thoughts and other happenings

We've been in 16 states - and will only repeat from here on home. 
Out mid afternnoon stop on Saturday was to Winona Lake, IN.  Yes, it has a lake and other neat things but the reason we stopped was to see Jessica and Daniel.  Our planned 2 hour visit turned into 4 hours as we chatted.  Jess and Linda spent 2 years working on math and other fun subjects. 

We spent Saturday night in a Travelodge in Lima, O. Right location. The free breakfast on Sunday included biscuits and gravy, among other delicacies. I can safely say that the biscuit I attempted to ingest was the toughest I had ever run across, snapping the knife in an attempt to cut it.

Sunday was spent going up and down - mostly for miles and miles.  We debated whether to take the slightly longer route that was mostly interstate or to take a more direct route from Ohio, across WVa and into Va.  The direct route won but after crossing 3 mountains, Linda was done driving so Al took over for the next 4 or was that 44, it was hard to keep track.  Lot of 9% and 10% grades. You may recall our comment about lack of curves in South Dakota. This day more than made up for them. At one point we rounded an upward curve only to meet a doe tip-hoofing across the road. She seemed somewhat put out by our presence. Interestingly, Verizon does not cover those mountains - no service at all.  The bad part of that was we didnt' have a good address for our destination - and couldn't call!!  All ended well and we are relaxing in our second floor condo. We have a nice view of the mountains (duh) out our windows.
  This morning we decided to hike to the top of the mountain to the "observation point." We made it all the way to the top; it was worth it. We measured it about a mile of steepity.

7/9 - Iowa, Il, Ind, and the near miss

From where we stayed in Sioux city, Iowa, it was a 10 minute trip to go into Nebraska, just to add another state to the trip list. We have all but 5 state license plates, but we are NOT detouring to Alaska. We took off from Sioux City, IA on U.S. 20 and barreled across IA like a John Deere with heart burn. It seemed to be a farming state. Early on we passed Holstein (pron Hole-Shtine). We are sure of the pronunciation because the huge Welcome To sign included Wilkommen Freunde.  We are fairly certain the town was settled by Germans.  The next interesting place on our route was Correctionville. It’s water tower was a giant bottle of  White-out (at least it seemed so to Al).

We hit Galena, IL in midafternoon. Its lies in the northwest corner of IL, which is the prettiest part of the state. Beside the Mississippi, the hills and valleys are wonderful. Galena lies in one of those valleys about 20 miles south of Dubuque, IA. When we left 30 years ago, Galena was a quiet, quaint town. It is now a tourist attraction. If you would like to choose one of 40 flavors of popcorn, this is the place to go. You know when you’re in a shop and you ask to taste a product?  You get about a drop of the stuff. Not here. The proprietor dumps popcorn into your hand until it falls out. You can get samples of white chocolate, caramel cheese, chocolate cookie, and a bunch of flavors we can’t remember.  It is a treat to walk thru the town.  The houses are well maintained, old and just neat. 

We continued down the river to our first home – Savanna, Il.  Our very first house is still there.  It has been a tack house, a garage, our house and from there we don’t know, but it looked to still be inhabited.  It was red when we lived there but is now gray.  The second house we lived in is a duplex but it looked vacant and in disrepair.  A part of the roof looks ready to collapse.  The other house we lived in (during our second assignment there) and owned looked pretty good.  We drove by and took pictures of both of the churches we went to while living there. Al was saved at the Lutheran church. The Army Depot where Al was trained lies along the Mississippi and is now a nature preserve.   

We stopped at a Best Western in Annawan, IL for the unfortunate night. First, we tried to log onto the internet. When we failed, the manager said that we could not access the public network unless we turned off our computers’ firewalls. Nonstarter. Then our neighbors included a rowdy family with two dogs, which the manager was unwilling to deal with. Yes, we intend to inform the company about this.

9 July We weren’t far down the road this morning when a tire pressure light came on.  So we stopped at a gas station in Webster City, IL to put in some air.  None of the tires looked bad but one did look a tad low.  The air pump connection was non functional so we left to find another option.  There was a tire and auto repair place across the road – Tony’s.  We stopped and told them our problem and they checked all the tires and added air to the one that was low – no charge and with smiles all around.  The indicator light stayed on but there wasn’t anything else to be done.  So off we went.  When we got back onto the highway, the trouble light went off.  Thanks, Tony’s!!!!

  Then there was the near miss We headed east from the BW to northern Indiana. We certainly experienced God’s hand of protection.  We were on the last leg of the drive, in Indiana, in the left lane of the interstate, the third of four cars preparing to pass a big truck. Al was driving. As we crested a hill, the driver of the first car, which was already over the crest, decided to slow hard-brake so he could make an illegal turn through the median. The second driver saw this and dove back into the right lane, narrowly avoiding the 16-wheeler. Al hit the crest and saw the idiot – I mean first driver right in front of him. He slammed the brakes, blew his horn and we just missed.  The vehicle behind us was not tail-gaiting and there was just enough room to veer to the right while staying in the lane to avoid the idiot and the truck. It was very scary.

Miles and miles

7/7  In the last three days there has been no free time, which is why this is hitting now.
  July 4 - we traveled to Hawley, MN, where the Hjemkommst was built. Yay! you iterate. Yes, there are many fans of the famous boat, so no explanation is required. We visited L's sis and bro-in-law and pounded stakes into the tomato patch. Yes! Spent more time with L's mom. She's doing pretty good with PT and is showing some humor. For example: A nurse brings a pain pill and says, "this is my last stop before my shift is over. And I'm not leaving until you take it." Mom sits there and does nothing. About 90 seconds later, the nurse asks if she is going to take the pill. She says, "No, so you'll have to stand there all day." Then she cracks a smile.
  We played cards with the Estensons and bro Marv until about 10:00 pm, Then stepped outside to look at firesworks and get attacked by mosquitoes. After the firewords started, the sky lit up in the west with cloud-to-cloud lightning bolts which were far more spectacular than the pyrotechnics (which were fired off in record time as a tornado warning was announced. The twister fizzled out and the worse part of the storm went south.
  5th - Saw mom again. We went to the cemetery where L's dad, uncles, grandparents and a few other generations are buried. It's a family plot that the CIA could never find. It lies at the end of an alleged road, hidden by woods, thorns, and weeds. The 'road' is nearly as good as an average deer trail. The best part was the kamikaze deer flies which will eat one alive, given the chance. We fought them for nearly 30 seconds before ceding the field to superior numbers. Our next stop had been sited the day before.  US-10 passes Lake Park, which has a redecorated garage. The site looks like it was pulled out of a 1930's photo, with lots of signs and stuff.. The best part is the collection of antique cars, ranging from model-A to 52 Ford pickup. Cool lookin' place. got some photos. Then on to Fargo (where people talk funny) for dinner with L's sis' family. Had some good chats then went out for frozen yogurt.
  7-7 - The feedback meter is pegging. Apparently, the Hjemkommst has slipped from a few memory chips. About 40 years ago, a fella in Hawley MN built a Viking ship. He sailed it from Duluth to Europe, partly to prove that the barbarian invaders could indeed have sailed to North America. The boat in on display in Moorhead, MN, which is also quite famous for it was the destination for Buddy Holly's airplane (weep).
  We traversed through the eastern edge of S.D. today, which is miles and miles of miles and miles. Another gorgeous day with poofy clouds that look like reclining teddy bears. We went through two curves on I-29: one north of Aberdeen and one just north of Sioux Falls. It was quite exciting. We saw a small crop duster plane flittering around the road for a while.. It was flying so low, that at times its landing gear was less than 10 feet off the earth. It looped and glided and swooped and put on quite a show. It was then we saw what it was doing - spraying the swails along the side of the road. Don't know why, but it sure looked like fun.
  We stopped at an unusual art museum in Watertown SD. A local fella named Terry Redlen (picture a cross between Norman Rockwell and Thomas Kincaid) donated his personal collection of Americana oils. Lots of ducks, deer, and richly-colored scenes. Most paintings were set in sunrise/sunset - quite lovely. then we pulled off to see a musical instrument museum at SD University in Vermillion SD. The world weird comes to mind. For example: a 10' tall drum, a 6-valve trombone, a double-belled euponium with 5 valves, Henry IV's violin, a soprano violin, ... They had an autographed BB King guitar and an upright grand piano.
We're tucked in for today.

Curve in they road

thingamajig

Linda & Mom (Linda is on the right)

Hjemkommst - ta da

French horn in front - trombone in back

Whatchamacallit

7/3 - Detroit Lakes

  We went to a Lutheran church in the morning. Except for the begining and end, it could have passed for Baptist. We saw a nice donut juggling act afterwards. The young lady took a bow, having not smeared a mite of the savory, sticky chocolate on her Sunday outfit.

  We spent most of yesterday in Frazee, a town so small that it would fit in a typical midwest cloverleaf. Had a good time with the Anderson clan and discovered the joys of chocolate-covered Rice Krispy bars. It is possible these goodies could being about world peace.
  Last night we played cards with our hosts and L's bro, Marv. The game was declareda draw when the power went bye-bye, but we were pretty sure nobody was ever going to win. That's just the way it goes.
  While it is a reasonable assumption that NJ and MN are on the same planet, there is reason for doubt.  There is a tree here with bright green leaves (duh) and snowball-like flowers that overpower the senses - in a nice way. Can't find anyone who knows their name yet, but they are sensational. Walked past a pine mail box, having smelled it from about 30 yards away. Each tiny swamp, of which there are millions, is patrolled by its legal owners, redwing blackbirds. They tolerate visitors, but just barely.
  Detroit Lakes is mostly quiet, except perhaps when the Norther Pacific rolls through with east-bound coal or westbound grain. For 50 points: Why Detroit Lakes? not a UAW union in site.

7/2

  We spent this beautiful day with families of various sorts. One forgets how lovely Minn can be in the summer: 77 degrees, cool breeze coming off "the lake," and four clouds in the sky. Then there are the winters.
  We attended a celebration for Linda's aunt Bell in Detroit Lakes. Lotsa people (many of whom we did not know) and lots food (yes, this is Minnesota). We won a valuable trophy for having traveled the farthest. There was supposed to be a seed spiting contest, but apparently it fizzled because the seeds were too sensitive. Linda told a story about her aunt and won another priceless token of success.
  Duane & Al watched the Twins blow a 7 run lead, which was really exciting.
  We also managed a short trip to "the lake" (East Battle, that is) to see Al's gang. Flashback - We drove up the other day as dark clouds piled up in the southwest. We had but a few showers and arrived unscathed. Al's sister, who left the cities several hours later, was caught in a horrific hail storm. Her shiny car is now pocked from bow to stern. Did I mention lovely Minn summer days?
  We judged the annual Battle Lake rib cookoff. It was rough duty but somebody had to do it. Al's bro, Robert, won the accolade and now has bragging rights for the next year. His emotional acceptance speech brought tears to our eyes.
  Some of our relatives are somewhat odd. We know that is hard to believe, but it is so. It could be something to do with the mosquitos.

July 1 - What gov't?

 We're pulling out of St. Paul this morning, having spent the day with my mom and cousin, Evie. Cuz just underwent heart surgery. Considering recent history, I can only assume that there is something in the water here that affects chest cavities. Both are doing great.
  Minn shut down last night. The gov't could not figure out why they were hired, not unlike our revered "leaders" in D.C.. 
    Our goal this fine warm day is to go "up north" to "the lake," then into "the hinterland," to seek out Linda's clan of miscreants. State troopers are still working, so we will maintain reasonable impetus.
    We had choices on how to take this next leg.  Al's family was delayed in St. Paul so going to their lake place was not a good option.  We started out that way and to change the plan wasn't a huge deal but Linda had to find a Dairy Queen on the way.  Al has challenges using our GPS but he did manage to find a DQ - actually two!  During an extended, successful search for a DQ in PA, Violet, our grandaughter said - If we were in MN, we would already be at the DQ.  There are a lot of them in MN. 
  Landed at Mom's.  She's working on rehab but it's slow.
  Now we are at my sister's, chilling and have a fun time.   

Wednesday

  We buzzed through northern Ill and Wisc today, seeing hundreds more of the wind generators. Ironically, many of them framed a nuclear plant in the distance. We landed at my mom's place mid-afternoon. She is doing great following the up-or-down surgery of a few months ago. The dr. who gave her a stainless steel artery told her she should live another 40 years (so she'd be about 124), so my sister Cindy and I are trying to get her to take up sky-diving, with or without a parachute.
  Cruel? You don't know my mom. She has a marvelous sense of humor, some of which rubbed off on me. She intends to live her life and not curl up in a corner. She's already planning another road trip. I've met nearly all of her 10 siblings and they were all the same. Pity parties are not allowed.
  We're tucked away in a hotel that used to be a train engine repair shop. Tracks still run through the cement-floored lobby. Neat place.