I just got home from a week-long vacation with my extended family (15 of us total). It was overall a good time, but we had enough 'interesting' moments that I thought I'd share some observations.

We all met up at my sister's house in NE Iowa, and then caravan ed the 7 hour trip up to North-central MN (4 different vehicles).

We fit all of our luggage in my brother-in-law's covered trailer. This really cut down on the crowding in the vehicles and let us bring some less than necessary stuff. Highly Recommended if you have the option available.

The people driving relied too heavily on GPS for navigating. We ran into road construction in the Twin Cities and some people got separated. Next time, we'll have printed maps showing the route, the planned stops, and at least an overview of any larger city we pass through.

We had a severe thunderstorm with tornado warnings one night. No one had a radio. We were fortunate that the TV's kept a signal, but a simple AA powered radio would have been very comforting.

Find out the name of the county you are in. Weather reports almost always are done by county names.

The 2nd to last day, my drivers license turned up missing. Since I was supposed to fly home the next day, this presented a real problem. It turns out there is nothing on the TSA website about how to travel with no ID. It is left to the discretion of the airline and the individual TSA employees. If you are flying, have a 2nd form of TSA/Airline accepted ID that you keep separate from your drivers license. If you do lose your only ID, having a police report is highly recommended. If you are traveling with family, an old photo showing you with them helps establish reasonable proof of identity.

If you are going to be boating or doing any water sports, bring your own PFD's. The ones included with most rental boats leave much to be desired.

Aside from those few incidents, it was a great trip. We stayed at Camp Fire Bay Resort - if you are looking for a family vacation spot in Minnesota, I'd have to recommend them. It is not roughing it in any sense - full kitchens, satellite TV and wireless internet - but you are right on a nice lake with plenty of good fishing and they have a lot of activities for non-fishing types.