Sometimes you just need to get away and when you can do it with family, it makes the outing even better. My husband and I, our two children and their families did a family get away last weekend. We had six adults and seven children in one very large cottage. It was awesome.
What started the plan for this adventure was my husband turning 70 years old in November. He is not one for a big party or gathering but would rather just do something with the kids and grandkids. Our daughter started to research locations where we could go together and landed on Grandview Lodge by Brainerd.
Before booking we had the difficult task of finding a weekend when everyone could come. With all our schedules it was not easy. The grandkids are busy in sports and dance and parents have weekend events too. We finally landed on one weekend only to have to change it a few weeks later.
While waiting for the weekend to come, I looked at the lodge website and our daughter pointed out the 4 bedroom ‘cottage’ we were renting. It was much more than a cottage. Each bedroom (2 up and 2 down) had its own bathroom and there was a large kitchen and seating area upstairs. Downstairs was another seating area but also a pool table, shuffleboard table and numerous games. One of the four bedrooms had three sets of bunk beds which was perfect for the little girls. They loved being able to sleep together in the same room.
We easily could have spent the three nights occupying our time in the cottage, but there were also several things we could do outside. There was a lighted ice skating rink, two swimming pools with water slides, an outdoor hot tub, and a sliding hill. You could also rent snowshoes or skis if desired. On Saturday morning there were horse drawn sleigh rides with a sled large enough for all of us to go together. Down near the lake, there were igloos which we rented twice and enjoyed two hours inside.
We balanced our time between the indoor and outdoor activities and enjoyed every minute. Grandpa and I even got a chance to rest while everyone else went to the pool or hot tub. There were a fair amount of people there but not as many as would be in the summer.
It was hard to say goodbye when our weekend ended but I now cherish the pictures and memories. I would love to do this again sometime but it is so hard to get everyone set to come on one particular weekend. We just have to take what we can get when we can get it. Time goes by way too fast, and before long all we will have are the memories of times like these.