Carol's Cabin, Part???

Last week, we had our annual "girls only" outing at Carol's cabin on Lake Zumbro, just north of Rochester. This has been a tradition for years - we're all current or retired CF teachers, and it's a great way to unwind after all the craziness of the last week of school, although I'm the only one still teaching. I guess the rest were unwinding in my honor (or sympathizing?). Four of us went down in the pouring rain on Wednesday afternoon, so there were no outdoor activities that day. We chatted (a lot) and read our June book club selection, Life of Pi. It was actually kind of funny since we were all reading the same book, but we were in different spots so we couldn't talk much about it. Jo was the farthest along, and when I was frustrated with all the philosopical discussions at the beginning, she said, "Just keep reading - it gets better and better!" She was right, and by Friday I couldn't put it down until I was done.

Thursday was a gorgeous day, with lots of sunshine and comfortable temps. After a morning of reading, more chatting, kayaking, and walking, Mickey and Linda joined us in the afternoon. Dinner is always outside, and always wonderful!

We also found some time for a pontoon boat ride. Carol has become a pro at maneuvering the boat around the lake, and it was even easier this year because we didn't have to worry about shallow water. She did have to watch out for lots of floating debris since the Zumbro River flows through the lake and we've had lots of heavy rains recently.

We went out later in the afternoon so we didn't have to worry about sunburn, either.

It was nice and sunny again on Friday morning, but starting to get a bit humid. Jo and I headed out in the kayaks for a tour of the back waters that Carol and I had discovered the day before. We saw lots of fish jumping, a turtle sunning itself on a log, and some interesting vegetation as we paddled through a swampy area not too far from the cabin. We felt like quite the explorers! Thanks, Carol, for another fun getaway! We'll be back next June!