A Fond Farewell to Minnesota!

A perfect night after a perfect weekend. It's hard to beat a calm lake, a beautiful sunset, a blazing fire: an August night in Minnesota.

Addy and Gramma

Labor Day Weekend

The long weekend found us "Up North" at Big Sandy Lake. It was a gorgeous weekend and we had a great time. The morning and early afternoon we spent at Hanni's cabin where Uncle Tony read books to the kids after breakfast. Later we all found something to do: the guys churned the homemade ice cream and the gals and kids did the wagon ride routine.









Later in the afternoon we ended up at Shayne and Sarah's cabin where Addy played and played and we ate and ate.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

Renny and Marlene!!!

I called to chat and asked where they were. "We're just south of Duluth on our way to Fargo," Renny said. That means that in about half an hour they would be 10 miles from us. So we planned a meeting place, then talked them into staying overnight and joining us for Shayne's "Up North" birthday celebration. Renny, not being one to turn down a big, juicy steak and corn on the cob was happy to spend the afternoon and evening with us. Dijon (the dog) loved the Minnesota outdoors too!

It couldn't have been better if we had planned it!

Bryan and Stacy

See you two when we are back in November. Don't work too hard, Stacy, and good luck on the promotion opportunity, Bryan. We love you both!

The Last Hurrah

When the end is imminent you cram everything in -- and that’s what we did! Monday we enjoyed dinner at Bob and Jo’s in New Brighton and with the nice weather had a chance to eat on the new porch. Their newly remodeled kitchen/great room/porch is absolutely amazing. I love the wall of glass overlooking the back yard.



Tuesday we were back at Mille Lacs cooking up a Mexican storm. Our new friends, Mary and Paul, are wedding photographers and have a lake place just down the street from where we park. We have enjoyed a few games of Mexican Train this summer!

Wednesday we said good-bye to the casino -- and our money!

Thursday we figured we’d better see Bryan and Stacy one more time before we left, so we met them for sushi at Taiko Japanese (the best little sushi place in Moundsview). It just happened to be Bob and Jo’s “family” night and we joined right in.

Duluth Day Trip

We've had a great little vacation here at the Carol and Jim Campground. The venison is done and now we're just sitting around enjoying our happy hours and desserts.

We decided to take a day trip to Duluth to tour the William A Irvine, a steel cargo ship of the late 1930s. Mark, a former shipman, joined us to fill in the blanks on the guided tour. It was a great hour and a half tour and we learned a lot.

After a short trip up the North Shore we stopped at Betty's Pies for lunch and then did the scenic route along Lake Superior home.