On the Way To Florida January 2020

Sunday, January 25

We get out of Minneapolis almost by our goal of 8:30 am. It takes us the predicted 7.5 hours, plus 1.5 hours for stops. It’s cold but not terrible, mid to upper 20’s most of the way. The temperature climbs into the 30’s as we approach Columbia.

Iowa is very white and desolate. The ground is white and so is the sky. In many places there is barely a horizon. In the middle of Iowa there is an area that got a lot of snow, I mean a LOT. For about 50 miles the snow on the side of the road seemed to approach 2 feet. Then it tapered off again.

We got to Columbia about 5:30. Mark and Mary were already at Joanne’s. Mary made chicken and dumplings for dinner, so good!

Simone the cat hides under the bed in our bedroom before we can shoo her into Joanne’s bedroom. She does NOT like Westies! The dogs would love to chase her, but she wasn’t coming out. It took a clever person blocking off the hallway and poking her with a broom until she finally exited the guest bedroom and dashed into Joanne’s, where she made herself scarce in the back of the closet. Poor Simone! 

Monday, January 26.

I’ve got 8 miles on my schedule. The temperature is in the high 20’s. I stick my spikes in the pocket of my running jacket but I don’t need them. It’s really nice to be able to just run without spikes or worrying about ice and snow. I’m a lot faster than I’ve been lately for that very reason.

After the run Mark comes over and we go to lunch at Murray’s. I get the special, a pork chop with gravy and mashed potatoes and eat the whole thing. It’s so delicious I could have licked my plate too. I toy with the idea of dessert but finally decide to pass. There’s such a thing as too much of a good thing.

Tuesday January 27th

Again we’re out the door by 8:45 AM. Another long day but it’s slightly warmer and the snow on the ground gradually disappears. When we stop to let the dogs go potty they are so excited to see ground and grass! Snifsnifsnifsnif.

We get to Nashville around 4:30. The campground is ok, nothing great but we don’t care. It’s a quiet place to sleep. We meet Gail and Michael at the Indian place we ate at years ago. It’s still great. It doesn’t take us long, as usual, to feel like we have just seen each other yesterday, although it’s been years. One of the great things about our new route to Florida will be stopping in Nashville and seeing our old friends.

The next day they suggested that we come over to their house and that I run from there. I’m glad to take them up on this suggestion. By 10 I’m out the door and headed over to the nearby high school track where I can easily do my speed workout. It goes really well. I make my paces and feel excellent.

We spend the rest of the day just hanging out together. I eat a peanut butter and honey sandwich and an apple, take a shower. Then Michael kindly takes me over to the nearby convenience clinic where I can get my eye looked at. I’ve got a sty that’s getting infected and I know from experience that it’s better not to let it go. I come out with some antibiotic eye drops and I’m hungry again so when we get back I eat all the leftover Indian food.

We’ve got the big collapsible crate set up and consign the dogs to it for the day. The girls are resigned but Cosmo is a pain and whines and cries. They have a fenced in back yard so we let them out to play but Cosmo finds an open gate in the back. Oops! He doesn’t actually want to escape and comes right back when we call.

Lee and Gail cook up a great meal for dinner, jewel rice and instant pot chicken and veggies. Their son Matt, his wife Val and their little girl Ever come over for dinner. We haven’t seen Matt in years, and have never met Val or Ever. It’s lots of fun. Ever is 3 and a charming little girl. And as most little kids are, she is totally enamored with Lee.

Ever is a little afraid of the dogs, but likes that they are in the crate. Eventually she warms up to them a little and toward the end of the evening I let Heather out so Ever can pet her, which she timidly does. Very different from Leo, who has spent his entire life around Mika!

It’s fun to watch how Ever plays. She is very into school (which makes sense since her dad is an educator). She likes to boss the adults in her life around, and they happily comply, for the most part. But she was mean to Gail and wouldn’t give her a turn with the coloring book, because “she didn’t listen”. Poor Gail! It’s amazing how much further along she is than Leo in the understandability department. Leo probably talks just as much as Ever, but it’s not nearly as coherent. I’m looking forward to being able to understand more of what he is saying!

Thursday January 30th. 

Just a long long day of driving, made longer by construction around Chattanooga, and several accidents near Atlanta. We also entered Eastern Standard Time and lost an hour. But tomorrow is a much shorter day. Only about three hours over the southern Georgia border and on into Florida. We’ll stop at the Villages and visit with Mimi and Sel. And then on Saturday we’ll finally head to Safety Harbor.

There is one amazing thing that happened today however. Nicole had her baby! August Lingle, another little boy. He shares his birthday with Andrew, and it’s one day before Erik’s birthday too.

You know I just realized that my dad’s yahrzeit was on the 28th and I didn’t light a candle for him. I think I’ll just wait and do it once we get to Safety Harbor, because the candle lasts for over 24 hours and you’re not supposed to blow it out. 

January 31st, Friday.

There is a peaceful neighborhood next to the RV park so I decide to run there. I figure out a 1 mile loop and off I go. I’m supposed to do an 8 mile progression run (a run where you gradually get a little bit faster over the course of the run) but I don’t have time for that so I do an abbreviated version. I warm up for one mile, then do a progression run for 3.5 miles, and then cool down for a half mile. It goes well and I finish just before it starts to rain.

I do meet a couple of loose dogs on my run, however. The first one is trailing a rope and holding a ball cap in his mouth. He seems quite pleased with himself. The second one is trickier. He barks and growls at me, so I slow to a walk and talk to him in a friendly tone. He still barks again but then leaves me alone. I know runners sometimes get bitten and even attacked by dogs but so far I’ve been ok.

Lee has to get the RV ready and he is not nearly as lucky with the weather. It just pours while he raises the jacks, turns off the water, and unplugs the electricity and sewer. Poor Lee, I feel badly but I can’t do it so it’s up to him. The dogs got a short walk when we first got up but they’ll have to wait awhile.

Off we go in the pouring rain. It’s a much, much shorter day and we are at our camp site at Grand Oaks by 3:30 pm. I take the dogs on a long walk while Lee sets up camp. Grand Oaks is also an equestrian center and there are a lot of horses and horse people around. The dogs are so happy to be walking where there is lots of grass and all sorts of interesting smells. They behave very well around the horses. I’m proud of them! And we get back to the RV just as it starts to rain again.

We meet my Aunt Mimi and Uncle Sel at a nearby Bob Evans for dinner. We haven’t seen them since the last time we drove through. They are in great shape and still doing very well. They are very involved with their synagogue and enjoy their Florida life.

Saturday, February 1st.

I run 5 easy miles around the Equistrian center in the morning. That place is huge, I can go in a big circle without having to backtrack at all. We take our time getting ready. We can’t show up in Safety Harbor until after 1 and it’s only a 2 hour drive. This year we are storing the RV in Clearwater so we can stop at the house first and unload. SO much easier that way! It’s still a lot of work unloading and unpacking but we get it done. We’re pretty tired though. We do our traditional first night at Whistle Stop with a lemon drop for me, a beer for Lee, and grouper bowls for both of us.

Meeting Dan and Kelsey in Columbia

Sarah, and Leo and I drove to Columbia on a Thursday. Leo doesn’t usually get screen time but he is almost 2 so Sarah bought some episodes of Sesame Street, loaded them to an iPad and taped the pad to the mirror in front of his car seat and it kept him entertained for hours. Elmo! Elmo! He is talking more and more, a lot of the time we know what he is saying too.

We stopped at Culver’s for lunch. Leo got a kids meal hamburger with applesauce. He ate the applesauce with a spoon beautifully. Sarah put some ketchup in a cup so he could dip his burger in it. But he took his spoon and started eating the ketchup with it. “Ew!” We both exclaimed and he looked at us curiously as “hey, why not!”

After lunch it was naptime. Sarah had a work call and I was driving so poor Leo has to cry and scream in his car seat until he finally fell asleep. He then slept for a good 2 hours though. Then I got in the back, blew bubbles, offered snacks, told stories, before we gave Street one more shot. It was a long day for a little boy, but he did great.

We got to Columbia around 5:45. Sarah dropped me off at Joanne’s and went off to have dinner with Maice, her high school bestie. 

Mark and Mary came and got me and Joanne for dinner.  We tried to go to Flyover but the wait was too long so we went to Cherry Street Wine Cellar instead. No wait but the service was so slow we might as well have stayed at Flyover. Oh well!

We got back to Joanne’s around 8:30 and I fell in bed shortly after. I was tired! It had been a long day.

Friday I woke up a little after 6. Had a banana and a piece of toast and some coffee, then dilly dallied around before going for a run. 4x.5 miles at 5k pace. My intervals still seem very slow but I’m not going to worry about it, but keep working and do the best I can. At the very end of the run I slipped on black ice right in front of Joanne’s. Darn it! Cut my knee but seems like no major harm done, knock on wood.

Sarah, Dan, Kelsey and Leo came over to get me. We drove to campus, showed Kelsey and Leo the columns, Jesse Hall, Lowry Mall.

 Then we walked over to the CDL, told them Sarah and Daniel were alums and they let us inside. Leo was charmed and we were too. It was different, and still the same. To Daniel and Sarah it seemed small, haha. There was a teacher that remembered Sarah! Sarah had been her child to study when she was a student long ago! We walked out to the playground that I remembered as a magical place. Leo liked the slides even though they weren’t fast at all.

Then we went to Shakespeare’s for lunch. Got our usual, veggie half, pepperoni and pepper jack other half. Leo was starving and ate a lot of pizza. 

I did too, I was hungry! Got some Shakespeare’s cups to take home, and then left them at Joanne’s, sigh. Leo played with dough and watched pizza being made, a rite of passage for little kids at Shakespeare’s. Eventually he started to lose it, time for a nap.

That evening everyone came over to Joanne’s for gumbo. Leo liked all the little stools in the living room and the gumbo too. Lee finally showed up around 6:30. He had been on a business trip in Utah all week and it was nice to finally see my husband again. We told Leo that one of his favorite people was about to show up and Lee got a great big smile when he walked in the door.

Saturday I went for another run, 5 easy miles to the rail trail and back. From Joanne's house this route involves a great big big hill. The hill was very snowy and icy but I was very careful!. I decided at the last minute to buy a ticket to the football game so I could hang out with Dan and Kelsey. Kelsey got Dan football tickets for his birthday so their tickets were row 2 right on the 50 yard line. My seat was behind them, by about 70 rows, but for the first quarter I sat with them, until whoever was sitting next to them decided to quit tailgating and come watch the game.

The game was fun, even though Mizzou lost. They started off the season well and got people’s hopes up and then started losing, but that’s Mizzou, we’re used to it.

Being up so close we could see the golden girls and their dance moves, watch the players on the sidelines. I used to be completely football ignorant but I guess I understand it now because I didn’t have any trouble following the game.

After I was kicked out of my seat I went up and sat in my real seat. You could really see the field and it was a great place to watch marching Mizzou and the halftime show. I got a bbq sandwich for lunch, and I think it made me sick later, although that could have been the Andes hot fudge sundae I had after halftime...

By the end of the third quarter Lee texted that they could pick us up on their way back from Fayette and we were ready to leave.

We headed out to Mark and Mary’s. Elsa and Sam were there and it was fun to talk to them, build toddler tinker toys with Leo, just get a chance to visit with everyone. 

Sam started to read Leo a story but Leo took over, and read a story to Sam instead. It was pretty funny, the facial expressions and dramatic word inflections, just like he was reading.

Mary fed us pulled pork, polenta and a salad, all really great. Leo loved the polenta and ate it beautifully with his spoon. He also licked the butter off his bread, something I have often wanted to do myself!

Sunday morning we went back to Mark and Mary’s for brunch and then it was time to start the long drive back to Minnesota. This time we had 3 drivers and someone was always sitting in the back with Leo.

He watched lots and lots of Sesame Street and Elmo’s world, took a good nap, and enjoyed lunch at Panera’s. He licked the peanut butter and jelly off his bread, ate his yogurt, and flirted with the fussy baby at the next table. We took another break later in the afternoon and let him stretch his legs. As we got back in the car we told him that he could have a snack and watch more Elmo and he said, “Snack, Elmo, Leo happy!” Yes indeed.

Trip to Missouri for Columbia Connection Reunion Phase III

Back at the beginning of May we went to Columbia for a reunion of Lee's college friends. They've done this every 5 years for the past fifteen years now.

We drive down from Minnesota on a Thursday. We are bringing a trailer filled with furniture we have no place for in the new house. The dogs get to come along for the ride. They are thrilled because they love to GO and they haven’t gotten to go anywhere in awhile, but its a long drive and we have to stop several times to tighten the tarp around the furniture.

We finally arrive at Joanne’s. The dogs are not to be trusted because of Simone the cat and carpeting in an unfamiliar house. So we set up a pen for them in the office. Of course they don’t like being apart from us, but we can’t watch them every second.

That night three dogs in a double bed isnt so bad. They all cuddle up with Lee anyway, no matter how big the bed is!

Friday morning I go for a run. Its in the upper 50’s, I can wear running shorts! The dogs get lots of walks, so they get freed from jail plenty. We have Columbia Sub sandwiches for lunch, Missouri frozen custard and coffee in the afternoon, Flyover restaurant for dinner. Then at 7 we go over to the Park restaurant to meet with Lee’s college friends. I see people I know too. Richard Mansur from my late college days, Bob Schrieber, Bob and Beth, Joe Hein who is an old friend of Lee's but has become a  Facebook friend of mine. I spend a long time talking to Terri Timmons. Our daughters are the same age and we were friends when they were little. We had a lot of catching up to do! Robert Schrieber, Bob’s son, was there. He and Sarah were friends in daycare when they were babies! It was a nice evening and we stayed until after 10 pm, crazy late for us.

On Saturday Lee goes with Joanne and Mary to the Columbia farmer’s market. I walk the dogs and putter around. When they get back we stand around chatting and eating homegrown strawberries. It’s a beautiful day. I take the dogs out back and they sniff around in the grass and sunshine. With treats and no others dogs around it’s safe. There’s a park behind Joanne’s house too.

Then at 5:30 we go back to the Park restaurant to eat dinner with Lee’s friends. This time Christine is there. It’s great to see her. I have a good time talking to various people, Liz and Dan, Beth, the ladies across the table from us. This night we leave at a more reasonable time, for us. Lee wonders if this reunion will happen again. Everyone is getting older, it gets harder for people to travel, their lives are moving on.

On Sunday I run 7 easy miles on the MKT trail. Its easy to get from Joanne’s to the trail if I go through a subdivision to a connector trail. I have to navigate a long hill but I take my time and it’s fine. Another beautiful day, lots of runners out. I say good morning but a lot of people don’t bother to respond. Funny the different cultural norms of runners!

Later in the afternoon we go over to Mark and Mary's with the dogs. I'm little worried because they have 2 boxers. When we get there Elsa and Sam are still there with their 10 month old boxer mix. He’s huge, they think he might be part Great Dane. He’s not very well trained yet and barks frantically at our dogs. But really it goes very well. We let everyone sniff each other through the fence first. Then we let our dogs in one at a time, first Harper, then Heather, and finally Cos.

There’s a little bit of snarling on Cosmos part but no contact. Once Frankie leaves it’s actually very calm and pleasant. They play, they sniff, they hang out in their big yard. We eat a delicious Cinco de Mayo meal outside on their porch. So very nice. We throw a ball for the dogs and Heather is in heaven. Toward the end Harper starts limping, rats. She’s still limping in the morning but they’re basically going to sleep all day in the car. She did limp for about a week, but the strain or whatever it was gradually healed itself with lots of rest.

On the way back we stop in Zumbrota to drop of the trailer they let us borrow to bring the furniture down to Missouri. The dogs get out to stretch their legs and visit with the cows a little. Cosmo barks at them bravely, but only from the other side of the fence!

Leo Visits Missouri

On Saturday, December 8th I went to Missouri with Sarah and Leo. it was Leo’s first big trip and Sarah didn’t want to do it  all by herself. I was only too happy to help, of course! Lee drove me to Sarah and Erik’s that morning and then Erik took us to the airport. We were bringing the car seat that Lee and I use, because its light and inexpensive so if something happened to it it wouldn’t be a big deal. We checked it so we didn’t have to haul it through the airport either. 

When we got to our gate Leo needed a change before we got on the plane so Sarah took him to the restroom. They started calling our flight for boarding, but where were Sarah and Leo? Finally they reappeared. Leo had to undergo a full outfit change because he had managed to pee all over himself. Ah babies!

We got on the flight without any further mishaps. Leo was ready for a nap, but takeoff hurt his ears and he screamed until he finally fell asleep in Sarah’s arms, and stayed that way for the entire flight.

We arrived in St. Louis, picked up our rental car and drove straight to Michael and Jim’s house, our base for cousin and friend meeting in St. Louis. Soon my aunt and uncle, Ray and Al arrived, as did my dear friend Sarah Moore. Leo had a lot of fun exploring their rec room. He is very good at finding the very thing we don’t want him to find! My cousin Lisa dropped by too, in-between children’s hockey games. She said her daughter Olivia army crawled just like Leo and went straight from that to walking at 16 months. Good to know! Ray and Al brought Leo a musical book that plays a little song when you press a button. It took Leo no time at all to figure it out, and of course he thought it was amazing!

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and head to Columbia. Leo had no trouble taking a second nap in the car on the way, although it wasn’t long enough and we had to stop for a minute so Sarah could get in the back and provide a little entertainment (and snacks) for the rest of the ride. We stayed at Mark and Mary’s house while in Columbia. They are such good hosts, and Mary is an amazing cook. We had a delicious lentil soup for dinner that night, and really great food all weekend. 

Sunday morning I take Sarah and Leo to Maice’s house for breakfast. They live in the Grasslands, a nice neighborhood close to the University. I can run from their house right to the rail trail, my old stomping grounds, where I first really started running, almost 26 years ago. It was cold but not Minnesota cold. I just zoomed along, well zoomed for me anyway. Then I ran back to their house to eat donuts and visit with Maice and John. 

Later in the afternoon, Joanne, Elsa, Sam and Blake all come over to Mark and Mary’s house. Leo continues to explore, as much as we will let him. He is intrigued by Rosie the cat, who lets him get only so close and then slips away. The boxers desperately want to lick him, but their tongues are almost as big as Leo’s face and he doesn’t want any part of that! He is pretty fearless when it comes to animals, considering them just another part of the big wide interesting world that is opening to him more and more as he scoots about.

Monday we drive to Fayette and have lunch with Dot. Sarah comments on the way there that it has been a very long time since she has visited this small town outside Columbia where many of Lee’s relatives once lived. We pick up Dot at her house and drive to Emmett’s, a very good restaurant on the square. Emmett’s in itself is worth the 45 minute drive! Leo loves Emmett’s. There are twinkling Christmas lights throughout the restaurant and lots of people to flirt with too. He also loves Dot, who is dressed beautifully in a red blouse and a bright scarf. She looks great and is doing very well. It was so very nice to see her. 

As we leave the restaurant I see a policeman eyeing my rental car and beginning to write a ticket because we parked in a handicap space. “Wait!” I shout. “We are with Dot Schnell! She just forgot her hanging tag!” He looks at me speculatively. “You know I even called the rental car agency,” he replied. “Oh well, I was pretty bored. Nice to see you Mrs. Schnell!” And that is how you dodge a ticket in a small town!

That evening Sarah goes out with Maice to help celebrate her birthday. Mary makes an amazing frittata for dinner, chocked full of mushrooms, cheese and potatoes. I make a pig of myself, until Mark says disapprovingly,  “Leave some for your daughter!” I have got to stop eating like I’m still training for a marathon. Well I did leave Sarah a slice. One.

Tuesday it is time to head back to St. Louis. It snows lightly all the way there. Fortunately the roads are not slick and I can see just fine. We stop at Kohn’s and pick up some corned beef for Sarah and Erik, some pastrami for Lynn and Lee, a couple of pickles and rye bread for sandwiches, and some ruglach to snack upon on the plane. Then we head over to Nancy’s for lunch. She is doing good, staying busy of course. She always has lots of friends looking out for her. Seeing her makes me miss mom; they were always hanging out together.

Leo falls asleep for about 5 minutes on the way to the airport. Then our return flight is a bit delayed because of the weather. The airplane had to be de-iced before it left Minneapolis and then de-iced again before we can leave St. Louis. Leo flirts with people behind us on the flight, then screams until he finally falls asleep. Poor thing. I worry that the people around us will hate us. Sarah has become a true mom, not worried about the others, just her baby that is struggling to get comfortable.

It was a great trip. I’m so glad we went. But I was really tired once I got home. I guess that’s why young people are the ones that have babies! But when Lee and I pick Leo up from daycare on Thursday I get a smile of total delight when he sees me. That’s what it’s all about.

Elsa and Sam’s Wedding and a Few Other Detours

This was written back in October.

Thursday, October 5th.

Here we are in Columbia, so familiar even while it continues to grow and change. We came in yesterday, got up early to take the dogs to Diane’s, then drove through rush hour traffic to Boston to get on our 11 am flight to STL. 

I’m sorry there wasn’t time to see Nancy and my cousins and aunt and uncle and friends Sarah and Jay. We would have had to come in a day early to do that. Instead we hopped right on I70, with a stop in Wentzville for Culver’s ice cream.

We are staying at Gail and Phil’s so that there is room for the kids to stay at Joanne’s and nobody has to get a hotel. In the evening we go over to Joanne’s and then to see if we can get a table at Flyover, a new restaurant that everyone is raving about. The wait is only 30 minutes so we sit outside on their porch and enjoy some adult beverages while we wait.

They have really good cocktails, but I stick to a glass of wine since I have a long run to do tomorrow. But Joanne gets their special Manhattan and wow! It even smells great! Something about setting the orange rind aflame seems to do the trick.

This restaurant serves small plates to share. I’m very hungry and jump right in, saying let’s get the chicken fried cauliflower, the spinach salad and the hanger steak. Nobody minds my pushiness and it’s all delish.

Friday, October 6th

I get up at 4:30. It’s warm,  it’s humid, and I have 20 miles to run. I’m supposed to run 18 of them at marathon pace, but it only takes a couple miles before I decide that’s a terrible idea. The humidity is so thick that I quickly decide to run as slow as I need to to make it through without collapsing.

That turns out to be very very slow by the end of the run. I maintain a pace for as long as I think is safe, and then reduce the run part of my run/walk segments until my heart rate goes down. By the end I’m running only 15 seconds and walking 30, but that’s okay. I get the miles in and I don’t pass out.

When I start it is just pitch black out and it takes at least an hour before it gets light enough so I can see without my phone flashlight. Normally I would have used my headlamp but I didn’t think to bring it to Missouri.

I run on the MKT rail trail, all the way to the KATY rail trail along the Missouri River, and then another mile toward Rocheport before I turn around. From the time I leave the Columbia city limits until I head back toward town I don’t see another living soul. Until it’s gets light it’s kind of creepy, and even then it’s a little unnerving. And the mosquitoes in the river bottoms along the KATY are terrible! My legs are covered with bites. I didn’t think I could possibly need bug spray on a run in October, but I guess I was wrong. It’s rainy, cloudy and so very humid. I’m just a puddle by the time I finish.

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Lee gets me Sub Shop sandwiches for lunch and now I’m resting, so hopefully I’ll be able to stay awake tonight and be up for Shakespeare’s pizza with the fam.

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I actually took a nap! It was a real nap, about an hour. It even registered on my Fitbit.

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Daniel gets in around 5. We go over to Joanne’s to say hello, then we head to Shakespeare’s. There has been a lot of development in downtown Columbia lately. Some parts were almost unrecognizable. Lots of tall modern buildings. Even the building that Shakespeare’s was in is now a 10 story apartment building. But Shakespeare’s itself had been recreated to look just like the same old place.  I’m glad; it’s a Columbia institution!

Lee finds a table and I get in line for the pizza, while Daniel makes sure Joanne get into the venue for the rehearsal dinner safely. They are holding the rehearsal dinner for the wedding at Shakespeare’s too! The three of us eat our pizza while we wait for Sarah and Erik to appear. When they are about 30 minutes away I order them a pizza too.

They finally make it to Shakespeare’s sometime after 8:30. Poor things! Just a very long rainy drive through Iowa. It’s great to see them both, including Sarah’s darling pregnant belly. It’s hard to believe that in less than three months my first grandchild will be here!

Saturday, October 7th, the Wedding.

We’re all watching the weather forecast anxiously. The morning is rainy but it’s supposed to clear up in the afternoon, and around 12:30 that starts to seem like it might very well be the case.

At around 2:15 we head for the Becker’s. All the rain has passed and it’s a beautiful sunny day! We pick up Sarah and Erik at Joanne’s on the way. Daniel has already driven Joanne to the wedding earlier. The Becker’s have arranged things so guests can park on Warren’s property across the road and then take a golf cart to the Becker’s.

At the Becker’s the tents and flowers are just amazing. We can get a rosemary grapefruit cocktail or another beverage. I opt for the cocktail and its very good! We gather in the front yard where the ceremony will take place. As Elsa and her parents come down the aisle I start to get tears in my eyes. Of course! I almost always cry at weddings. 

The ceremony is just beautiful. When it is over we retire to the backyard to toast the bride and groom, shower them with soapy bubbles from little champagne bottles, and snack on flavored popcorn.

Then it’s time for dinner. Mark and Mary are friends with people that own a restaurant in town and boyoboy that is the best wedding food I have EVER eaten! Skewers of chicken, pork and veggies, with amazing dipping sauces for each. Roasted potatoes. Spinach salad. Quinoa salad. French baguettes. I get a glass of a Grenache with my dinner and let’s just say it was a very generous pour. One glass is plenty, thank you!

Dessert includes an amazing apple crisp with caramel sauce, rosemary shortbread cookies, and a bit of very intense chocolate. No wedding cake, darn it! My only complaint. I think for our 40th wedding anniversary we need to have an anniversary cake. Or something.

Then of course it’s time to dance. It turns out my brother-in-law Mark can really dance. He twirls his daughter around the floor much to our delight. Pretty soon everyone is out there dancing away. One thing I like about my fam, even though we’re not great dancers we generally get out there and wiggle around. Daniel and I try our best to dance together but I keep stepping on his toes. Oh well!

Elsa belonged to a sorority in college and her Kappa sisters sing her some traditional sorority song. I don’t exactly get it but they gather in a circle and serenade her. And so does Joanne! She told me later she just got her 60 year pin and couldn’t resist.

We are back at Gail and Phil’s by 8 pm and I’m in bed not long after. I sleep a good 8 hours  and wake up still feeling groggy.

Sunday, October 8th.

There’s a brunch at Mark and Mary’s this morning, a variety of egg casseroles made by Joanne, donuts, fruit salad, juice and coffee. We sit in the sun under the tents and relax. They have a huge mess to clean up, I don’t envy them. One of the disadvantages of having a wedding in your own backyard for sure.

Around noon Sarah and Erik and I get in their car for the long drive to Minneapolis. I want to go up to Duluth on Monday and meet my new great nephew Harrison, Nicole and Tom’s new baby. The drive to Minny is long, but the sun is shining and we have ice cream for lunch. Frozen custard, a Missouri / Iowa thing. I have a turtle sundae; I’m hungry!

Sometime close to 7 pm we stop at Lund’s for a carry out dinner. We eat and not too long after I fall into bed, exhausted.

Monday, October 9th.

Monday morning I get up and go for a 7 mile run on the nearby Luce trail. The air is crisp and cool and it feels great to run, much better than last Friday! I love running in Minnesota but I’ve never tried it in the dead of winter. I’m afraid I’d have to spend way more time on a treadmill than I would prefer. I suppose I will be even more grateful to escape to Florida.

Sarah and I leave for Duluth around 10:30. We are there by 1, with a quick stop at Northern Waters Smokehaus for sandwiches. They specialize in smoked meats so Sarah has to nuke her salmon a bit b4 she can eat it. All the things they do nowadays that improve mother and baby safety! 

The sandwiches are yummy, Nicole looks great, and Harrison is just adorable! Nicole seems to really be enjoying mommyhood. Harrison just turned two months old. He has Tom’s dimple in his chin and is just starting to smile. Sarah and I hold him a lot. I’ve forgotten how to hold a baby, especially such a rolypoly wiggly one! 

Nicole puts Harrison in a snuggly, we put Jennie their rambunctious dog on a leash and go for a walk in nearby Chester park. What a beautiful park! It even has a little ski slope! We walk along the rim and then back to their house. It’s time to get back on the road and return to Minny. I like Duluth but man it’s ccccccold!

Tuesday, October 10th.

I drive Sarah to work so that I can have her car. Lee has scouted some properties, mostly land, in the area, and I’m going to check them out. One, only a mile from Sarah and Erik’s house, is really nice. It’s for sale by owner and he has actually RAISED the price. It’s been on the market awhile and I bet the guy is some kind of nut cause otherwise it should have sold. Another one, in Excelsior, is also attractive. It’s a corner lot, a tear down, and requires a little more imagination to see it as something we could make our own. 

Then I get Sarah’s car washed and vacuumed and go buy some Dogwood coffee. I’ve drunk up most of their coffee, since they don’t drink coffee at home very often. I split a bag with then so I can take some home too.

We meet Sarah at a ramen place close to her office for dinner, Ramen Kazama. Ramen is not something that easy to find where we live, unless my very talented husband makes it! The restaurant scene will be one of the big advantages to moving to Minnesota.

Wednesday, October 11th.

I have to get up very very early for my flight back to Boston. I call Uber and he shows up right on time and gets me to the airport without any trouble. Security is slow even with TSA Pre, and I need to grab some breakfast before I get on the plane. First I try Surdyks but his cash register stops working and he has to shut down. I get in the line next door at Carabou Coffee. Its long and slow. By the time I get my coffee and banana bread I only have time to walk to my gate and get right on the plane! Well at least I didn’t miss my flight.