First Father/Son Retreat

This past weekend, Gavin and I went to Covenant Pines in McGregor, MN for a Father/Child retreat. This was the first year he was old enough to go, so we thought we'd give it a try. We both had a great time! The weather was forecasted to be cold and rainy all weekend, but Saturday ended up just about perfect. It was a little chilly, but the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

The other fun surprise was that Mike Norton from Mora was doing the preaching part of the weekend... accompanied by his great storytelling abilities and some magic tricks. I got to know the Norton family quite well as I grew up in Mora. I played music and formed a couple bands with Mike's son, Zak, in high school and after high school. Also, I used to help the Nortons when they led retreats at Big Sandy back in the day (not too far from Covenant Pines). So it was great to catch up with him in between activities too.

Gavin got to try all kinds of new activities while he was up there. One of the coolest parts for him was the huge climbing wall. I don't know how high it is, but I'll guess about 40 ft. And, once he gets to the top, there's a long cable ride for him to ride on. Click on the album below to see some pictures, and there's a short video of the cable ride below that also. I did a poor job shooting the video because I lost Gavin through the viewfinder for a couple seconds, but you'll get the idea.

Covenant Pines 2009 Photo Album