Family vacation has officially kicked off and as I write this the entire family is zonked out asleep. I admit it’s been quite a busy day and exhausting too but I am not into naps so instead I am blogging!

We left late yesterday and made the trek to our favorite resort in Northern Minnesota. Lutsen is a gorgeous area with rich scenery and wildlife. We have spent many times here as kids but I have not come back for many years since I have been so far away from family. This was a nice chance to get everyone together including my sister’s fiancee for a wonderful few days.

Travelling with the Chughtai’s can be a very interesting experience. We travel with enough stuff (extra food, extra clothing, extra everything) to which we can barely shut the trunk when we are done. Meantime someone wants to sleep, someone wants music, someone wants to go to the bathroom..etc. etc… We thought about taking two cars for the trip but instead decided it would be far more fun to all travel together. Before we even got on the road (which wasn’t till 7pm) someone had to mail a letter, dad wanted to stop at a drugstore for Vitamin C and my sister had an upset tummy. Everyone was responsible for a few meals on this trip and mom’s was last night’s dinner in the car. She made chicken kebobs rolled into pitas with a onion and cucumber sauce on top. It was a smart choice since it had to be portable and easy to eat.

When we finally adjusted and got on the road most folks promptly fell asleep including myself. I was at an odd angle with someone’s elbow in my rib cage and Robby’s head resting on my lap. I also couldn’t find any free leg space since a picnic basket rested underneath me and my mom’s thermos of tea (which nobody ended up drinking) was precariously on the other side.  Ah family times. Got to love them. We finally reached Lutsen about 2 in the morning and we checked in and all fell asleep.

We woke up bright and early and went to the Lodge for breakfast then checked out the gorgeous views. Breakfast was delicious except for the clump of sausage Robby found in his eggs which threw my mom into panic mode (we don’t eat pig in our family)

Once my mom was reassured that Robby would make it we were able to enjoy a nice family meal together.

After we had spent some time at the Lodge it was time for us to go to the Slide Run. Basically you take a ski lift to the top of the mountain and then you grab a sled like deal with wheels that you sit on. This contraption takes you down a windy, slippery slide with plenty of drops and scary moments as well. I was freaked out at first but once you do it a few times I found I wanted to go further and faster! A total blast! After doing this several times we headed over to the Gondola ride on the other side of the resort. It was a blast to get in the Gondola and ride to the restaurant and resort on the other side. I took a ton of pictures and we really enjoyed ourselves a ton!

Slides are Fun

After all that we headed back to the room where everyone promptly had a snack and fell asleep except for me who sits here blogging as everyone sleep soundly. More updates soon. In the meantime–here are a few pictures!

Breakfast at the Lodge

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