin for one hectic week – hectic in terms of being crowded, watching and listening to little kids fight over a toy they didn’t care about until they saw it in another’s hand, and bonding with relatives who I don’t get to see that often.

Tuesday, August 14, 2001

Each summer our whole family goes up to a cabin in Wisconsin for one hectic week – hectic in terms of being crowded, watching and listening to little kids fight over a toy they didn’t care about until they saw it in another’s hand, and bonding with relatives who I don’t get to see that often. It’s great fun.

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My mom’s side of the family has had possession of our cabin now for around 100 years. It didn’t start off to be a cabin, though; it was where my great-grandfather lived since he was born. My grandpa’s sister was born in the old cabin, and now there are five generations of Hovey’s that vacation in it throughout the year. The cabin is located in northern Wisconsin, built directly on a beautiful bay of Long Lake. It has one of the greatest views of the 18-mile long walleye capital of Wisconsin.

Anyone planning on surviving the week with the family needs to plan on waking up early each morning, because of the sixteen other people staying in the house at the same time. My four little cousins, ages three to seven, like to rise from their small beds by the crack of dawn. I guess once you think about it, it’s not the worst thing to be awakened by little ones early in the morning, because then you have the entire day to do fun things like swimming, hiking or fishing. Swimming is my favorite thing to do while staying up at the cabin for the week.

We &uot;kids&uot; are usually in the lake, swimming and trying to drown each other by noon. It’s a perfectly clear lake. We don’t have the best looking dock in the bay, but it is fairly nice. Built in the shape of a backwards C, it is very convenient for relatives to sit on one end of the dock, while we kids fling ourselves into the lake time after time, without it ever seeming to get old.

Most afternoons, the elders of the family usually sit on the bank overlooking the bay and watch their grandchildren, making jokes and telling old stories that never seem to get old. When nighttime sets in, that means it’s time for supper and a long night of fun. We usually eat out at a resort, taking the boat and parking it at one of the docks. By the time we get done eating, the sun is almost down. Rushing home in the boat, my cousin and I hurry up to the cabin to get our swimsuits on so that we can go for an evening dip. I enjoy the evening dips. They’re not as energetic and wild as the afternoon ones. I only jump into the lake one time in the evening; after that I just float out, 30 feet from the dock, in total silence and just let my mind slip away. Sometimes my uncle and another cousin will be on the dock fishing for small mouth bass. By the time the sun is nothing but a small line on the horizon, the water is cold and I go back up to the house.

Weather permitting, we often have a bonfire in the front yard in our fire pit. The kids love it, and so do the adults because it is another chance for them to talk about their lives, tell jokes, and play games. The fire also gets the younger children tired and makes them want to go to sleep. I enjoy the peacefulness of going to the cabin. It’s just a way to separate yourself from the everyday stuff that takes place at home. You can sit on the bank in the swing/chair and watch and listen to the loons swimming out in the bay. You can watch other birds go under water and guess where they’ll end up next. But all in all, you can bond with the family that you rarely get to see. And the great thing about it is, you can do it all over again in the years to come. The cabin isn’t going anywhere; it will always be a place for all of us to get away to.

Mike Behrends is a rural Albert Lea resident. David Behling, usual author of &uot;Notes from Home,&uot; is on vacation.