Memorial weekend marks my eight year anniversary of moving to Minnesota. Eight years. Eight years. It doesn’t seem possible that I’ve lived here this long. Babies that were born when I moved here in 1998 are now eight! Kids that turned 13 the year I moved here are now legally able to drink! Kids entering high school finished that AND college in the time I have lived here. Just, wow. In eight years I have managed to move 5 times, fall in love, get married, obtain 4 cats, buy a new car, pay off said new car (one more payment…whoo!), get my gallbladder taken out, have gastric bypass surgery, go back to school (only 6 more months to graduation!), change jobs 5 times, and so much more. Not to mention the stuff having to do with muscular dystrophy and Bob’s health. After 8 years I have to say that I am finally settling into a groove here and think of this as home. I finally feel at home here.
I can’t believe the weekend is over already. Where did it go? I got off work early on Friday, which was good because it took us an hour and a half to get to the town where my boss’s mother-in-law’s visitation was held. It was a nice day and a nice drive though and my boss seemed glad to see us. We were the only ones from work who showed up. Actually, just before we left, two others from work also showed up, so that was good. I guess more folks were going to go to the funeral the next day but we chose the visitation so we wouldn’t have to go to the funeral.
Saturday was my day for doing nothing. Except I didn’t do nothing. We did sleep in a bit but had to be at the vet’s office by 10 for the kittens’ first check ups. They really do not like riding in the car. They mewed, cried, and whined piteously from the back of the van as though we were pulling out their claws one by one. Once we got to the vet’s office and let them out, they were a little better. Neither one enjoyed having their temperature taken (from behind, under the tail), but they both did really well receiving their first shots. They are healthy little beasts for being born to a stray. No mites, no worms, no fleas. They are healthy and happy little boogers. As we were leaving, a couple came in with a basket of eight Jack Russell Terrier puppies. They were 2 days old and were there to get their tails docked. Poor babies but so cute!
I dropped Bob and the kittens off at home and then went to run errands. I stopped at the video store and picked up a bunch of videos. I think it’s time to start our Netflix membership again. Although I have heard a lot of negative press about them lately. Still, I rented 6 videos and it was a lot more expensive than I anticipated. After renting the flicks, I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some carpet cleaner and ended up getting a bunch of other stuff as well. (That always happens when I go to Wal-Mart or Target.) I also stopped to get some lunch for me and Bob. While on the way home, I chatted with my brother and sister in law and got caught up on their lives. They have a pool in their back yard and were getting ready to host their first backyard party for the year. Lucky ducks. Of course, we have a pool in our back yard too but it’s filled with families with small children and hootchie mamas working on their tans. Once I got home from the store, we ate lunch and I cleaned. Then I popped in a movie and vegged for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was heavenly!
Sunday, we slept in a bit but then got up and got ready to go to Duluth. We had to turn on the air conditioner the night before because it was so hot and humid. I was loathing doing so before June, but I couldn’t take it. I had started my princess lady time and the cramps were killing me. It’s about 100 times worse to suffer princess lady time cramps AND heat and humidity so I sucked it up and turned on the air. We left the house around 10 and after getting gas, going to the bank, and stopping to get stuff to drink, we were finally on the road.
About half way there, I had to go to the bathroom and Bob was hungry so we stopped at a roadside restaurant called Tobey’s. I guess it’s a Minnesota institution. I’d never eaten there or heard of its fame, but it was good. Bob had some biscuits and gravy I would have shived someone for and I had an open face roast beef sandwich. After lunch we were back on the road. As we drove up the hill to Duluth, the clouds started dropping over the hills. As it got foggier, it also got cooler. When we left the Cities it was 95. When we arrived at our hotel at Canal Park at 2pm, it was 54 degrees. I am glad we brought jackets! The wind was whipping up off the lake and it was chilly. We checked in, dropped off our stuff, and went for the lake walk. It was so foggy; we could barely see the lift bridge, the lake, or the lighthouse, though we could hear the foghorn.
As we walked around, Bob ran into a couple who inquired about his wheelchair. The husband was in a manual chair and they wanted to know if Bob liked his power chair. While he chatted with them, I went down by the shore and looked for flat rocks. Except I ran into a gal I work with and her family. We chatted a bit about the weather and how they were on their way back to the Cities from further north. I told them to expect more heat and humidity as they got closer to home. By this time, Bob was done talking to the couple about his wheelchair and my work friend’s kids were pulling her away, so we went off in our own directions.
Bob and I walked around for a while and then went back to the hotel room so Bob could rest. He napped while I uploaded photos. Then he napped while I shopped and walked around. This time, the sun was out, the fog was gone, and things had begun to warm up. Bob met me outside by the lake walk and we decided to go to dinner. We ate at a yummy Mexican restaurant just across the street from our hotel. We ate on the terrace and had a great time. It was made even better by running into a couple we know from church. We chatted for a long time and then they took off for their hotel just a few miles north. When we went to pay our bill, we found they had paid it for us. Sweet! We did leave a nice tip.
We walked some more after dinner and then went to the room to chill. I wish we had brought swimming suits, but since it was my princess lady time, I hadn’t thought to bring them. They had a nice pool and spa area and we vowed to return to the hotel one day and bring suits. Our room was nice. It was on the main floor and was accessible with a lake view. We could hear the waves lapping on the shore and the fog horn in the distance. We couldn’t sleep with the windows open all night though as the wind off the lake brought in quite the chill.
Sunday Bob slept in but I got up and got dressed. Our hotel served a nice continental breakfast which I chose to eat on the terrace. Some seagulls thought I should be sharing my meal with them, but some kid came out and handed out cereal, so they did not go unfed. I walked around and took more pictures before going in and waking Bob. He took a long shower while I packed up the van. I got him some breakfast from the buffet line and then we checked out. We took one more walk before leaving Duluth. It was sunny and 62 but we knew it would be hotter at home.
On the way home we got caught in holiday traffic so we stopped for lunch. They seated us in a hot sun room with no air or fan and I felt ill. We didn’t finish our meal and Bob drove the rest of the way home. Once we got home, I felt better and was so glad I’d left the air on even if it was turned on low. It was heavenly walking into a cool apartment after getting overheated at the restaurant. The rest of the day was spent unpacking, playing with kittens and watching movies. I was in bed by 9. It was a great weekend but it went by way too fast. I wish I had at least 4 more days off. Then I would have a weekend to recover. Ha! At least princess lady time is almost over for this month. Those first 2 days just wear me down.
Click my Flickr badge for photos of our trip and newer shots of the ever growing kittens.
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