Trip Photos

Highlights of Trip to Branson

Where to begin? With four fun-packed days, it’s hard to condense my thoughts, but I’ll give some highlights.

I loved spending time with my dear friend, Lil and her husband Jim. They are wonderful friends! And no matter how many months we are separated, we pick up right where we left off. First of all, they are the perfect hosts. They have wonderful accommodations. And Lil is a great cook! We had fabulous meals, including one of my favorite dishes – Apple Pancake. Lil and I used to order this at my favorite restaurant when they lived up here. She and I would split the apple pancake, plus an order of thick sliced Hormel bacon, and tomato juice. She and Jim put all of their jobs "on hold" and spent the time showing us the sights of Branson.

We attended 4 shows, which were wonderful!
The Kitchen Band (Jim plays saxophone in this band)
Doug Gabriel
The Branson Belle (a dinner showboat)
The Dutton’s

Lil taught us a new card game called "Canadian Salad." At first we were skeptical because it sounded too hard, but after playing a trial hand, we were hooked. We stayed up until 11:30 Friday night and until 11 on Saturday night to play this fun game. Sunday morning, before leaving at our target time, 7 AM, Lil asked if we wanted to play one more round. It was tempting, but we denied ourselves.

We drove around the area and saw gorgeous new developments, beautiful fall foliage. Branson is a "happening" place – not a settlement for old, white-haired retirees that it once was.

Eating at the Smith’s Berry Farm Restaurant in Collins, Missouri. We’ve eaten there 3 times so far, and I’m sure we’ll make it in there again, if possible.

Quality time driving to and from Branson. These are times when good conversations occur. We reminisced over the days when we were much younger and talked about the struggles and joys happening in our lives now.

I’m back home doing the usual things now. I haven’t hung my bittersweet around the house yet. First things first.

Trip to Branson

Seven years ago my best friend Lil up and left Minnesota and moved to Branson. Oh, how I hated to see her go so far away. Well, it isn't really that far. She and her husband can make the trip in about nine and a half hours. But for me, well, I don't care to drive that much and have never driven down to see them by myself. Rather, I travel with my fun relatives, which I really enjoy! Consequently, I don't get to see her as often as I would like.

Thursday my Aunt Liz and I left my home at 7 am and drove to Owatonna where we met my sister (thanks for driving her over, Jerry), and the three of us headed south in my Aunt's new van. Wow! This new vehicle has all the bells and whistles, some of which we have yet to figure out how to operate!! We drove to a Des Moines suburb where we picked up my Cousin Linda who had driven over from Chicago. Linda has never traveled with us before and was very anxious to join us.

At half past noon, we set out for Branson. Things were fine until we came to Kansas City. I hope I don't offend you, Lil, when I say that Missouri (especially Kansas City) has the most confusing and misleading highway signage of any place I have ever traveled. We mistook a sign for the Interstate and got off on a 4 lane state highway that had stop lights about every mile - this was at four o'clock in the afternoon. Picture lots of cars and lots of red lights and you'll understand why it took us over an hour to meet up to the highway we needed.

Our mission - other than arriving at Lil and Jim's home, was to stop at our secret bittersweet find (If you think I'm going to mention the exact location here, you are mistaken.) to clip some small branches of the beautiful fall decoration. We were happy to get there before the sun set. We clipped a few bags full, and also managed to pick up some Osage fruit (hedge apples) that had dropped to the ground. These big, textured green balls are being marketed as cures for keeping spiders out of garages and basements. I'm not sure they work, but our Cousin Pat asked us to bring some back for her.

After our mission was accomplished and the sun was setting, we were on our way and stopped to eat at a very good restaurant - Smith's Blackberry Restaurant, a great small-town, family run restaurant with excellent "down home cooking." They feature home-made rolls, pies, cobbler, real mashed potatoes, huge servings of fried chicken, hot roast beef sandwiches, etc. We've eaten there twice before and probably will stop there again for breakfast on Sunday morning.

We pulled into Lil's driveway at 9:50 pm, almost 15 hours after leaving home. It doesn't matter if we make good time - just so we get there.

Changed

Changed. Have you ever read Webster's definition? Oh, there are many entries - - my dictionary lists 32. Some of the definitions describe change for the better; some are substitutions; others refer to the transfer or removal of something or things. The change I witnessed yesterday was in my dear friend, Cassie, who has been stricken with the hideous disease: Alzheimer's. Oh, she seemed to know me and was happy that I had come to pay a visit, but she couldn't communicate on the level I have been accustomed to hearing. She viewed the photos I brought along of my grandchildren and told me over and over, "My, they are so cute. I just love babies." But when we looked at her photo album, there were many dear friends and relatives of hers that she no longer knew. She even asked me how old her first husband was when he died.

I stayed for a couple of hours. We had run out of little things to talk about. She could no longer focus on any subject. In fact, she fell asleep right in the middle of telling me something.

I love her dearly and it hurts to see her change.

S*N*O*W

It is definitely way too early to deal with S*N*O*W - but that is exactly what has happened tonight. Oh, we had flurries off and on today, but tonight, while I was at choir rehearsal, we had the four letter word. The temperature only warmed up to 36 degrees today, with a wind chill of 22 degrees - and that was bad enough. So, while still in the church building, I activated my "automatic car starter" so I could get into a warm, cozy car. To my surprise - while walking to my car, I discovered my car was totally covered in the white stuff! At least I had had the foresight to put my scraper/brush in the car yesterday. I just didn't realize I would be using it so soon.

I took it easy driving home, since the roads were icy looking in places. Part of the way I was behind a sanding/salting truck. I'm not sure everyone was as lucky as I was to get to their destination safely because just one exit before mine, all cars were stopped. I was able to take that exit and came the remainder of the way on surface roads. I sincerely hope everyone is okay. The 10 o'clock news report is that some roads are going to be closed due to icy conditions. Unless it warms up again, it is going to be a looooooooooong winter!

Weekend Highlights

Brian Visits Grandma D

This weekend I have done something brand new to me - - I had my daughter and son-in-law's dog come to stay with me. He is a beautiful Golden Retriever who behaves wonderfully! I picked him up yesterday morning at Chad's parents' home in Hudson, Wisconsin. He had his over-night bag packed and was ready to go. We drove along the St. Croix River to Stillwater, then crossed back over into Wisconsin over the historic bridge so Grandma could try to take some nice photos of the fall color surrounding Stillwater. Well, I drove around a bit, but could not find any public place that would give me a vantage point. Come on, Wisconsin! Why don't you set aside a little place across from Stillwater where folks could park and appreciate the first town settled in Minnesota so many years ago?!

Before driving to my home, I had a couple of places in mind where Brian and I could visit a bit and get in some good walking. We stopped at my Aunt Liz's first. Brian was so excited to see her, that his wagging tail hit one of her decorative plates on a shelf and knocked it over. It didn't break, and Aunt Liz just laughed. She thought it was cute and wasn't worried about her plates. I took him for a little walk around her home and we came upon some wild raspberry bushes. We walked back to her home, picked up an empty cup, and returned to pick ripe raspberries. Yum! Did you enjoy them, Aunt Liz?

Next on my agenda was the beautiful 1.9 mile walk around Lake Normandale in Bloomington. Brian loved it. And I enjoyed it too. The leaves were lovely, and we saw many geese swimming and feeding. It won't be too long and the trees will be bare, the geese will have flown south, and the lake will be frozen. Ugh!

My home was foreign to Brian, and the sounds of the people living above and beside me brought many barks from him on Saturday. But during the night, he only barked once. Today he is much more relaxed about the sounds. He and I have logged many miles in the past two days. I'm sure Heidi will be considering getting me a dog so I will exercise more - not a bad idea, except for my allergies to dogs.

Brian, I have enjoyed having you come to my home. I hope you tell your mom and dad about the fun we have had. Come again!

What a Beautiful Fall Day for a Drive

Leaves are beginning to change color here. Many have fallen. It was a lovely day for a drive along the beautiful Mississippi River - you know, from south of Red Wing down to Wabasha - in my opinion one of the most gorgeous parts of Minnesota. My friend Nancy agreed to go with me, and we had a wonderful time. We stopped in Lake City, where the Mississippi widens and for a little ways becomes Lake Pepin, and watched some of the many sail boats that were out enjoying the breeze. Then we headed down to Wabasha and spotted an eagle at the "eagle watch" dock - next the the site of the new National Eagle Center which is under construction. Next we crossed the Mississippi River heading for Nelson, Wisconsin. Our intentions were to get an ice cream cone at the Creamery. But once inside, we lost our enthusiasm when we saw over 50 people standing in line.

Across the street we spotted a pumpkin stand, so we crossed over and each of us found a darling little pumpkin and some squash. Talk about a bargain: squash - $.50; small pumpkins - $1.00! I'm positive they cost a lot more here in the twin cities. Since we hadn't had a snack yet, we walked down the street to the Twin Bluffs restaurant and had an apple dumpling and apple pie. Yummy!

I'm sure there will be more intense color in the next couple of weeks, so if you have time, I'd suggest you take a drive - - either along this route, or one of your favorites. It's a real treat for your eyes.

Hans Has Returned

Today is the day we have been waiting for - - Hans has returned from his duties in Japan. He left Japan sometime on Saturday (Japan) time; had breakfast with Heidi this morning in Seattle; is now in Rhode Island. He phoned me on the way home from the airport. Rachel was driving, Josiah and Annika were in their car seats.

He told me he brought with him a Thomas train engine that Josiah had forgotten in Japan. Josiah said to him, "Daddy, you found Thomas!"

Hans also brought with him a copy of the catalog Annika modeled for in Japan early this summer. We'll all be anxious to see the pictures. Heidi told me she's in a lot of them.

God is good. He has kept my son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and new little granddaughter safe during their stay half-way around the world. They've had great experiences, and have many stories to tell. I'm so glad to have them back home again. Thank you, Lord.

Janette Oke

This year our company is celebrating it's 50th anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, a dinner party was held this past weekend. I returned from Rhode Island early just to attend this event as my favorite author, who is also a friend of mine, was going to be one of the honored guests. She is Janette Oke, author of the books Love Comes Softly, which are also being made into Hallmark movies for the Hallmark Channel. We haven't seen each other since around 1980. Also present were an additional two of my favorite authors, Beverly Lewis and Lauraine Snelling. It was a wonderful evening with good visiting, delicious food, and fantastic entertainment.

My good friend, Nancy, joined me for the evening. She said she enjoyed meeting my fellow co-workers and couldn't help but feel the "family-type" atmosphere we share with one another.

Neighbors

I was amazed at the neighborhood around Hans and Rachel's new abode. As I stated in an earlier entry, most of the houses are on the National Registry. They have some sort of plaque on them stating the year they were built and most likely the first resident. The oldest one I saw was 1719. Bear in mind, most of them have been restored and are just gorgeous! In my walk with my grandchildren, I fully expected to see Paul Revere coming around the corner!!

Oh, they are only two blocks from the harbor. On our stroll through the area, we walked toward the harbor one block, turned left, and walked about 6 blocks toward the center of town. At that point, we could see the large Hyatt Hotel on a pier, and docked next to it was the Queen Elizabeth 2, plus another large cruise ship. I'm telling you, this is very different from where I live.

New House

Here are some shots of the house and the kids playing at the playground at the Navy Lodge.

More of Our Journey

We made it to Merrillville, Indiana, the first night. Sunday we drove through Michigan, crossing into Canada at Detroit. We spent the second night in London - that's London, Canada! The next day we re-entered the USA at Buffalo, New York. Because of a mistake I made in reading my map, we missed Niagara Falls by one exit. I felt stupid about the mistake, but realized the Falls aren't going to disappear soon, so there may be another time when I will see them. I'm not sure the kids would have appreciated seeing them at their young age. So onward we drove and slept our third night in Albany, New York. We found nice hotels and were happy to get out of the car to let the kids have some freedom from their confining car seats (mine too).

Tuesday around noon, we drove into Newport, Rhode Island, our final destination, and Rachel was able to drive right to their next residence - a house built in 1850 by Ezekial Crandall. The house is on the National Registry of Homes, as are most in the surrounding ten or twelve block area.

We spent Tuesday night at the US Navy Lodge as we had no furniture at that point.

Trip to Rhode Island

On the first day of our journey to Rhode Island, we stopped for a little while at my brother and sister's so they could see Josiah, and Rachel and meet Annika for the first time.

Friday Dinner with Family

Friday night Peder and Sarah joined Rachel, Josiah, Annika and me for dinner. Once again, we really had a good time.

Show and Tell

On Friday, the 15th, Rachel, Josiah, and Annika stopped by my office so I could "show them off" to my co-workers. It was so much fun seeing Josiah play with things on my desk and to introduce Annika for the first time.

Rhode Island

My darling grandchildren and daughter-in-law, Rachel, arrived at my office yesterday afternoon. It was so much fun showing them off. Josiah loved using my rubber stamps and seeing my fish, Cleo. He was happy to see all of our books on shelves too. Rachel thinks our office resembles Barnes & Nobel!

Peder and Sarah joined us for supper last night. They had not seen Rachel and Josiah since the day after they were married a year ago in June, and of course they hadn't met Annika. Both kids took to them right away. I was so happy they came, since they had had a very tough day - - Peder's cat, Calypso, had passed away in the morning. She hadn't been feeling well for a couple of months. I feel so bad for him.

This morning we will start our trip across country - final destination: Rhode Island. Rachel, Josiah, Annika and I are starting out in about an hour. We're looking forward to stopping in Rochester for a little bit to see Janet and Jerry and then onward east.

We are taking the Michigan route, crossing into Canada at Detroit, returning to the US in New York state. Our plans are to stop to see Niagara Falls! This has me very excited! I've only seen them from thousands of feet up on a flight to Boston years ago.

The trees here are beginning to change, so it's possible we will see fall foliage throughout our trip.

I don't expect to have access to a computer while I'm away, so this will have to do for now.

Take care.

My Grandchildren

I have just been with my darling grandchildren - Josiah and Annika. It was so much fun!!!!

I hadn't seen them since March, the night before my brother and I left Japan to return to the U.S. At that time, Annika was only 5 weeks old, Josiah 22 months. My, how they've changed in the past 6 months. Annika, who was beautiful then, is even more beautiful now. She has lovely brown hair and gorgeous brown eyes. And her smile - - well, it is infectious! She put up no resistance when I picked her up to hold her.

The next thrill was when Josiah called me "Grandma." He didn't need to be told that I was his grandma, he already knew. He took me by the hand to show something to me. And later in the evening, at a wedding reception for his uncle, he again took my hand, indicating he wanted to dance with me. Oh, he's quite a little dancer too!

His mommy and daddy are doing a great job at parenting. Josiah is polite, he puts his toys away, and he talks so grown up. I can't wait to see all of them again!

Buggie

Buggie's Birthday

Today my car is 8 years old. So, I guess one could say it is celebrating its "Golden Birthday"! In honor of the occasion, I bought a couple of small cakes for my co-workers to eat at our afternoon break time.

I was reminiscing with them the particulars about ordering her. As you may recall, the New Beetle came out in the Spring of 1998. I was driving a very good car at the time, but being a former owner of the old beetles, I was very curious to check out the new model. In May of '98, I drove to a VW dealership and got in the long line to take a "trial" drive. There were so many waiting to try one, that they allowed each driver a short drive down Highway 100 to the first exit, then go up the ramp, cross over the bridge, and return to the dealership. This was a total drive of about 2.5 miles. Well, as soon as I drove it, I knew I had gotten the "bug." So, I went inside and put down my deposit to order one. Here's what I ordered:

• Color: White, Dark Blue, or Red
• Automatic or manual shift
• Leather or cloth
• Sun roof or no sun roof

I wasn't really fussy - - I just knew I wanted one! So I was put on a waiting list as the company could not keep up with the demand.

Long about the end of June, I began calling the dealership on Fridays. I would request to speak to my salesman and ask him, "Where am I on the list now?" He would put me "on hold" and check. I can't recall how many were ahead of me, but I called every Friday during July and most of August. During the last week of August, my salesman phoned me to ask if I would take a red model; automatic transmission; cloth interior; without sun roof? "Yes, yes," I said. So on the 8th of September I drove to pick up my new car. My salesman told me that day that my name had not really made it to the top of the list. Rather, after my last inquiry, the manager had instructed him to give me the very next car that met any of my criteria the minute one came in. So, I got my car early.

Oh, I still really, really like it.