Trip (part 2)

Here are a few more pics...

The water in all the rivers was this color.... it comes out of marshes up stream so it has a bunch or organic matter in it (not pollution).  The rivers were super warm and the place to swim

The pic below is a shot of what most of the beaches looked like.... no sand here

Looking across to the lighthouse in Two Harbors

Stairs in lighthouse

The ore ship that we toured in Duluth

Aerial Bridge in Duluth (the bottom part goes up to allow ships in and out of the harbor)

We spent a good part of one afternoon jumping into Superior (you may note that we are not in swimming suits... they were back at the Acadia and too far away to go back for so we just jumped in anyway..... it was 100 + F so we were dry in no time)

 The "Temperance River" is so named because it is the only one without a sandbar...... get it..... Temperance... no bar...... Minnesota people are funny!

A "peeping Bear" on our hotel balcony in Fargo (He is not real - just for clarification)

Here is a visual description about how I felt about going to the "Mall of America" (It turned out to be more fun than that)

The real "MOA" picture

We did lots of other stuff..... the zoo in Minni was really good (for example) but that is it..... if you want to see more pictures you are going to have to come and see us.   :)

Summer trip (Part 1)

Our holidays this year included a swing through Minnesota.  "Why Minnesota?", you ask.... because it is there.   Actually, because Sari remembered it being really nice when she was there as a kid and every time we have been through there we have said, "We should come back here sometime", so this was the year.

The trip included stops in Bemidji, Duluth (which I thought was nothing but an industrial city... but I was wrong... it was really nice), a little town called "Two Harbors" (it was our home base), a cabin 20 minutes north of Two Harbors on the northwest shore of Lake Superior (our home for 8 days), Minneapolis (for the Mall and the zoo) and then to Fargo and finally home.  Fourteen days.... some shopping.... some outdoors stuff.... tons of good times.

I will upload a bunch of pictures here and then add more in the coming days (just to give you a taste of what we saw and got to do).

If you have ever been to Bemidji, you will know that you have to have your picture taken with Paul Bunyan and his blue ox "Babe" (I think it is a law or something)

Bemidji also has a really nice lake and park right in the center of town... perfect backdrop for the girlies.

Gooseberry Falls in the strangely named "Gooseberry Falls State Park".  We spent a lot of time hiking to waterfalls in several state parks.  I think we counted something like 11 state parks within an hour of our cabin, so we had lots to explore.

This is a coal fired steam powered tug boat (the last of its kind operating) called the "Edna G".  It was used mainly in the Two Harbors port.  It is now retired and you can take tours of it (which we did).

The Two Harbors lighthouse... the only operational lighthouse on the north shore of Lake Superior.

 Breakwater at Two Harbor.  We walked out on it several times

 This is Split Rock lighthouse.  It was built in 1910 as were mainly lighthouses along this shore.  A bad storm and a bunch of lost ships in 1905 caused the locals to demand the government improve safety on the water... a series of lighthouses whose beams could be seen 22 miles away was the answer.  Split Rock remained operational until 1969.  It is now only lit once a year... on November 10th to remember the men lost on the "Edmund Fitzgerald" (By the way, if you go to Lake Superior, you better like Gordon Lightfoot... or at least "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"... you will hear it in every gift shop that sells a replica of the ship... which they ALL DO!!!  Fortunately, I like the song.... so much so that I took to singing it at random several times per day.  The girls were not quite as happy with this turn of events as I was).

Duluth has a beautiful boardwalk/walking path along the shore and through some really nice parks.... we spent one night just walking all over the place and eating ice cream

One of our favorite places to eat... "Betty's Pies" in Two Harbors.  It may not look like much, but I would drive back there just to eat pie all day (not that I ate pie all day when I was there.... but I could have).  We found lots of places like this along the way... quaint mom and pop places that served good food (often on a deck outside)... it was great!  Mmmmm - Bumbleberry!!!!! 

Another activity that took up much of our time..... wading in the streams.  The lake was freezing, but the streams were really warm (as were the days.... 100 + Fahrenheit the entire trip... very strange weather for them as it is usually considerably cooler).  The rocks in the streams were really interesting (coming out of the ore fields they were all different colors etc).  The water was weird too... very brown... but that is because it was coming from the marshland upstream and it is full of decomposed plants,etc.  It was super warm (like bathwater) and fun to play in/swim in/etc

Did I mention that Superior (which averages about 450 feet deep and is over 1300 feet deep in many places) is REALLY COLD????   Here are the girls taking the plunge anyway.  Later in the week the water felt warmer so we went cliff jumping - but that is a story for another day.

What would a trip with Sari be without nature pictures?  She was fascinated by the humming birds outside our bedroom window (one of several thousand humming bird pics that we now have)  :)

And lastly (for now) our home away from home.  Sari found the "J Gregors Inn" online.  We chose it because it looked nice but mostly because it was about 1/2 the cost of everything else in the area.... and it was great!!! Quiet.... comfy..... great owners..... really really good.

This is a shot of the outside of the place.  Each end has a room and the middle section has two units (one of which was ours).   We never heard and rarely even saw the other people staying there so it was like we had the place to ourselves.

Looking in from the front door.... one bed on the left (where the kids slept).... a kitchen/dining area in the middle.... and another bedroom (ours) through the patio doors at the back.

The old (but useful) kitchen

Our room (or part of it at least).  No internet..... no TV....... we would read until 2 in the morning.... sleep in until 11 or so..... eat at the room and then go do whatever (tour, hike, shop, etc).... eat supper in town.... get home by 10 or so.... read till 2 and do it all again.  It was relaxing and quiet and really nice.  Nice to have two girls that can leave their phones at home and not go crazy too.

And finally (for now) a shot of the backyard of the place.  The owners said that we could use anything out there so we had a fire in the fire pit one night..... the girls (all three) fought over the hammock.... we sat out there and read some..... it was really nice.  Superior is just beyond the trees that you see at the back of the picture, so that made it even better. (Note the Moose.... he seemed to hang around out there a lot)

So there you go.... round one of pictures/commentary.  Check back in a few days for more.

We're baaaaccckkk!!!!

Hey we just got back (literally an hour or so ago) from a great trip to Lake Superior and Minnesota in general...... rock climbing, hiking, cliff jumping into Superior, little shops, exploring, hot weather, waterfalls, a little too much shopping (for my liking), a quaint town band concert (more about that later), ship tours, aquariums, boardwalks, ice cream, little diners, State parks, campfires, hotels, rock hunting, zoos and the biggest zoo of all - the Mall of America.

I am already missing this holiday and I am thinking about the fact that we are winding down on the "just the four of us" holidays overall..... that is a sad thought... but this was a good one to add to the list of memories.  We had a ton of fun and lots of different experiences.

Stay tuned over the next few days for pictures and commentary. 

Our New Baby

Just a little taste of what we heard over the span of a month plus. Just take this cute little song and multiply it by 867874768767 times per minute (once he was out of the nest - as he is here - he seemed to calm down and sing less.... this song still haunts us in our sleep) Goodbye Woodpecker baby.... it was nice knowing you!

3685 KMs

That is how far I rode on my recent "Black Hills motorcycle tour" with my brother.  I had not really spent much time in the Hills, so it was fun to get to look around.  We started the week by hitting the stock cars races in Bismarck on the way down and then we spent the rest of the week driving every road we could find.  Pictures do not do it justice, but I will share a few anyway. 

It was nice to hang out with Lenny and it was nice to have a whole week where I thought about nothing but where to go, when to get gas and what to eat.  It was very fun and relaxing!  Sunny and 90 the whole week (with the exception of a little rain on the way down and on Tuesday evening/Wed morning). 

A big "thanks" to Sari for holding down the fort and for letting me go and be irresponsible for a whike... it was fun!  :)

Well - when you're right you're right!

So tonight I am cleaning the bathroom (this is not something I normally do so don't think I am a "Domestic God" or something, I was just trying to help out) and Megan is standing there, so I take the bottle of cleaning stuff and say to her, "Open your mouth" and act as if I am going to shoot some at her.

She turns and says, "Get lost!"

So I say, "Oh come on!  It tastes great" and I turn the bottle toward my own mouth and act as if I am going to spray some in..... but I accidentally pushed on the sprayer thingy a little too hard and I actually did shoot cleaning stuff into my mouth (it takes slightly less than "great" by the way.... like somewhere between rotten lemon juice and old socks).

Megan heads downstairs and I hear her say to Sara, "You married an idiot!"

Now I did not like the "idiot" part so much (I mean, anyone could make the same mistake.  Who hasn't accidentally shot cleaning solution into their mouth at one time or another, right? Right?), so I wait for her to come back upstairs and then I say, "I think 'idiot' was a little extreme, don't you?   I mean, I may be a lot of things, but idiot is a little over the top, don't you think?"

She looks at me and says, "Then why is your shirt on inside out?"

"It isn't" I reply.

"Then why can I see this tag?   And why is all the 'inside' stitching on the outside?" she asks.

Turns out that the shirt I wore all day to work.... the Polo-ish three button shirt that I wore to coffee.... to the office.... out for lunch with a bunch of guys (including a Harley biker dude who could have snapped me like a twig - but that is another story for another time).... and to the bank.... was on inside out all day and I did not even notice and no one bothered to tell me!

So I was about to tell her "All the cool kids are wearing their shirts inside out now, Megan.  It is the new style", but I figured she would not buy it.

Maybe "idiot" was not so far off the mark after all.  :)

Stuff

So here is a bunch of random stuff from the past few weeks

First, Megan's school play (entitled "Sam Spud Private Eye").  She played "Junior" and did a really good job..... here she is in all her Junior glory.....

Then we had Megan's birthday party.... a day at the beach.... movies.... hanging out with these guys...

 And then the singing group that Katie is in at school had a concert and they were singing 80s songs, so they all decided to dress up "80s-ish"... and here are some of the results.  They sounded really good and actually looked like kids should dress (shouldn't all kids dress in 80s style??? I think so)

And then there was a "Cops and Kids" basketball game at Hillcrest.... I am neither a cop nor a kid but I got invited to play anyway.  Here is a shot from that with both me and Megan looking like we are doing something.....

And lastly, the high school awards night was last Wednesday and Katie got an award for having one of the top 10 averages in her grade (top 10 out of 200+ students)..... here she is on stage....

And lastly, we have a new baby around here.... a woodpecker baby.  It is in an old tree in our backyard and it chirps incessantly!  Sari loved it at first ("Oh it is so cute.... nature in our backyard").... now she is like "Look you stupid whiny baby.... SHUT UP!!!!" (She HATES repetitive noises and this thing - seriously - does not stop from sun up till sun down).  It is cute though....

And - sadly - in over 178 pictures there is not one of Sari in this go round (when you are behind the camera taking the pictures it is hard to be in front too).  She is as cute as ever too.... even cuter than a woodpecker baby.  :)

Ok - so things do come in three

If you read the last post, you will know that I was waiting for my third encounter with the police in as many days.... and then it happened.

I got invited to play in a "Kids vs the police (and a few other dudes from the community)" basketball game at Hillcrest today.  It was a lot of fun especially because I know a lot of the kids and because it was non-competitive (or so they said.... though a few dudes were taking it sort of seriously).

I said to one of them before we started, "This is a really good idea!  The kids get to see the police in a different light and they get to learn CPR when one of us collapses", but fortunately that did not happen.

I was hoping that the cop that flashed his lights at me yesterday was there because I was going to give him the gears about picking on a minister.... but he chickened out.

All in all it was a fun event.... and now, hopefully, "The fuzz" will leave me alone.  :)

Trouble with "The Man" and a significant event

It has happened twice and, if things come in threes, I may be in trouble!

What am I talking about?  "The Man" is after me..... you know "The Man".... the fuzz.... the coppers.... Barney....  the County Mountie..... the Doughnut Patrol.... Flatfoots.... The Heat.... The Law.... you know...... and they want to send me to the pokey..... the hoosegow (yes that is the correct spelling).... the crowbar hotel..... the big house.... the  ...... (Ok - is that enough?  You get the picture?  We will move on then)

And here is the thing..... I was obeying the law (Mostly!) at the time.

The first incident happened last night.  As noted in an earlier post, I am trying to sell my old motorcycle "Hannah the Honda" (if you are interested, she is still available), so I decided to start her up and see how she was running.  Started like "a boss" (my kids use that expression - I am not sure what it means.  I argued that it should be "the boss" - like the guy in charge or even like Springsteen - but they tell me that "the boss" is wrong and the only acceptable term is "a boss").  So then I decided that the only way to really make sure it was running well was to pound it down the back alley with dust and gravel flying everywhere (just to make sure it can still do that) and then - just as I hit the brakes at the end of the alley - I saw him.... the fuss (or "a fuzz" possibly).   Since Hannah does not have a license on her at the moment and since the cloud of dust seemed to attract the attention of "the Man" (or "a man") I slowly turned around (making sure to keep the front of the bike to the policeman) and started back to my garage.  He did not come over to talk, but he drove rather slowly until he saw me turn back into my garage...... I think I will plating Hannah tomorrow.

Then today I am riding my Suzuki around town (her name is "Miranda" b/c she is an "M50") and I see Crystal Quilliams walking across the street near her house, so I stop in the street to talk to her.  Within seconds, what do I see in my rear-view mirror..... A cop car with its lights on!!!   I am thinking, "What?  How can this be?  I have never been given a speeding ticket in Canada (I got one in North Dakota years ago) and now the police are all over me?????  What is going on????"   Turns out this cop knew Crystal and he thought that I was Paul (he knows that Paul has a bike) so he was just goofing around.  When he found out that I was not Paul, he asked, "Well who is it then?" and Crystal said "The minister from my church".   The cop then said "D'oh!" (or something like that) and then, "Ah... tell him he has a nice bike" and then drove away.

So I am not sure what I am going to do if this harassment doesn't stop.  I have always respected the Police, but if this keeps up......  

At least now I know how my cousins feel!  :)

PS.  And the significant event.... Sari posted something to the blog yesterday!!  The "rules" post below... first time in 5 years that she has posted anything.  Maybe you will actually get to hear her perspective on our life if this keeps up!!!

PPS.  I have pics from Megan's play and Katie's singing group from this past week.... I will post them in the next few days.

There are lots of 'rules'....most of them i hate...these i like because they motivate and don't restrict.