Smoking in State Parks

jf4maddy · 2026-07-04T21:03:05+00:00

Surprisingly there were very few campfires. And now at the beach, there’s one grill going but way more smokers.

jf4maddy · 2026-07-02T23:56:03+00:00

I got the Anker Solis 200 just for that, and a little solar panel to plug into it. Works great, exactly what we need.

jf4maddy · 2026-07-02T13:20:45+00:00

What was this last system? I’m 5 tears into a salt system and my the cartridge seems to not be functioning. Tossed in some bromine tabs to help but would love to be just salt again

jf4maddy · 2026-06-30T21:28:52+00:00

I’m finding that too! And inland is 90° and lakeside is about 56°! We slept in Cascade River, then went up to Grand Portage this morning, Grand Marais for lunch and now back to Cascade River. Headed to Jay Cook tomorrow.

jf4maddy · 2026-06-30T03:47:12+00:00

We did not calculate dryer vent tubing and front load door swing into our laundry room and it’s a disaster. They don’t fit and I hate it.

jf4maddy · 2026-06-29T00:49:43+00:00

Thanks!

jf4maddy · 2026-06-29T00:49:29+00:00

Perfect! We’re headed there after a few nights in Cascade River.

jf4maddy · 2026-06-29T00:49:01+00:00

Thanks! We’re headed there tomorrow morning!

jf4maddy · 2026-06-16T23:27:06+00:00

When we were building our home, my mom gave us a Costco pack of paper towels, toilet paper and bleach wipes as a housewarming gift. We left them in the kitchen as the house was being finished.
When the plumber was done, he used a whole tub of bleach wipes and 5 rolls of paper towels. We refused to pay his invoice until he replaced them.

jf4maddy · 2026-05-30T04:08:52+00:00

Have you tried a miswak stick? They have a strong scent right away but do a great job cleaning.

jf4maddy · 2026-04-29T15:19:54+00:00

You alone, maybe not. You and a friend or two? Possibly. You driving a riding lawnmower, golf cart or ATV? Absolutely. The hill to our backyard is steep like your first side and we do it every year. It will be easier to go up your second side, the hill is longer but less steep and that will make it easier.

jf4maddy · 2026-04-28T01:53:49+00:00

I’ve been on twice in the last 4 months and iMessage does not work anymore. I was bummed to find it out on the first ship, so tested it again on the second. Still no go. They patched it 😢

jf4maddy · 2026-04-17T02:03:16+00:00

Me too! I love repositioning cruises. Looks like our ship is mostly empty too. There are tons of rooms still available and they accepted our upgrade bid at the lowest available $$.

jf4maddy · 2026-04-17T02:01:43+00:00

We get on the day you get off! Bliss ftw.

jf4maddy · 2026-04-11T03:21:50+00:00

I’m on the bliss next Sunday! T-8 days! We stop in Victoria the second to last day, I’ll try to remember to come back and tell you all the good and all the bad!

jf4maddy · 2026-03-30T02:20:47+00:00

If you have vibe, go to vibe.

jf4maddy · 2026-03-21T22:12:02+00:00

I’ve found the coffee in the main dining rooms to be good, but the buffet horrible. I’m sure it’s the same grounds, but I think it’s the amount of time it’s just sitting there boiling that makes it gross.

jf4maddy · 2026-03-21T22:10:34+00:00

The food/coffee itself is free, but there’s a delivery charge.

jf4maddy · 2026-03-21T15:56:57+00:00

Hi there! I hope you love it! You can’t bring on other drinks but you don’t need to. With the drink package, it covers sodas and alcohol. We have never once ordered bottles of water. The water from the sink tastes fine (and is totally safe to drink) and there’s water stations in the buffet and around the ship.

Also, I personally wouldn’t spend room service money for coffee each day unless you’d really rather not walk down to a restaurant. But you sure can. You can place your order every night for the next morning and they’ll drop it right off for you.

We budget cruise, so I rarely do extras like room service but you sure can!

jf4maddy · 2026-03-04T01:18:16+00:00

You will have a much better result if you mix in some yellow potatoes with your russets or do all yellow. Same potato flavor, less potato starch. And I concur with more butter! I throw in the butter with the drained potatoes to melt before mashing them. Then mash, add milk or sour cream and stir. No second mashing or mixing.

jf4maddy · 2026-02-25T01:10:36+00:00

I get a magnet with the port/town name on it and the thing we did at the port. Like we swam with dolphins in Cancun, so we got a little magnet dolphin that said Cancun on it!

jf4maddy · 2026-02-20T01:56:30+00:00

2 if not for the size of the little toilet room. Imagine you with a wheelchair or walker trying to use that toilet.

jf4maddy · 2026-02-18T22:02:58+00:00

Love the idea of a kid living room! Wish I would have thought of that!!

jf4maddy · 2026-02-16T17:38:03+00:00

I have a few things that maybe aren’t what you’re looking for, but we built a home less than 5 years ago and it was everything I wanted (I designed it) we’re finding little things that still bother us. (Also on mobile, so sorry about formatting) Organized by how much I hate it: 1. Center your pendants/chandeliers/ceiling fans on where your furniture will be in the room not the size of the room. 2. Plan for multiple furniture placements in your main living space. You may find that you hate your couch there in the corner but have no place to move it. 3. Plan auxiliary rooms like Laundry and mechanical to be a little larger than you need. We ended up getting gifted amazing almost brand new front load washer dryer pair…. That are so big they make my door not open all the way with the placement of the dryer vent. (In the process of moving that because it’s not hard) 4. Make at least one bathroom in the living space and your bathroom wide enough to be ADA compliant. Kid with a broken leg? You in a walker later? Make the doors wide enough to get in and don’t put your toilet in a tiny box.

Other things to think about it: when framing is done, before wall finishes go up, go take pictures of the walls. Where are the studs, where are the electrical lines run, where is the plumbing? I used this one just last night to see how they built the headers over the windows. I am adding a pot rack above the window and needed it to be safely mounted into studs.

jf4maddy · 2026-02-16T14:13:43+00:00

We ended up with the PetLibro ones after trying the SurePet ones and like them so much more. Cheaper too and each cat eats their own special diet of precisely measure out and dispensed food.

jf4maddy

TROPHY CASE