Fun at the Amberg Hilton

Fred built our cabin, the Amberg Hilton, in 1990. It's on acreage in Marinette County given to him by his grandpa, the first Fred W. Andrist. We have added to the land since then and now have 79 acres. In the early years, we spent many weekends and summer vacation days at the cabin, Fred making improvements while the rest of us provided minimal help and mostly relaxed. When the girls were little, they loved going up there and playing in the dirt, swimming in the Pike River, playing "fort" on the bunkbeds, and getting sticky with s'mores around the campfire, usually past their bedtime.
As they got older, though, cabin time cramped their teenage style. Dad always had the "w" word planned for them--and working outdoors among the mosquitos, ticks, and heat wasn't much fun. They've picked rock, done firewood, raked, painted...whatever needed doing--sometimes with a smile, but just as often with a pout. They spent days at a time there being his "carpenter's helpers," even getting paid for it! But having to wash up in the Pike and use the outhouse during the night was less than civilized, almost more than no TV! It can be scary going up those steps to the biffy in the dark, when every shadow looks like a bear or coyote. (Trina once took a header down the stairs in her hurry to get back to her warm and safe bed!)
Fred would live over there full-time after retirement, but I've told him I'm as far east as I'm going. Over the years we've had many friends and family there for canoe trips, hunting, and hanging out around the campfire. The photo albums up there chronicle the bruises and scrapes from the spills in the Pike's whitewater rapids, the deer and turkeys Fred and his buddies have taken, and Fred's projects in progress, including the front addition (in the picture) that will get finished this summer. Now that we have the Mule, it's fun riding around on the roads he has made through the woods with a backhoe. We have our pet cemetery in the red pines, with old Kaya, Kimo, Beatle, and Baby the Hamster as residents so far. Fred even has a big granite rock picked out as his tombstone, on the edge of a hill overlooking the swamp.
We were over there this weekend and enjoyed a walk in the woods, painting, several games of cards, and relaxing with reading and a crossword puzzle. Sleeping over there is the absolute best--10 hours or so was our average. We visited Uncle Johnny, who had just finished his maple syrup season, and had Fred's sister Wendy over for supper last night. When he opened the grill to make chicken, a red squirrel jumped out of the huge nest she'd built inside! I heard Fred scream like a girl! (We caught two mice in traps, too!)
On my "life list", I've made it a goal to spend at least 20 nights at the cabin this year. I can think of nothing better than an all-day Harley trip this summer that ends at the Amberg Hilton. Our annual canoe trip is the first weekend of June, and we'd love to have visitors the rest of the summer, too! We promise not to feed you red squirrel.