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Goin' To The Lake Recap: WCCO Hits Lake City (Day 1)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's that time of year once again. That's right, we're Goin' to the Lake! WCCO-TV's Amelia Santaniello and Angela Davis and NewsRadio 830 WCCO's John Williams are all heading to Lake City to kick off another summer's worth of road trip fun.

As anyone knows, you can't start a great road trip without first setting up a great playlist of driving jams. Angela and Amelia were no exception. Here's what they listened to on the way up:

Goin' To The Lake: Amelia & Angela's Road Trip Playlist
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Lake City is an easy 90 minute drive from the heart of downtown Minneapolis, so it's a great place to getaway for a day, week or weekend.

To start off, the WCCO team headed to the marina, overlooking beautiful Lake Pepin. It's the largest marina on the entire Mississippi River, and the only one with a working lighthouse.

The lake played an important role in Minnesota history: It's the birthplace of waterskiing.

Ralph Samuelson strapped two boards to his feet, grabbed a rope behind a boat and skimmed across the water back in 1922.

They're celebrating that accomplishment all weekend in Lake City with Water Ski Days.

In pictures are from the Minnesota Historical Society, you can actually see one of Samuelson's early pair of skis at their building in St. Paul.

Lake City is really a great place to visit if you've never been.

The lake itself is the largest lake on the Mississippi River. It's 21 miles long and almost two miles across to the Wisconsin side. It's also the only lake on the Mississippi that occurs naturally.

Also making the area so beautiful are the bluffs that line the river. They rise up hundreds of feet on both sides. That makes for spectacular views from river-level, or on top of the bluffs.

Goin' To The Lake: Amelia, Angela Hit Lake City

At the south end of Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River, the kids are catching lunch.

Not for themselves, but for the National Eagle Center's main attractions. The majestic symbols of America are in Wabasha because they're hurt and can't fly. Still, their presence is powerful.

"You might see them up in the sky, soaring, but when you see them eyeball to eyeball, you realize the kind of animal you're dealing with," an Eagle Center spokesperson said. "They're a really majestic and powerful bird."

Eagles now teach tens of thousands of visitors each year about a remarkable story of recovery.

"We are right, smack in the middle of the heart of bald eagle nesting territory," the spokesperson said.

The Eagle Center hopes the lessons learned today, let America's symbol of freedom thrive for generations.

The center is celebrating Bald Eagle Days this weekend and you don't need to reserve a spot -- just show up.

Goin' To The Lake: Angela, Amelia Check Out The National Eagle Center

When many Minnesotans think about an in-state golf trip, they're thinking "up north." But Lake City is a great golf destination.

There are at least eight 18-hole courses within 20 miles of Lake City, and most of them are much closer.

The views are spectacular from Coffee Mill near Wabasha to the Lake Pepin Golf Course high above Lake City. Many golf courses sit on top of the river bluffs.

The Jewel is a gem that winds right through them. Golf Week magazine calls The Jewel the No. 3 public course in Minnesota. One of the reasons it's so great? The painstaking care that goes into its condition.

"Our owners are committed to keeping this golf course in fantastic condition," Kent Blaschko, the Jewel's head golf professional, said. "In fact, it would rival anything in the state as far as conditions."

Golf in this part of the state is really affordable. Courses comparable to The Jewel cost much more elsewhere.

And you can play 18 for under $40 on some of the other gorgeous courses in the area.

Goin' To The Lake: Golfing & Sailing In Lake City

For dinner Thursday, Angela and Amelia headed to Nosh, right next to the Lake City Marina. Owners Greg and Tiffani Jaworski source much of the menu from local farmers.

The chef started them off with cucumber topped with roasted red pepper and walnuts. Then they tried some of Nosh's great seafood, one scallop dish and one with excellent salmon.

A big hit just outside town Thursday night was Family Night on the farm. The Klein Dairy farm showed families how dairy gets to our tables.

Everything outside town around Lake City is about farming, and there are beautiful fields atop the bluffs along the Mississippi.

Goin' To The Lake: Amelia & Angela 'Nosh' In Lake City And Head To The Farm

During last year's Goin' To The Lake, Angela and Amelia struggled to paddle a canoe.

So this year, we put them in a boat again, one with bigger paddles and a bunch of people on board -- the "Pearl of the Lake" riverboat cruise.

A 90 minute cruise on the Pearl of the Lake costs $15 for adults and $8 for kids, though it's free if they're under 5.

Goin' To The Lake: Amelia & Angela Ride 'Pearl Of The Lake'

Stay with WCCO-TV and Newsradio 830 WCCO on Friday as we bring you more of our inaugural 2015 Goin' to the Lake!

 

GALLERY: WCCO's Goin' To The Lake -- Lake City

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