I officially do not miss winters!

Hey everyone! J and I got home yesterday from visiting friends in Virginia. I can I definitely do not miss the winter season. Yesterday was nice and I was able to not have my jacket on between the restaurant and the car. Friday was better than Thursday, which was in the 30′s and very very windy. J was laughing at me because I was cold, but he had to put a hat on!

We had a very good time. My friends live about 30 miles from downtown DC, so they dropped us off at the metro station Thursday and Friday so we could go play tourist. Thursday we went to the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Musuem. The Air and Space also had some of the items from the American History Musuem since that building is under renovation. J also got to see the outside of the Library of Congress, plus the lobby area. We got there 15 minutes after they closed, but I can tell you the lobby area is beautiful!

Friday we walked from the metro station to the Washinton Monument, around the Reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial and then back up to the Holocast Museum. We did A LOT of walking those two days! The Holocaust Musuem was the one I wanted to do since it wasn’t there when I did the class trip in 8th grade. J calls it depressing, which in a way it is. But it’s also very poignant and heartbreaking. The biggest issue I had was there was too much reading, a problem when there are a bunch of people moving through an area. The pictures all had small plaques describing what they were and the only way those could be read was up close. Other than that, the museum was amazingly well done. It’s one of the quietest I’ve ever been in. People didn’t feel right speaking in normal tones, so there were a lot of whispers and hushed tones. Most people had rubber soled shoes on and it was very jarring when a couple went through and they were not in rubber soles shoes.

The museum has a lot of actual articles from the victims of the camps, several uniforms and personal objects. There were even actual pieces from some of the ghettos and camps, cobblestones from Warsaw and bunks from Auschwitz just to name a couple. But what really got me was seeing the shoes. People entering the camps had to give up their shoes and one of the displays was just shoe upon shoe upon shoe. It was also heartbreaking to read and hear about how the different countries first responded to the rising problem.

Ok, I’m going to stop depressing everyone. We did have a very good time and are very thankful to our friends for letting us crash on their guest bed. We got an amazing cost for air up to DC, $129 round trip, so going back again won’t break the bank! Hopefully we’ll have a much better landing the next time we head up there. For once the approach was so bumpy that my stomach felt rocky. And when we landed, we were tilted to the right, the left side tires were not on the ground at the same time as the right. But we made it safely and had a very good short vacation! And pictures can be seen at Photobucket.

Vacation’s Over :(

I’m home now. Vacation is all over. Like the last ten years, the last week just flew by. It feels like there wasn’t enough time to do all that I wanted and see all that I wanted. But I did, and had a wonderful time. It was so good to see old friends and meet new ones. And in true Minnesotan fashion, it was wonderful getting together over a good meal. There’s nothing quite like getting a chance to enjoy that food at all the childhood haunts. I’m just greatful we got to eat at Totino’s as they were supposed to be closed by the end of September and not yet opened in their new location.

The reunion provided a good time for all. I heard that Fridley lost the homecoming game. The class of ’97 alumni had already deserted the game for the local watering hole, or formerly known as DiMaggio’s. I’m glad we attended the game as there were a few people we got to see Friday that weren’t able to make Saturday’s official event. The reunion event itself was interesting. It was, to use the word again, interesting to see who had changed and who hadn’t. There were several people that looked different and many were very thankful for the name tags that were provided. It was really nice to see some old friends from High School and meet the important people in their lives. Some significant others I almost felt like I already knew. Now, the only question that remains is, will the next ten years go as quickly and how can I slow them down?

Oh, and all pictures will shortly be added to my photobucket album shortly. Keep checking for updates if you’re interested!

Greetings from Minnesota

Hey everyone! Greetings from Minnesota! John and I flew up here at the crack of dawn on Saturday and we’re in the middle of a wonderful vacation. No, I truly mean that. Ok, it didn’t start out all that great. Mostly because for some reason that we haven’t yet figured out, neither one of us got much sleep the night before. And our flight left at 7am, which meant we had to be at the airport by 5:30 or 6. I think it’s safe to say we both averaged around 2-3 hours of sleep.

We landed in Minneapolis around 11am CST and immediately headed to the Twins game. It felt like I had not spent the last 3 1/2 years attending a Twins game in a different State. It felt soooo good to be at the Dome surrounded by all the Twins fans. Granted, when I see them playing the Devil Rays, I’m still pretty much surrounded by Twins fans, but now all the music cheers and the wave (has that ever been done at a Devil Rays game?) is for the Twins as the home team. It was also my last chance to see the Twinks play at the Dome. I know, they probably won’t be in their new stadium for a few years. But I don’t see me making another game at the Dome anytime soon.

Right after the game John and I then headed north to Grand Marais. The drive went fairly quickly. We spend about an hour in Duluth playing around on Canal Park before continuing the drive. Traffic was pretty light which allowed us to make good time. I was disappointed that the leaves weren’t as colorful as I thought they’d be. But the drive back to the Twin Cities definitely made up for it.

Sunday we drove up to Canada. John’s never been to Minnesota or Canada and he wanted to go. The clerk at our hotel in Grand Marais suggested driving to a waterfall (for the life of me I can’t remember the name, but it started with a K). So we planned on doing so. However, at the end of 130 in Canada (highway?), we had a T intersection and no further directions. We ended up in Thunder Bay, had lunch and then headed back to the border. A stretch stop at the Ontario visitor’s center showed us that there were a set of falls right there. The visitor center is on Pigeon River. We had a nice short (about an hour round trip with rest break for pictures) hike to High Falls. We spent Sunday night in Two Harbors.

This morning after breakfast we headed up to Gooseberry Falls. After we did the tour of Glensheen Mansion in Duluth before heading back to the Twin Cities. The fall colors were amazing on the drive back. It partially makes me wonder why I ever decided to move to Florida. The trip North was relatively unchanged. It felt like I had never left. At times it also felt like I was back in high school. And although I’ve greatly enjoyed the trip north, I know in a very short time it’s going to be beyond freezing and I will be nice and warm in sunny Florida.

I’ve uploaded pictures to my Photobucket account. I tried to get them semi in order. It didn’t quite work out the way I planned. The titles all have a D#. The D stands for Day with D1 being Saturday Sept 22. Etc. The number after the decimal indicates the general order of the photos. For example, D2.o are the initial pictures of Sunday morning in Grand Marais. D2.1 would be the photos on the way to Canada, etc.

More pictures to follow as the week progresses. It’s going to be a full, enjoyable week. I’ll be visiting with old friends and the week will end with my ten year high school reunion. Wow! Where has the time gone!