Steph and Andrea Go to the Cabin

The time has come, my friends, for me to make my entrance into the world of the 2520 blog. Who am I, you may ask? Well, for starters, my name is Sarah, I am a nurse and I live in the basement.  I have lived down there very happily in my green room for almost 3 years! You may have seen me or met me at certain social events hosted by 2520, but only if my fellow housemates decide that it is acceptable for me to emerge from my basement hovel. You will have to talk to them about how they determine when it is appropriate for me to come out.

I must confess that it has taken me the entire 3 years to be OK with the idea of contributing to the 2520 blog. The event that pushed me over the edge happened a few weeks ago when I FINALLY convinced Steph and Andrea to join me on a journey up to my parent's cabin outside the Boundary Waters in northern MN. There were several reasons why this adventure took some "convincing", not the least of which is the fact that the cabin has no electricity.  Yes, that means no cell phone chargers.  So just like it took 3 years for me to blog, it also took 3 years for Steph and Andrea to take the leap outside of their comfort zone and learn how to portage a canoe and eat wild blueberries. Wait. I don't think they actually ate any blueberries. But I digress.

Our adventure began on a Friday afternoon, when every other person in the metro area had also decided to go up to their cabins. 6 + hours and 2 construction traffic jams driving a stick shift later, we finally made it to East Bearskin Lake. The next day, the weather cooperated and we went canoeing to the Rose Lake overlook, a very picturesque spot on the Canadian border. Our route involved portaging a canoe, which basically means you pick the thing up and carry it over your head on the trails that connect the various lakes.  A bit of a trick, I may add.

Here are a few short videos to illustrate, with Steph as narrator:




As you can see, it was a growing experience. Thankfully, we made it to the overlook without mishap, in part because it wasn't windy at all, but also because Steph and Andrea are good paddlers. I am being serious. I was impressed with their skills.

Here is a shot of the overlook:


After taking a swim in a nearby waterfall, we headed back to the cabin, grabbed a malt at a very colorful local bar, enjoyed a fish dinner, and played an intense game of Aggravation with my parents and cousins. We headed back home on Sunday morning, stopping in Grand Marais to complete the experience.

Doughnuts at World's Best:

Pizza at Sven and Ole's, with wild rice on it!:

Walking the shores of Lake Superior:

Whew!  A bit of a whirlwind, but lots of fun.  Steph and Andrea passed the wilderness test with flying colors.  And they even had fun doing it!  I think..................  

Piper Chairs

We would just like to take this opportunity to thank Abraham and Molly for the use of their folding chairs.

For the past 2 and a half years.

Because of these chairs, we were able to host a lot of parties. Because of these chairs, more people were able to sit down at these parties.

Can we get some thank you's from all of the people that have sat in these chairs while hanging out at our house please? (especially if you are in the pictures?)

Thanks again, Molly and Abraham. Thanks! Bye! Thank you! See ya! Bye! Thank you SO much! Bye!

If you squint hard, you might be able to see the very functional black folding chairs in these pictures.............

We are alive...

but locked out. Yes, it has been a long time since we've blogged. We are aware of that. Back to the locked out part. We came home tonight from a long night of shopping at MOA (where the shirts at GAP are really cheap) and found two cops questioning and shining flashlights at our neighbors across the street. We try to quickly get into the house and find that our screen door is locked from the inside. Perfect. And we don't have a garage door opener to get in through the back. We are locked out. Sarah's up in White Bear Lake and Lacy is at work until 11:30 pm. What do we do? Call your old roommate. So here we are, sitting at the Burns' residence...updating the blog. Boom. We are back in action.