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Roughly the proper distance from the cities for a cabin, rather than a lake house. Square footage (meterage? meters) notwithstanding, anything within an hour of the cities I am much more tempted to term a lake house
When you grow up in Minnesota, the so called land of 10,000 lakes (though there are actually more), you invariably know at least a few people who have second homes around various lakes or perhaps actually grew up on a lake. It is when you start going to these houses, and there are hot tubs, pool tables, stocked bars, that I begin to draw that aforementioned line between cabin and lake house.
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The original, now lower cabin, as my father had built it. (Outhouse not pictured)
For reasons I assume as being vaguely financial, my father struck out on his own and despite enjoying a certain amount of success in the ad game throughout the nineties, he wound up selling the lot and lower cabin to his brother, who has since cared for the land and built himself a nice little niche in the North-ish woods of Minnesota. Having retired a few years ago, he now enjoys the peace, quiet, and loon calls that frequent the lake that the cabin and now lake house sit on.
My uncle sought to make some marked improvements to the bit of land he purchase from my father, and the current state of the lower cabin will reflect that.
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The cabin as it stands this weekend, girlfriend and puppy pictured
Now to be fair, not much on the interior of this cabin has changed since I was a child. The interior is home to the very same appliances (ceiling fan included), and cast iron stove that my father put in thirty years ago.
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The sleeping area, then literally if you turn about, you get the little table, and to the left there is a small counter. Previously, my father had not finished the walls and was at war with a local porcupine who decided the wood used to construct this little shack was damn delicious. I also cracked my head open on that fucking cast iron stove growing up.
Up the hill now my uncle, for his retirement, has built a nice little, 1000ish sq. ft. lake home where we spent most of our weekend. Sitting around shooting the bull, and musing about various familial events and history. His wife is very interested in the Smith genealogy, which yields oft repeated anecdotal stories about our family's history. The interesting bit about this half of my family, is that unlike my mother's side, this side seldom seeks out undue interaction with other members of the family.
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The upper cabin with proper plumbing, bedroom, and now even satellite TV. When I was growing up, I remember my aunt trying to get TV on bunny ears in the living room. Garage is off to the left there, as of yet unpainted.
I really enjoyed this bit of familial interaction though. For a bit of reference, I am 25, my father is 67 and currently the oldest of 8, formerly 9 as his elder brother passed of cancer a decade and some change ago. Though my father has written and in fact published some of his own memoirs, it is always fantastic to get a first hand account of some of your own parents' deeds as they grew up.
Though my favorite story of the weekend, was one of my uncle who was working in Chicago with a guy who was not discreetly connected with Italian, organized crime in the greater Chicago-land area. While working at an Ad Agency in the city, this individual asked if he would be interested in a shot gun.
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The, very central, Chicago building near which this event transpired
Humoring this individual, my uncle followed the individual to his car, as he was also an employee of the ad agency in question. and admired the shot gun. Though prior to declining the generous offer, the individual of Italian decent popped two shells into the shot gun, and fires them off in a parking ramp in down town Chicago as a demonstration. Why the hell not? My uncle excused himself, and went back to work.
The best part of the weekend was definitely getting to know a bit more about my uncle. My father's side of the family is comparatively subdued, but is also comparatively removed from current goings ons. You may have been a bit shocked at the age difference between me and my father, as he got a late start on the kids front. The interesting bit of this from my perspective is mainly the connection to events that those of my age are seldom exposed to directly. My father was in Vietnam, as was his older, now deceased older brother (cancer, not Vietnam). In a similar vein I learned more about my uncle having spent multiple years in Europe, living out of a VW van with a friend, skiing and driving around Europe, only to come back to the states and start a lengthy career in advertising.
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The road leading up to the house.
The general reticence of my father's side of the family has left some rather large gaps in exposure to many of my aunts and uncles on that half of the family. The same gap in age, has also contributed to my own ignorance of cousins, marriages, and generally familial drama that preceded me by at least 15 years. A lot of this just never came up in general conversation with this side of the family due to very cordial/formal nature of discussion in this half of my family.
Those who've been around my blog before will know that my family history is relatively extensive, especially as far as the majority of Americans are concerned, but the more immediate decades are still relatively untouchable. Despite the surname Smith, we've managed to trace a good bit of our lineage back through Europe, but the living memory portion of things falls off sharply.
I had a great weekend, reconnecting bits of my childhood with my uncle, and shooting the bull otherwise. I even learned that I was the source of the nickname my family had given the cabin, "Howie," which I had thought the brainchild of my father previously. It was a curious bit of yesteryear that I experienced this weekend, nearly ten years since I last visited. I hope that my uncle''ll will have me back soon, and that I'll have the chance to put that wood fire stove to use in the winter, huddling up with my dog and enjoying that little, lower cabin.
All in all, I can't complain about my weekend. Thanks for the read TL.
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bonus image of the lake front and GF/uncle/the pups whiskey in the boat our first night there.
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