Old Is New Again

A few nights ago, we pulled up some of the very first videos we took after buying Wambolts. Here’s the terror of cabin 11 before it was moved.

I have to admit... I'm amazed we didn't run screaming.

When we bought the resort, we somehow saw past the peeling paint, crooked porches, and decades of deferred maintenance. We just saw possibility. We saw exactly what it is becoming.

Watching those videos today, though? I was honestly shocked.

Then again, in five summers of ownership, we've had plenty to keep us busy.

We tackled the biggest challenges first. Hello, Cabins 1, 11, and 15.

Compared to those projects, Cabins 5 and 6 were the quiet little siblings. Tiny. Simple. Full of character. Their porches leaned a bit, but they were still welcoming places to spend a week at the lake. They quietly carried on, season after season, while bigger projects demanded our attention.

We patched. We painted. We repaired.

And they kept doing exactly what they were built to do more than a century ago: give people a place to unplug, fish, laugh, play cards, and wake up to the sound of loons.

Last fall, though, we reached the point where patching wasn't enough. As we opened up the floors, it became clear they had become too soft to keep asking them to carry on.

It wasn't a renovation anymore.

It was time to write the next chapter.

Instead of rebuilding two tiny cabins, we chose to create one spacious lakeside retreat that could serve families for generations to come while still feeling unmistakably like Wambolts.

What followed was equal parts craftsmanship and controlled chaos.

Lou and Sandy took the lead, proudly dubbing themselves "Minnesota Cabin Masters: Senior Edition." Mike, Kathy, Luke, Garrett, and the Lindow Plumbing team all became part of the adventure. Every day brought another surprise hiding behind a wall or under a floor. Every day also brought another problem solved.

Today, Cabin 5 sleeps up to six with two bedrooms, one and a half baths, a beautiful new kitchen, air conditioned bedrooms, a private courtyard with a Solo Stove, and a dock just steps from the lake.

But our favorite parts aren't necessarily the new ones.

It's the old logs that remain. The reclaimed farmhouse sink. The details that remind you this cabin has a history worth preserving.

We didn't build something that feels brand new.

We built something that feels like Wambolts.

Looking back at those first videos reminds me how far we've come in just five summers. Progress doesn't always happen with one giant leap. Sometimes it's one cabin, one winter, one hardworking crew, and one leap of faith at a time.

Cabins 5 and 6 served families faithfully for well over a hundred years.

Now, their story continues in a new way.

Old is new again.