MN Diva--HELP me! Please!

[Basketlady]

Sweet Mother Mary.

DH's sister just called and has a WONDERFUL idea for a gift for their parents. What if this summer we all went to a resort for a week when we are in MN? And since you guys (my side of the family) go to that resort every summer in Voyageur's National Park, why don't we all go there? All 687 of us?

I am FREAKING out and Crafty Girl is on a plane, so you guys gotta help me on this one. It's true, every summer my parents, my brother and his wife and my family go to this resort on the Canadian border. The kids love it, DH loves it, my parents love it, my brother loves it, and it's the best week of Big Dog's life for the year. I hate it. I spend my entire time there trying to coordinate schedules, meals, activities, etc, all while I'm trying to layer bug screen with Benedryl for the insect bites. I'm a city girl. I do it for my family, but it's a long week for me. And now we are going to add 3 other families into this chaos?

So I need another resort. And another plan to rob a bank. But back to the resort... I know there are a few Diva's from MN here. Any ideas? We really haven't explored the Duluth area with the kids, so that would be a good starting place. DH and I used to go up there when we were in college, but both resorts closed down. And I haven't been there in years. The Bemidji area is another option, too.

I'd prefer a big cabin vs. rooms. DH and I honeymooned at Bluefin Bay, which was really nice. But I think we the family would prefer the cabin. I'll look online, but I'd love a recommendation if you have one.

Thank you!

[AnnaMatrix]

Michelle, I'm not from MN, so have no suggestions about other resorts, but I do have some general thoughts:

Don't let yourself get roped into doing all (or maybe any!) of the planning, hon!! You may do that for your own family's trips as a labor of love, but this is one is NOT your responsibility!!

Here's what I'd do (and feel free to ignore me - it won't hurt my feelings one bit! : Tell your sister-in-law: "Sounds like a great idea! Parents in law will love it!! Suggest a more "civilized location", and then advise when you will be available for the trip. Then say, "We'll be looking forward to hearing what you arrange."

Let yourself off the hook, sweetie. They're not YOUR parents. If SIL is in MN, she's in a better position to find other resorts, and it was her idea, not yours (though I suspect this call included the assumption that you might just take over and spare everyone else the trouble!)

Hit the ball right back into her court, Michelle!! Then you might actually have fun at the family reunion!! Gail

[Basketlady]

Gail, normally this is something SIL would do. She's a take charge kind of person, but they are going through a huge family crisis right now and there just isn't a plan in place. And she knows that some summers we don't have a lot of time in MN, so that's probably why she thought combining the two families would work.

I need to think about this some more. I have a feeling this is going to be something we solve with money. Ugh.

[AnnaMatrix]

Well, that certainly changes things... Since she's so stressed, why not postpone the big get-together until things settle down??

Or go to a resort where they plan everything for you, so neither of you has to get stuck with all the prep?? Maybe a place with a spa so you ladies can have the kind of R&R you deserve??

Or send the parents-in-law on a cruise??

Hope it works out for you, sweetie!! Merry Christmas! Gail

[scrappykaren]

Hi Michelle,

Maybe you could go to Itasca State Park. That's where the headwaters of the Mississippi River starts. They have a lodge at the park called Douglas Lodge. Lots of biking trails to the headwaters. I love it there. We try to go every few years. We camp though.

How about some where on the North Shore of Lake Superior. You could start in Duluth and then head north. There's Split Rock Light House, Silver Bay, Grand Marais. There are all sorts of Resorts along Lake Superior. Just some ideas.

Karen

[scrappykaren]

Michelle,

Here is a link for a few resorts along the North Shore. Hwy 61 is beautiful. Maybe you could find something there.

www.northshorevisitor.com/lodging/scenic-61.html

Karen

[Basketlady]

Karen, those are great ideas. We did do Itasca a few years ago and the kids still talk about walking across the Mississippi. I like that site with the small resorts. We used to go to a place called Wonderland, just north of Duluth. I think it was all of $25 a night and you definitely got what you paid for. But we were poor college students and we thought that we were so grown up going off on our own!

Gail, I love your idea. But I'm not sure we can afford that, esp if we are paying for others. Bluefin Bay, where we honeymooned, was like that. Gorgeous and a really nice place. The parents wouldn't do a cruise anymore. It's just too much for them. I've planned a few other get-togethers before and simple works the best. I'll talk with Nancy on Monday when we celebrate and get a plan in the works. Something will work out. But not at our regular resort!

[Basketlady]

I thought I would give an update...

I did research our resort that we go to every year. I wasn't sure of prices because we stay with our family, but it's waaaaaay out of SIL's price range. Whew! I knew it would be pricey and I priced it at just over $3,500 for the weekend for lodging and a boat, not including food or gas. Since my inlaws are on a retirement income and my BIL's widow is on welfare, I knew the costs would be split between SIL and us. And I didn't want to spend that much money on something that I would hate!

I was also pretty honest about mixing the two families and how much stress that would put on me. Luckily, SIL was really nice about it and said she would look into some other places. I don't think she was offended, which I didn't want. But I think she was just hoping that our resort would work out and that would be the easy part.


So thanks everyone for the suggestions. The kids don't see much of DH's parents and it's a nice idea. It's just going to need to happen in a different way.

[scrappykaren]

Hi Michelle,

Maybe Lake Mille Lacs would work out for you. There is a lot of places around that part of the state. Or even the Brainerd Lakes area. Plus Brainerd is not to far from Mille Lacs.

Just a few more ideas. Hopefully your summer vacation back here in MN with work out for you.

Karen

[AnnaMatrix]

Glad to hear things are working out so far, Michelle! Gail

[Basketlady]

Karen, SIL thought that her boss had a place up by Brainerd, so that may be an option. I just think that she didn't realize how much a large cabin at one of the resorts costs. I can't be hauling linens from VA, so we need an all inclusive resort. I'm willing to cook, as we would need to pay for everyone to eat out. We take my family (parents and brother/wife) out to dinner to thank them for letting us stay and that's always over $100. Can you image what the whole crowd would cost?

Our place up in Voyageur's National Park is so remote, everything has to be trucked in. It's 40 miles from International Falls, the nearest large town. So that ups the price. It's a great idea if several families are pitching in, but horribly expensive if they are not.

But the remote-ness is what makes it fun. There are tons of islands up there and the kids love going out to the islands and swimming, with the entire island all to themselves. They climb on the rocks, catch crayfish, collect rocks, fish off the point... There's tons to do up there for them.

Thanks again for all the suggestions!