A Joyful Reunion at Lake Superior!

We left our forest camp site on Laurel Lake, for the 140-mile trip to our next destination. We were driving from the woods to get our first view of our second great lake of this five-great-lake trip. We pulled into Ashland, Wisconsin, and ate our picnic lunch on a bench overlooking Lake Superior.

Our arrival was a little early, so we found a parking place for the pickup and trailer and visited the Brownstone Festival in downtown Washburn, Wisconsin. They were giving free trolley tours through the historic district of Washburn, pointing out the old buildings that were built from the local brownstone that the festival celebrates. This church was one of our stops.

Another example of brownstone architecture was the County Court house. Mined in quarries close to Lake Superior, this tough stone was shipped to major cities like Chicago and New York. Many of the brownstone buildings there are still standing as well.

While this is a fine festival, the real reason for our arrival to Washburn and Lake Superior was to meet up with our special guests. About a week ago, we ate at a Chinese restaurant. The fortune inside the fortune cookie stated:

Well, that joyful reunion was today. We first met up with our youngest son and his wife. Blake and Jamie had flown in from Tulsa to spend some family time with us.

Then our oldest son and daughter-in-law drove in from Kansas City with their two children. Luke, Jordan, and our grandchildren, Carter and Eli, arrived this afternoon.

We traded out our RV trailer for a cabin in the woods, that the eight of us shared for some family adventures on the biggest fresh water lake in the world! Our first stop was a little apple cider distillery. This was apple orchard country, but we were a little early for the fresh fruit. But we were just in time for a flight of the hard apple ciders they produce here.

After a long day of driving, they were glad for a relaxing evening.

We explored this quirky little distillery, known for its large collection of caps.

You can barely see our group in the middle of the barn where all the caps were displayed.

You shouldn't visit Lake Superior without eating some of the local fish. One of the most famous cafes on Lake Superior is "Hoops." It's served outside with an efficient ordering system that would make Chick-fil-A proud. After eating our fish and chips meals, we stayed for a little dancing to the live music, with views of the lake.

We took a walk down to the waterfront, where the children first dipped their toes into the chilly water of Lake Superior. The July water temperatures are in the 50's in the middle of the lake. But it was warmer in the shallow water near the shore.

Bayfield was a lovely town, and we did a little walking and shopping before the weary travelers headed back to the cabin for games and bed time. It's great to have a joyful reunion in the middle of a summer vacation!