Living On A Houseboat Part 2

Our first full day on the houseboat found us searching for a new "camping" spot at 9 a.m. The houseboat is required to be tied up at night and our first spot was not ideal, nor an actual camp spot. We selected spots on the map we thought would be a good fit for us. After gliding through the lake for a while and finding all of our chosen spots were already taken by other houseboats, we chose a sandy cove called Dollar Hide Bay in Birch Lake. By the end of the trip, we realized how amazing this little slice of heaven was and can't imagine spending our time elsewhere!

Once we tied up at Dollar Hide Bay, the minis instantly got into the water and we stayed there for the rest of the trip. We actually didn't take the houseboat out for any cruising for fear we'd lose our perfect spot. As a result, we used hardly any gas and weren't required to pay (we had prepaid for about $60 worth) any additional gas usage. To give you an idea of why this is a big deal, if we had used the gas, average usage would be around $500 worth. So, we were thrilled with our decision to stay put!

Our entire stay was amazing. The houseboat was much like living out of an RV, although instead to using the lights in the houseboat, we used our solar lamps once the sun went down. This actually saved a lot of gas and generator usage, so it was perfect. We only had to turn the generator on a handful of times because we made use of the grill above any other appliance. We chose to use instant coffee instead of plugging in the coffee pot each morning. The houseboat is equipped with fresh water for drinking, showering, and doing dishes, but we also brought along a few gallons of fresh drinking water. 

Due to Covid restrictions, it's asked that no boats moor in the same location. That meant that not one other boat came into our little cove! It was as if we had an entire small lake to ourselves! We spent our days going off of the water slide, kayaking, floating on our river tubes, playing on the beach, walking through the Superior National Forest, playing on the beach, swimming, building sand castles, and doing a small amount of basic school work to ease into the school year.

I can't begin to tell you how relaxing all of this was. I got to take naps every single day. Sometimes I'd close my eyes on my tube and wind up on shore. Other times I napped while I snuggled the dog. It was glorious because I also got a full 8+ hours of sleep each night. 

Elizabeth went down the slide exactly once the entire time we were on the houseboat. She panicked after the first time, screaming, "I am NOT okay! I'm not okay! Somebody help me!" She had a life jacket on and was floating on top of the water, but I had to go out and save her. She spent the rest of the trip playing in the cabin, floating on the river tubes, and kayaking. The slide was not her thing!

Part of the wild rice fields we camped next to. We learned ALL about wild rice and I'm truly fascinated by it.

Elizabeth may not have been a fan of the slide, but she loved the kayak! The first dozen times she went out, she was paddling and helping out. By the last day, she was along for the ride and kept telling Dad where on the lake to paddle.

The cabin was small and got messy quickly due to all of us being in and out all day long. We had nightly pick ups by the light of our solar lamps.

We all spent a good amount of time in our $5 river rafts we got for our trip to Texas this past May. They were so incredibly relaxing!

The river tubes and inflatable kayak got plenty of use, as did the life jackets, but the other thing that got a lot of use during our trip was my clear, water proof, phone case. It's how we were able to capture all of our pictures on the water, from the kayak, and while floating in the tubes. That was the best $8 purchase I made this summer!