Refuge in Rainy Lake

I spent the Memorial Day weekend at a great little inn on the shores of Rainy Lake, Minnesota. It has several names… Rainy Lake Inn, Tara’s Wharf, and Sand Bay Inn. Currently it goes by Rainy Lake Inn and Suites (http://www.taraswharf.com/). There are four suites, each with at least one bedroom, a living room, and a kitchenette. All with tremendous views of the lake and decks to sit out and enjoy the view. In addition, attached to the Rainy Lake Inn is Tara’s Wharf Ice Cream Shop
and a gift shop called the W.A.Genius Signature Store (http://www.kdwagenius.net/). I was in the one of the more casual rooms, but the suites were beautiful. A great refuge. The building itself is actually over the water and so the lapping of waves on the shore and the pier rocks you to sleep at night.
I was up visiting my friend, Kirsten Wagenius, proprieter of the said gift shop. She is carrying mostly items from local artists and a few from friends in Chicago (including some of my photos on various cards, coasters, and framed prints). This was her opening weekend. We spent one late night putting final touches on the store and then opened for business. It was a bit of a slow weekend. Memorial Day was still a bit cold and the gas prices seemed to have discouraged some people from traveling… which is too bad! It was a stunning weekend.
I’ll add more photos later, but here are a few from the first sunset.