890 South Shore -- our first visit . . .It really began about five years ago. I was spending a rainy afternoon at my in-laws' cottage in northern Michigan reading magazines when I stumbled upon an article claiming that a place called Madeline Island boasted the most budget-friendly opportunities to invest in a summer home. A few days later, I returned to a hot, loud, busy and dirty Chicago (which, no doubt, I love 300 days a year), and my quest for a summer retreat in northern (and I do mean northern) Wisconsin began. Over the course of the next few years, Jon and I made several trips to the Island, worked with Tina our fabulous realtor, and argued over countless decisions about what we should do -- house or land, lakeside or inland, acreage or location, woods or the beach, in town or far out of town. If you know us well -- and I imagine, if you're reading this, you do -- you can probably guess who argued for what. Along the way, we dreamed. I uploaded photos of my favorite place on the Island -- the Town Park Lagoons -- so I could use them as the background on my desktop. Jon subscribed to a feed of Madeline Island images and news. Jon convinced me that we could forgo central air in our Chicago home -- Madeline Island would be our air conditioning. I convinced him that he could build me a cottage -- and I would be patient. For the most part.
So, this past weekend, we visited the Island for the first time as the proud owners of 1.6 acres on Madeline Island, WI -- a 26,880 acre island (14 miles by 3 miles), located two miles by ferry from Bayfield, WI at the very tip of Wisconsin in beautiful (and chilly) Lake Superior. We had an amazing and quite productive weekend -- clearing land, exploring the island, arranging for permitting and excavating and generally having a good time. My in-laws were an amazing help as we battled ticks and mosquitoes, discovered the ins and outs of island living and . . . generally had a good time.
We left the island Monday afternoon with plans for both of us to return later this summer and for Jon to return in the fall with a crew of willing participants to begin our build (watch out, readers -- depending on your ability and or willingness -- you just may be recruited to be a part of that crew!). In the meantime, I've posted below some of the highlights of our visit this past weekend.
This is the view of the island from Madeline Island Ferry.
The ferry landing on the island. Welcome to La Pointe, WI!
The cottage where we stayed this weekend, Brittany Cottages -- about 1.5 miles from our property.
Our land, cleared and cleaned up . . . we'll put a small, simple "guest house" up first -- behind the driveway and to the left. Eventually the full cottage will go behind the drive and to the right -- a bit further back.
Our "burn pile". The result of two days of chainsawing, hacking, sawing and weeding which we got a permit to burn ourselves. Cooler heads prevailed (literally) -- and we decided to have someone pick up the debris and burn it for us instead of risking burning down the entire island.
The pick-up we inherited, which is renowned for, literally, hauling a ton of sh*t (my mother in-law is an avid gardener) from Jon's mom and dad. It has already come in handy and will serve us well for island living
There's much more to tell and there will be even more as we continue our journey. I look forward to posting more, and look forward even more to hosting you all at some point for some good old fashioned summer fun on the island!
