Guest Comment - Retreat in the Woods - Aug.6-11,2006

Guest Comment posted to the Guestbook:

This was our 2nd time at the Retreat. Our expectations were exceeded even more than last year with the addition of the new hot tub, new grill, and new bench swing. Jim and Ivie are always looking to raise the bar when it comes to customer satisfaction. Fantastic hosts!

It was really great weather the whole week. The full moon and clear skies at night made for excellent stargazing. Kathy saw two shooting stars one night. There's nothing like soaking in the hot tub in the midnight hour and experiencing the sights and sounds of the surrounding wilderness.

The fishing was unbelievable this year. We caught so many small-mouth bass that we lost count after a couple days. On the last morning, Jim caught a huge bass in the canoe with only a fishing net and NO bait. Amazing!

Our daughter Ashley had lots of fun. She especially loved having Dad take her on canoe trips around the pond. Other activities included swimming in the pond, picking up frogs off the beach, and laying in the hammock. She definitely liked it when Heather and Ryan came to visit. Good kids!

Our dog Daisy loves coming here. She loves playing fetch in the open field and swimming in the pond. Keeping the raccoons, squirrels, and chipmunks away from the house was on her favorites list as well.

If you have never been here, you are missing out. We're already planning our trip to the Retreat for next year. It's that good!Thanks for everything Jim and Ivie!We look forward to seeing you soon.

Best Regards, Jim and Kathy, Warren MI

Retreat in the Woods - Hot Tub

Wow! This is great! Time to relax in the new hot tub at the Retreat in the Woods!

More fun times are the Retreat in the Woods!

What a beautiful day for a boat ride!
And a refreshing dip in the pond!
Great time to relax and talk with friends.
And a great day for BLUE SMILES???

The BEAR Visit at the Retreat! 8/6/06

There was a visitor at the Retreat in the Woods last night. A Raccoon? A Deer? Maybe a opossum? Hmmmmm.....
Or maybe a hungry Bear?

I came over to the Retreat to check in our guests this afternoon and this is how we found the bird feeder. It looks like our bear came by for a late night snack and bent the feeder pole right over. This is only the third visit we've had for the year. It's been since early July since the last visit.

Guest photos from the Retreat in the Woods!

Wow! Look at my fish!
Taking the crew out for a spin on the canoe...
Let's burn some yummy marshmellows! They're the best! YUMMMMMM!

Photos are compliments of the Van Buskirk Family. Thanks for the fun photos!

THE HOT TUB IS HERE!!! Report from the Retreat in the Woods

BEFORE!

and AFTER!!!!

Yes! It's finally here at the Retreat in the Woods. This nice 4 person hot tub has 81 soothing jets! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Just kick back and relax! It will be up and running by July 24th!

Important Information before Checking into the Retreat

The Hot Tub is Coming! The Hot Tub is Coming!!!

Just when you thought things couldn't get more relaxing at the Retreat in the Woods! They are! We have a Hot Tub being delivered to the Retreat towards the middle or end of July 2006! We'll have some photos of the Hot Tub once it's delivered. It will look pretty much like the one at the Chalet. I'll keep you updated!!!

Fun Times at the Retreat in the Woods

Time for some family fun at the Retreat. The fishing is always great. Great for kids!
Enjoy quiet lazy days with family and maybe your 4 legged friend. Dogs LOVE this pond as much as the kids do!
These guys are waiting for hand-outs. When they see people, they think that they might get some free food. These guys are easy to catch, but must be put back.

Report from the Retreat in the Woods

We've had some beautiful days this week, other than today we had some gloom and rain. I guess every day can't be beautiful and sunny. Things look great out at the Retreat. Now is the time to come an play at the pond.
The fish are looking for food. They are pretty tame and know that when people are at the pond, that often means they are going to be fed. These FAT bluegills LOVE hotdogs, bread and sandwich meat. They've been spoiled over the years with guests feeding them.

You can go fishing for these big fish, but it's catch and release ONLY to protect the current fish in this pond. We have a some monster fish is this pond. There are a couple of mega bass and lots of BIG bluegills. The Retreat is also a great place for canine friends to kick back and relax too... or to do a lot of playing and chasing!

New Pictures of the Retreat in the Woods

I took some fresh photos of the Retreat. The photo above is the east side of the pond.
We got a computer hutch over the winter for those people who want to bring a laptop up with them. There is a phone cord at the back. Sorry....there is only dial up available and you need to have a local number to dial in.
Look at this big fireplace. Lots of nice warm fires have warmed many toes during the winter season.
We also got a new headboard for the double bed in the master bedroom. I think it looks very nice.
It's a good evening to feed the fish.

Deer, Deer, Deer... or is it just deer?

TRICK PHOTO???

I did a little trick with this photo above. This is actually ALL the same deer. I took a bunch of pictures of her as she walked around in the road. I have a program that sewed the photos together and now it looks like three deer in the picture... But it's just one.
Here she is again. This is a close-up of her stairng at my car. Isn't she cute?
This photo was taken just down the road from the deer. There is a blue heron in the background. All of these photos were taken on the road leading to the Chalet.

Darn Bear!!! (Report from the Retreat in the Woods)

Darn Bear! He's back. We've been staying over at the Retreat the last week or so. I hadn't put any bird seed in the feeders until about 5 days ago. Well.... this morning we woke up to knocked down and bent bird feeders. He even bent my bear resistant one. I'll have to get it rewelded. The weld on it broke last year and I never got around to fixing it. Now I have to.

Usually we don't see any evidence of the bear until June... but it looks like he's visiting earlier.

We've never had a problem with the bears bothering people. They are more scared of you, than you of them. Every encounter we've had, they've run away went they see people or hear a loud noise.

Regardless... we still do not leave people food outside over night. It can attract other critters too.

Audio Report from Retreat in the Woods May 8th

Click on the audio link to get a report from the Retreat in the Woods:

The Walk

Do you want to go for an early spring walk with us? Visit http://www.gladwinrealestateagent.com/thewalk to go for a walk in the woods with Angel and I. These pictures were taken just a mile or two from the Up North Lakefront Chalet. You can drive there if you come a visit. Take the foot paths around two lakes surround by all state land. The landscapes are awesome at any time of the year. It's about a 3 mile walk around the two lake and depending on how fast you walk, it can take 1-2 hours from start to finish. I've done it in 55 minutes without stopping to look around much. Enjoy!

Spring time is here

Spring is here and it's time to think about booking your vacation. For several years, many people have enjoyed their visits to the Retreat in the Woods. This year we have a new addition to our rental homes.

In December, we purchased a cute cottage on a quiet fishing lake. Introducing the Up North Lakfront Chalet, located in the NE corner of Gladwin County on beautiful Blue Lake. (The photo to the right was taken in January).

This cute lakefront cottage is on a quiet, no motor lake, near 1000's of acres of state land and snowmobile trails. The house sits on 2 waterfront lots with a fantastic view of this beautiful up north lake.

Swim in the crystal clear waters from the private swim raft or jump into one of the boats and enjoy an evening of fishing or taking in the views around this quiet up north lake. The home has a large fireplace, living room, laundry facilities, kitchen with breakfast area, open deck, fire pit and charcoal grill. This vacation home is fully furnished and has 2 bedrooms/1.5 baths, and it sleeps up to 4 adults (6 with 2 being children).

Sleeping arrangements: 1 Queen Bed, 1 Double Bed and 1 Queen sized Futon, (in living room). This house also has a TV and VCR. The fully-equipped kitchen has a stove, refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, dishes, and pots and pans. Linens and towels are provided. All the basics are there!

The rates for the Up North Lakefront Chalet are the same for both rental homes. Visit our web site for more information: http://www.GladwinVacationRentals.com

Welcome to our Gladwin Vacation Rentals Blog

We'll be posting everything from the weather, updates, local events and just fun information and photos about the Retreat in the Woods and the Up North Lakefront Chalet in Gladwin County Michigan. Check back often to find out what's going on and visit our main web site frequently.
http://www.GladwinVacationRentals.com