We don't own the cabin on Park Lake near Mahtowa, Minn. But we've rented it a week every year for about 12 consecutive years. "Cabin Week," we call it.
We live 200 miles from Park Lake, but that's only a short distance from my hometown of Wrenshall.
We rent both sides of the rustic cabin so our children and grandchildren can join us. It's where the grandkids catch fish off the dock, and where one of our daughters caught her biggest largemouth bass from the rowboat that comes with the cabin. It is where friends and family stop in the evening to gather around the campfire to roast marshmallows, talk and laugh.
It is a place and time to relax. We cook our food ahead of time and just warm it up as needed. Some get up early to golf at nearby golf courses; others sleep in. We spend time sitting on the deck overlooking the lake. Some spend a day in Duluth. We tour Wrenshall and also visit the cemetery with the family plot.
We pick the weekend of the county fair. The family enjoys the farm exhibits, rides and food. Some of us play in a charity golf tournament scheduled the following weekend.
The week is mainly one for relaxing. There have been so many memories made of just simple things: lawn games, going to a country general store and playing board games late in the evening. Every family member has their own favorite memories.
We may rent this cabin, but for a time each year, it's our cabin.
Laurie Gault, Alexandria, Minn.
