Weekend at the Resort

Last weekend on Mother's Day weekend....we had a chance to go to a Time Share in Brainerd, Minnesota.

It was a brief little vacation but really really fun and needed!

My SIL & BIL were kind enough to let us use their Time Share for the weekend. Their Time share is on Gull Lake. Very beautiful country up that way. Brainerd is a RESORT town. So tons and tons of fun things to do.

IT happen to be Minnesota's Fishing opener that weekend too. We really thought the area would be crowded because of that issue. However, it wasn't so bad and it was super nice weather. Not too hot and not too cold. Love it!

Here is a little postcard I made with my photos......I made a collage of the time share.

Here we are checking in...................................

This resort/time share is so nice. Very woodsy atmosphere and right near the lake. It is also centrally located for all the areas attractions.

Brainerd and Baxter are only minutes away.

Tons and tons of fun things to do. One of our favorites is Gawking and driving by all the area Million Dollar Cabins on the lake. So much fun to GAWK!

Another favorite is Eating....so many fun little eatery's and Restaurants.

The shops are fun too. I stopped by in Pequot Lakes area and stopped in at my FAVORITE store. It isn't a Scrapbook store per say......but it has alot of scrapbooking stuff. So I bought some items ....like some Lil Davis Flower embellies and Some Boy themed rub-ons and chipboard.

It was Mother's Day so My DH let me get a few Scrapper items...without fussing too much~ha!

Here is the entrance to Causeway..............it's a time share so "guest only" sign applies because it's private resort. I remember when this time share was brand NEW. My DH and I got a tour of it ...........as my DH UNCLE lived right by Causeway. I think that was early in 90's sometime.

This is some of the interior................the sun porch is fun ....and bright.......and it has this amazing HOT TUB. Too much fun!

We decided since it was Mother's Day the next day(it was Sat. Night)....we would "splurge" and go out to eat at a fancy pants place. We never been to Iven's On the Bay before. So we wanted an adventure as well as good eats. So we made reservations.....and almost cancelled them because we weren't sure what kinda food they might have. Luckily, we decided to drive there and just give the menu a preview first. We knew it was expensive place to eat so we wanted to make sure it would be "worth it". They didn't have any chicken items on the menu but I spied some steak I could handle.......so we gave it a try. Here are some photos of the outside.....I liked the Neon Martini sign on the side of the building so I took a pix of that. So cool! They have a martini bar(thus the Martini Glass sign). Wanda...if you read this....you would really like this Martini bar.~ha!

Cool Sign huh? I just thought it was fun to photograph......LOL!

Another photo....this time tried to capture the lake in the backdrop too.

This building was fabulous.....it was brand new but Iven's has been around FOREVER. They recently had a bad fire and the whole place burn to the ground. They rebuilt and made it way more fancy and the food was super good. It lived up to it's reputation. Fancy and good food....you can't always get that.

We dine in late....as we got to town in the later afternoon. So we took our time and went out to eat around 8:30....it was just getting dusk and so pretty outside. The lake was just pristine looking. We were so happy we ended up going out to eat at Iven's it was just a fantastic time. Below are just some pixs of the fab. food. First off we had to have a toast ......................to celebrate!

Fab food pixs: Doug had the Pork Loin....and I had the Steak Medallions. Both were super good.....mine didn't photograph so well......it really was good.....the pix doesn't do it justice. The sauce on my dish was so tasty......and the asparagus was yummy. I gave Doug my potatoes....those I didn't like(the sour cream was too strange for me, Green Sour cream....that just isn't cool).

We should have stopped at the Entrees but we were having such fun.....and we weren't planning to eat til lunch the next day. So we "gorged" ....and had dessert too. We shared this yummy ice cream treat. They make all their own desserts...so the ice cream was homemade. YUMMY! Had all kinds of fun sauces and nuts on this ice cream treat...including mint leaves.

Closeup of the ice scream..........I scream for ice cream!

The waiter took this photo for us.................we just got done finishing our dessert and he was sure nice enough to take our pix!

Fast forward to the next day............................................we went out to eat before going home. Doug's sister and her Friend Sylvia were meeting us for Lunch/dinner. Than they were going to take over the Time Share. So we decided to meet at Bar Harbor. Not as good as the other nights dining experience(think alot smoker joint with a little less fancy food~ha)! The name says it all. "BAR" harbor. It's not that bad of a place but compared to Iven's.....you know...it's like apples and oranges. hee!

It looks cool tho............super cool lighthouse look. It also faces the lake and is right across the road from Causeway Resort.

My favorite thing about Bar harbor is ....they make these really tasty garlic bread. So yummy!

The thing I hate about it.....is it's always, always smokey in that place. Smells so bad....BUT....YIPPEEE...Minnesota just passed it's no smoking in restaurants. So in October of this year...all Restaurants will be SMOKE FREE. Yippee! I hate walking into a place and smelling like a bar when were done. Speaking of Bars............I kept wanting to call Bar Harbor .........ROCK HARBOR all weekend long. I must been protesting the name "bar" or wanting to subliminally change the name to a nicer sounding name. LOL! I kept saying, "let's Go to ROCK HARBOR". Hee hee

A photo of us (Pauline, Donna and Sylvia). This photo was really washed out because of the sun thru the window...........so I spiced it up in Black and White and it turned out pretty good. I added the blue turquoise line to frame it and add a little punch to the photo.

Close up of my DH..............................and below is Donna and Sylvia. We were so happy to get the chance to eat out with them before we left for home. Thanks Donna and Sylvia for meeting us for Lunch/Dinner. It was fun and nice to visit with you.

We had a great time on Mother's day and we need to thank Donna and Bob for letting us use their Time Share. It was very Generous and much appreciated. I also want to take the time to thank Judy and Dave for watching Aaron and Muffin while were were gone. We didn't take our son or dog..........as we needed a day to be together as a couple. It was fun but as always we missed everyone and it was lucky it was only overnight. We knew they were in good hand with Grandma and Grandpa watching over them. Thanks again Judy and Dave and TFL everyone.

Here is a slide show of what I had left of some pixs...........mostly of our walk in the morning on the trails and by the lake. Some photos we took of inside of the resort. Enjoy!