One Christmas

We left early in the morning a few days before Christmas. We took out the middle row of seats, as we usually did for trips to Wisconsin. Jessi and I sat in the back, while my mom and dad were in the front. We put all of our baggage in the middle where the row of seats used to be. My dogs, Princess, Penny, and Ravin sat near our baggage too. An old television from my room was brought with for the car ride. Thinking back on it, this was probably to keep me entertained for the near 7 hour ride, since I was such a hyper child all the time.
When we were getting close to our cabin, we stopped at a local grocery store. We didn’t bring with any food, because there wasn’t very much room, mostly because of the television. While at the store, we got plenty of food to eat, including a Christmas cookie kit, and popcorn that you pop yourself over the stove top.
Just after the shopping trip, we headed to our cabin, in Hayward WI, literally in the middle of nowhere. The cabin was very small and plain, with no television, phones, or radio. But it was still very nice, with a homey, relaxing feel, perfect for family time. After unpacking our things, we all gathered in the kitchen. We couldn’t help but notice the stunning view of the lake from the large window in the kitchen. And just on the edge of the lake was a cute little restaurant, called Virgin Timber.
The cabin was mainly made for hunters, for a quick place to stop and eat. It was a big log cabin, overlooking the frozen lake. Inside, there was a pool table that my family and I really enjoyed, along with a couch next to a crackling fire place with a stack of books to read, and board games. There was even an old jukebox, for you to pop your coin into and select a song. But one of the coolest parts was the old school video games. Well they weren’t really video games; they could be called arcade games. From Ms. Pac man to pinball, over half of the lodge was filled with metal rectangular boxes. The large animal heads caught by the local hunters were sort of scary though. But in a way, it completed the Wisconsin setting. Virgin Timber was very cool looking, but the food was really yummy too. There were burgers and the best chicken I’ve ever had, like fast food items, but not full of grease and fat. It was like a home cooked meal- but better. After dinner, we went home and hung out around the cabin for a little while until bedtime.

The next morning was December 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. In my family, we usually do more things on Christmas Eve than Christmas day. My parents got a pass that allows us to cut down a tree from the forest. The beagles, Princess and Penny, stayed in the cabin by the warm fire. We got into our van and drove to Chequamegon National Park. It was really pretty with the evergreens covered in blankets of white shimmer. There was a long trail leading downhill through the forest to the half frozen river. But my black Labrador retriever, Ravin, was fooled by the illusion that the river was frozen over. She dashed down the hill onto the ice. It broke underneath her, and she fell into the icy water. Eventually my dad got a hold of her collar, and yanked her to safety. I kept thinking how freezing cold she must have been!
Not too long later, while still in the forest, being the hyper person I was, I took a tumble into the snow, face-first. After all of the things that had gone bad, we finally found a tree. It was the skinniest little tree I ever saw. There were hardly any branches, you could see right through it. We called it our Charlie Brown tree, just as skinny as the one Charlie Brown got in that old movie. My dad sawed down the sappy tree, while my mom sang O’ Christmas tree. Jessi and I were playing on an old tree that had fallen down. Jessi recorded the whole event on our video camera, occasionally asking me questions like I was being interviewed.
“Do you like the new tree Lilly?” asked Jessi.
“Yes!!!” I said loud enough for anyone in the forest to be able to hear.
My dad tied the tree on top of our van and went back to our cozy cabin. It was brought inside and placed it in the corner of the living room. My family and I drank hot chocolate as we decorated our skinny tree. We made our own ornaments from beads and other crafty things, but brought the lights and the angel from home.

To be continued...