travel – Love, Tennis, and Cancer

Treehouse Getaway

Posted on February 19, 2026 by mfregien6c146e4539

I’ve been trying to pay more attention to the Universe lately. Synchronicities. Those times when the same things…same ideas…same people keep coming up over and over again. In November and December especially I was struggling being around people. Cancelling plans with friends. Just wanting to be left alone really. Even texts from friends or family “just checking in” were annoying to me. Like I wanted them to be concerned on the one hand…but then on the other I didn’t want to talk to them. Mostly, because I didn’t know what to talk about…what to say…how to describe what was wrong…other than “Jason’s not here”. And really isn’t that enough?? But then if I didn’t respond I would feel guilty…like I was hurting their feelings. So…the solution…mask UP…pretend all is well. So…big clue from the Universe number ONE.

Clue from the Universe number TWO came from my kids. As the years without Jason go on and our kids get older I have been letting them see more and more the struggle around the Holidays. How hard it is for me to “do the right thing”. In 2024, I didn’t even put a tree up. In 2025, I woke up on Thanksgiving and decided that maybe a tree would be okay. The boys were at a tennis drill that morning so it was just Anna and I. I mentioned getting the tree out and 15 minutes later she had all things Christmas dragged up from the basement. I put some things up. Some things I said “no” to. She put the tree up and got the lights on. And suddenly I was overwhelmed. I told her how I was feeling as she was opening up the box of ornaments and without question she took it back downstairs. And I realized that these years when I have been wanting to do what they expect…wanting to make the Holidays special…they have been more worried about me than anything else. We exchanged minimal gifts on Christmas Day…but one of the things that they gave me was “Travel Money”….and I burst into tears.

Around the New Year I was scrolling on Facebook and happened to see a post from a MN travel blogger that I don’t even follow…and haven’t seen anything from since…about a treehouse in Pepin, WI. Do you know what has always fascinated me? Treehouses. I mean I love trees. What could be better than actually having a house in one? I found the treehouse on AirBNB and they happened to have a random couple nights in February open. Guess what? Clue from the Universe number THREE.

So yesterday afternoon I battled some kinda crappy weather to check into my treehouse, for my much-needed solo adventure. And if I needed a clue from the Universe number FOUR that I am in the right spot…it’s the train tracks. Yeah…yeah…weird right? Most people don’t want to vacation right by train tracks…except…I do. In August, 2020 Jason and I celebrated what we were hoping wouldn’t be our last anniversary. 20 years…no small accomplishment…but also so much less than what we thought we would get together. We rented a teeny tiny cabin in Alexandria and had a fantastic time. When I think back to the last time that I can point at and remember US…just being “Ree and Jas”…it is our time in that cabin. Right by train tracks….very active train tracks…that would shake the whole cabin multiple times during the day and night. After he died in August, 2021 the place that I longed to go back to was that cabin…and I did….by myself. It’s where I was finally by myself and able to fall completely apart. So yesterday, when I got here and heard the train, and felt the slight shaking of the treehouse, all I thought was “Hi Love. I miss you”.

And man it’s hard being here by myself. It would be the perfect spot for a romantic couple’s getaway. https://www.pepinforesttreehouse.com/ …you’re welcome. I can totally imagine Jason and I in this space…and how different it would be. But then I also have to remind myself that just because it’s different now, doesn’t mean it’s bad. I love having time by myself to just be myself…find myself…figure out who I am as a person without the responsibilities of every day life on my shoulders. I have spent my day today reading, writing, playing guitar. I enjoyed the hot tub a few times. I have spent time just gazing out the window…watching the birds in the trees…and thinking.

And what I have been thinking about the most is “regret” and “guilt”. I don’t know that I have come to any profound conclusion about either of those things…other than both of them suck ass. Guilt is an emotion that comes so easily to me. It makes me sacrifice myself again and again and again for things that are not my fault and I really have no business owning. My therapist calls me on it ALL the time…sometimes multiple times a week. “That’s not yours to hold”…she says over and over. And even when I try to believe her…something in me still doesn’t. And regret…well, regret just hurts because a lot of what I regret is unfixable…unchangeable…un-do-over-againable. And I guess the answer to regret is grace…but let’s face it…grace has never been my strong suit…even with myself. I have overwhelming compassion for people until they hurt me…and then well…they’re out. Grace was all Jason. I try to play a WWJD (What Would Jason Do) scenario in my head, but honestly, in some instances I think even Jason would say “F them”. But how do I move forward from that?

But other than some “heavy” thoughts, my time here in the treehouse has been so peaceful….and exactly what I needed.

St. Croix State Park

Posted on June 30, 2025 by mfregien6c146e4539

Saturday afternoon the kids and I headed to Red Wing to a Fregien Family BBQ. It was nice to see almost all of Jason’s siblings and a few other members of the family that I haven’t seen in awhile. It was a pretty short visit as everyone has lots of activities to fit into the summer weekends that never seem long enough!

From Red Wing I drove up to St. Croix State Park. I took the scenic route up the WI side of the river. It was a relaxing drive with lots of thinking time to sort out all my feels. I love getting together with Jason’s family…but it’s not without its pain points. As most things in life these days, the joy and the pain…the happy and the sad…the tears and the smiles…go hand in hand.

Camping was an adventure…like usual. St. Croix State Park is beautiful. It was an easy walk down to the river from my campsite…which I really appreciated. Nothing better than brewing a cup of coffee in the morning and then heading down to the water to sip it. I was not a huge fan of the camping there though. The sites were very open and very close together. Not ideal for this solo camper. It was also really stormy Saturday night…which freaked me out! I’m not a fan of storms when I’m in my house…let alone solo in my Bronco.

I was tired on Sunday from the lack of sleep overnight so I didn’t hike like I usually like to. Instead I explored more of the park by Bronco…got some mud on her tires on a long, windy dirt road. I found a nice little overlook that I hung out at for a little while watching a pair of swans and their babies. They were too far away to get a great picture of them. You can just spot them in this picture.

This morning I got up and decided to head home right away. I stopped at Tobie’s to get my kiddos some cinnamon and caramel rolls…and me some coffee. When I got home the dogs decided it was time for them to get a walk, so Anna and I took them to Whitetail Woods. There we saw a pair of swans with five babies! I was able to get a better picture of those! Anna was also excited because the berries along the trail were starting to get ripe 🙂

And now back to work tomorrow…before another camping trip Thursday. On Wednesday, I have my last therapy session with Tara before she moves to Eureka, Montana. It will be good to have some time to sort that out in the woods.

Buffalo

Posted on June 22, 2025 by mfregien6c146e4539

Woke up this morning with the best kinds of souvenirs from a really awesome day yesterday…sore muscles…sunburn…and “Shots” by LMFAO in my head. You’d think I had been at a college party…nope…just out for a day in Buffalo, MN with my friend Olivia.

Several weeks ago we had marked the day off on our calendars. As it got closer I asked her what she wanted to do…thinking we would plan it together. She assured me that she had it all planned out and wanted to surprise me…and I very willingly trusted her and rolled with it. I knew that we have very similar adventuring tastes and that no matter where we ended up or what we did that it would be amazing. Having my day planned out for me also was a huge treat.

We started the day at Buffalo Books and Coffee. This place was perfect. I honestly could’ve spent hours there. Indie bookstore that serves an amazing selection of lattes…plus has outdoor patio seating overlooking the lake…heaven. I would drive an hour for that any day. I also learned about the .5 setting on my phone camera. Have no idea what that does, but let’s me fit more in my pictures.

We wandered around downtown Buffalo. Lots of cute little eclectic shops…plants and music in one store…never saw that before, but why not!? A farmer’s market where they were selling lots of yummy things that looked like they would be a major health risk if we let them sit in a hot car all day to get them home. Olivia got complimented on her shorts in the same breath she was asked if she got them at Walmart. All in all we got a sampling of the local vibe.

Then we headed to our next destination which was kayak rentals at Griffin Park. This is where the sore muscles and the sunburn come in….and a major feeling of badassery and accomplishment. We had the kayaks for 4 hours so we decided to go around the lake. It started out great. Leisurely paddle next to each other…chatting and looking at all the rather impressive lakeshore homes. Some of them I would love to just live in the boathouse! We saw a few loons…which I love! There were pelicans flying overhead…enormous birds. A blue heron was fishing in a little inlet.

And then….we hit the far side of the lake…the wind blew in…it got super choppy…I had a slight moment where I got hung up on some underwater debris…and my kayak took on quite a bit of water…my boat was riding so low in the water…my arms were burning from digging so deep with the paddle just to go anywhere. We got out of the worst of it and decided to stop on shore and dump the water out.

The whole shore is filled with houses, so no matter where we stop we are essentially on someone’s property, but we decided to pull in at this stretch of shore next to this dock where there were a few college-aged kids hanging out. So we paddle in and this one kid asks us what’s going on. We tell him we’re just stopping to dump the water out of our kayaks and then we’ll be on our way…to which he replies “Oh. I thought you had to pee” (?!) and walks away. Luckily, his buddy was brought up right and realized that his momma would’ve wanted him to help us out.

We start paddling on our way again. We’re going against the wind, so the paddling is a little tougher…but we’re on the homestretch. And then we realize dark clouds are starting to roll in…we hear some thunder…and start paddling like the dickens because we really don’t want to be caught in a storm in a kayak out on the lake. Luckily, the storm never materialized and we made it back to the park safely. As we were giving our life jackets and paddles back to the kids working the rental booth we discovered that most people don’t go around the whole lake. They just do the leisurely paddle we started out with. Did I mention that we are badass?

Next stop was Buffalo Nickel…an antique store that is in a barn. Super amusing to look through. The few things that I would’ve purchased were more than I wanted to spend on them, but Olivia was reunited with one of her favorite books from her childhood…and we got to meet some super cute doodles that were doing an awesome job of helping behind the counter.

Our artistic sides were challenged next. We went to Artistic Me and decided to make fused glass trays. Yesterday, we glued all the little bits of glass on…then we left them there to be fired (fused). Neither one of us are super artistic, so we both decided to go more abstract instead of trying to make it look like something. I think we were both feeling all right about our art until one of the women who works there…maybe she was even the owner?…walked by our table and commented that she had “no idea how THAT will look”. Apparently she didn’t get the memo that generally you should make people feel awesome about what they are attempting to create. I still think they are going to look fantastic when they are done.

By this time the coffee had long since worn off so we ended our day at Norm’s Wayside. Almost walked out of Norm’s when Norm’s political affiliations were so proudly displayed….but “Shots” was playing on the jukebox so we decided to stay. Easily demolished the best reuben I have ever had. I don’t approve of all of Norm’s choices, but his food was on point.

Buffalo, MN you were a treat. Looking forward to visiting you again.

The Camper’s Maiden Voyage

Posted on April 28, 2025 by mfregien6c146e4539

We went on our first camping adventure this past weekend. Like all adventures…there were some parts that were awesome…and some that were not so awesome….but all of it was memorable.

Friday we learned that packing up takes longer than you think it will and also that we need to be a little more efficient in what we decide to bring along. I’m sure some tweaks will be made to our packing list every trip this summer. We also learned that Anna can back a trailer with no problem…she did it on her first try. I, however, struggle mightily and have yet to do it successfully…sigh.

I was happy with the way the camper worked out. We set it up with the table in the middle area when we arrived Friday evening and played games. Then converted it to all sleeping area for the rest of the weekend. We had plenty of sleeping space.

Saturday morning we hiked in the bluffs. It was a very physically challenging hike, but so beautiful. There were so many eagles and turkey vultures to watch. Levi thought it was great fun having me watch him climb big rocks and trees…and then have me take his picture. I told him there’s a reason there are so many turkey vultures soaring around…and that he better not hurt himself during tennis season because I don’t want to explain that to his coach!

There were a couple of spots that we could get down to the water. Anna and Levi both enjoyed trying to skip rocks…a little more challenging when all the rocks are limestone. I was having flashbacks to a family trip up to the North Shore when Levi was pretty young. Jason, Anna, and Seth spent so much time skipping rocks while I had Levi in a carrier. Anna did let me get one selfie of the three of us up in a tree by the water…

This one of the just the two of them is better…

The afternoon was a little bit frustrating. We went to the ranger station to rent a canoe and go fishing. The ranger gave us paddles and life jackets and sent us on a mile-long trek to the lake where the canoes were kept. We got there only to discover that they hadn’t actually put the canoes out yet, and that the lake was way too shallow too fish from the shoreline. So we trekked back to the ranger station…got a refund for the invisible canoe…and then headed into town for coffee.

We capped our adventure off Saturday evening with a good ole’ fashioned campfire and then had the full camping experience of packing up in the rain Sunday morning…blech. Our next adventure is in two weeks! It’s at a different park…with less hiking…but more kayaking, fishing, and biking. Can’t wait!