Oh my gosh, spent the most amazing weekend with the most amazing people in the most amazing place on the north shore!
Mary invited Sandra and I to her in laws cabin. It was her step father in law's grandmothers cabin (can you track that?) and has been in the family for 100 years.
My biggest gripe about the north shore (which I LOVE) is that you have to get on highway 61 to go anywhere! And, much of the time, all the good hiking trails are on the "other" side of the highway from the lake. So, great views, but you can't hear the crashing of the wave.
Not so at EFA. It's 150 acres right on the lake, owned by the same 50 families for 100 years. You have to register as a guest and promise not to post any identifying photos/hash tags. They have worked hard to keep it a secret and so far, its been effective.
The wealthiest Minnesoteans founded the EFA a hundred years ago and have very strict rules around preserving the environment, etc. Surprisingly, most of the cars there are honda's and toyotas and the people we ran into were very down to earth.
However, it does feel a bit elitist to even have the privilege to do this. Its a weird vibe.
We had a great time. Sandra brought yummy food and Mary provided a cozy, rustic cabin. I bought the ladies dinner one night. We hiked twice a day, read books by the lake, had a picnic lunch, saw an eagle, heard loons, laughed, cried, shared stories about kids, talked about the future,....you know, all the typical long time good friend stuff. My heart and soul were happy.
I hope we were good guests and are invited back. I am so grateful and told Mary about 1,000 times how surreal and beautiful it was.
And, in 2 weeks, we get to go back up to Silver Bay and stay with Larrie and Allison for another soul filled north shore weekend.
I am blessed.
T
