I’m still in my hotel in Chicago. There is a huge thunderstorm outside. It has knocked out the tv reception. I can’t get on the internet, except through my cell phone, which has pretty limited capability. The only dvd I brought with me that I can watch on my laptop is Pirates of the Caribbean I, which even I don’t think I can sit through again right now.
Two weeks ago, my husband and I took a week off from work. Since it was the week of July 4th, and both our offices are closed that day, we each only had to take 4 vacation days.
Saturday June 30, we went swimming at Long Lake, near our house , for the first time all summer!
Sunday, July 1, we went mini golfing.
Monday, July 2, we drove to the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, in Darwin, Minnesota.
It seems like every time we drive to Green Bay, we listen to the Weird Al album in which he sings about the family taking a driving vacation to the “Largest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.” It seemed fitting that we should drive to it, it’s less than a 90 minute drive from our house, and listen to the album with that song on it, along the way. So on our way, we searched through the Weird Al CD’s we had brought, only to notice we had not brought the right one!
My husband and I enjoyed walking down the main street of Darwin, Minnesota , which is clearly a very agricultural area. The ball of twine itself is about 10 to 12 feet tall, encased in a glass-walled gazebo, on the lawn of a house. The house has a sign on it saying it is also a museum…but it was closed when we got there. Who knew you should call ahead to check when the ball of twine museum is open? A hand-made sign explained that if you wanted ball of twine souvenirs , we should walk a block to the Twine Ball antiques store. We found the antiques store that must be the last place on earth that accepts hand written checks, but not check debit cards. So we spent the last of our cash on a postcards, a Frisbee with a drawing of the twine ball on it, a little twine ball desk toy, and my Ball of Twine bumper sticker which is on my car right now. We then went to a BP convenience store about 2 blocks away to find an ATM…but they didn’t have an ATM, and weren’t sure where there was one. Instead, they had a sink full of minnows for bait, and a mesh scoop.
Rather than try to get cash in Darwin and see if the Twine Ball in was actually in operation, it looked deserted to me, we drove on. We drove north to Alexandria to see the Kensington Runestone and its museum. Its supporters insist that Vikings sailed down a tributary from Lake Superior and carved a note in stone, in Nordic Runes, 100 years before Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain. Detractors insist University of Minnesota students 100 years ago had more time on their hands, a much better sense of humor than they do now, and were proficient in Nordic Runes.
But the museum, which is also the Douglas County history museum also had an old fashioned frontier town on its grounds, or should I say, in its fenced back yard. So the kids enjoyed running in and out of the one room schoolhouse with its rows of attached desks, the frontier church, old fashioned log cabin, and other buildings.
That night, we attended a party at our friend, Andrea’s house. Every year, holds a Fourth of July party, so we can all watch the fireworks over downtown Minneapolis, from the balcony of her condo. But this year she had something to do that night, so she held a Third of July party.
We stayed home and cleaned house on the Fourth of July, but that night the kids and I went to a public park in the suburb of Roseville to watch fireworks. My husband took that time to take the cat to a friend’s house, as we would be gone for the next several days. We’ve been watching a friend’s cat while he’s in the hospital, but another friend of ours agreed to watch the cat while we left town.
Thursday, July 5, my husband took the dog to the expensive doggy hotel, and the 4 of us drove to Madison, Wisconsin, to visit my friend Debi. She’s been there for two years, and has visited me several times, and I’ve never visited her once! The kids enjoyed checking in to a hotel in Madison, Debi met us there, and we all visited the University of Wisconsin Madison campus. I loved sitting on the “terrace” of the student union, for dinner that night, and watching all the sailboats on Lake Mendota. I’d never been there before. Afterwards, we all drive to Debi’s house. She let the kids watch cartoon dvd’s in her bedroom while she and my husband and I sat in the living room of her apartment and talked until late that night.
Friday, July 6 we got lost driving out of Madison and ended up passing endless cornfields before we finally found our way to Cave of the Mound in Mount Horab, WI. We took a one hour tour of a cave, there. Then stopped by the gift shop of another nearby tourist attraction called Little Norway. We’d spent enough time and money at the cave, and my children were impatient to drive the rest of the way to their grandma’s house in Green Bay.
We spent the night sleeping in my in-laws’ basement with the usual sleeping arrangement we have there. My husband and I get the double bed, which has become increasingly cramped over the years as we’ve both put on weight. My son sleeps at a mattress on the floor at the foot of the bed, and my daughter sleeps on a fold out bed a few yards away.
Saturday, July 6, we all dressed up and watched my husband’s youngest sister’s baby boy’s Catholic baptism. She had named my husband the baby’s godfather, so he was involved in the church service. Afterwards, his sister hosted a dinner at her house.
I was glad when we drove home the next day.
But Monday morning, July 8, it’s a good thing I still scheduled a ½ day off. My 13 year old daughter had an 8 am orthodontist appointment. I had to pick our dog up from doggy hotel way out where I couldn’t find it, and, by then, make lunch for the kids, before finally driving back for an entire half day of work.
And that was how I spent my summer vacation.
The storm has quieted down a little bit. There really is nothing but crime on this tv. I might actually have to just go to bed.
Note, after I wrote all that last night, I still couldn't sleep. So I watched Priates I AGAIN, but this time I watched it with Kiera Knightly's and Jack Davenport's commentary on, for the first time. They were pretty funny!
Two weeks ago, my husband and I took a week off from work. Since it was the week of July 4th, and both our offices are closed that day, we each only had to take 4 vacation days.
Saturday June 30, we went swimming at Long Lake, near our house , for the first time all summer!
Sunday, July 1, we went mini golfing.
Monday, July 2, we drove to the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, in Darwin, Minnesota.
It seems like every time we drive to Green Bay, we listen to the Weird Al album in which he sings about the family taking a driving vacation to the “Largest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.” It seemed fitting that we should drive to it, it’s less than a 90 minute drive from our house, and listen to the album with that song on it, along the way. So on our way, we searched through the Weird Al CD’s we had brought, only to notice we had not brought the right one!
My husband and I enjoyed walking down the main street of Darwin, Minnesota , which is clearly a very agricultural area. The ball of twine itself is about 10 to 12 feet tall, encased in a glass-walled gazebo, on the lawn of a house. The house has a sign on it saying it is also a museum…but it was closed when we got there. Who knew you should call ahead to check when the ball of twine museum is open? A hand-made sign explained that if you wanted ball of twine souvenirs , we should walk a block to the Twine Ball antiques store. We found the antiques store that must be the last place on earth that accepts hand written checks, but not check debit cards. So we spent the last of our cash on a postcards, a Frisbee with a drawing of the twine ball on it, a little twine ball desk toy, and my Ball of Twine bumper sticker which is on my car right now. We then went to a BP convenience store about 2 blocks away to find an ATM…but they didn’t have an ATM, and weren’t sure where there was one. Instead, they had a sink full of minnows for bait, and a mesh scoop.
Rather than try to get cash in Darwin and see if the Twine Ball in was actually in operation, it looked deserted to me, we drove on. We drove north to Alexandria to see the Kensington Runestone and its museum. Its supporters insist that Vikings sailed down a tributary from Lake Superior and carved a note in stone, in Nordic Runes, 100 years before Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain. Detractors insist University of Minnesota students 100 years ago had more time on their hands, a much better sense of humor than they do now, and were proficient in Nordic Runes.
But the museum, which is also the Douglas County history museum also had an old fashioned frontier town on its grounds, or should I say, in its fenced back yard. So the kids enjoyed running in and out of the one room schoolhouse with its rows of attached desks, the frontier church, old fashioned log cabin, and other buildings.
That night, we attended a party at our friend, Andrea’s house. Every year, holds a Fourth of July party, so we can all watch the fireworks over downtown Minneapolis, from the balcony of her condo. But this year she had something to do that night, so she held a Third of July party.
We stayed home and cleaned house on the Fourth of July, but that night the kids and I went to a public park in the suburb of Roseville to watch fireworks. My husband took that time to take the cat to a friend’s house, as we would be gone for the next several days. We’ve been watching a friend’s cat while he’s in the hospital, but another friend of ours agreed to watch the cat while we left town.
Thursday, July 5, my husband took the dog to the expensive doggy hotel, and the 4 of us drove to Madison, Wisconsin, to visit my friend Debi. She’s been there for two years, and has visited me several times, and I’ve never visited her once! The kids enjoyed checking in to a hotel in Madison, Debi met us there, and we all visited the University of Wisconsin Madison campus. I loved sitting on the “terrace” of the student union, for dinner that night, and watching all the sailboats on Lake Mendota. I’d never been there before. Afterwards, we all drive to Debi’s house. She let the kids watch cartoon dvd’s in her bedroom while she and my husband and I sat in the living room of her apartment and talked until late that night.
Friday, July 6 we got lost driving out of Madison and ended up passing endless cornfields before we finally found our way to Cave of the Mound in Mount Horab, WI. We took a one hour tour of a cave, there. Then stopped by the gift shop of another nearby tourist attraction called Little Norway. We’d spent enough time and money at the cave, and my children were impatient to drive the rest of the way to their grandma’s house in Green Bay.
We spent the night sleeping in my in-laws’ basement with the usual sleeping arrangement we have there. My husband and I get the double bed, which has become increasingly cramped over the years as we’ve both put on weight. My son sleeps at a mattress on the floor at the foot of the bed, and my daughter sleeps on a fold out bed a few yards away.
Saturday, July 6, we all dressed up and watched my husband’s youngest sister’s baby boy’s Catholic baptism. She had named my husband the baby’s godfather, so he was involved in the church service. Afterwards, his sister hosted a dinner at her house.
I was glad when we drove home the next day.
But Monday morning, July 8, it’s a good thing I still scheduled a ½ day off. My 13 year old daughter had an 8 am orthodontist appointment. I had to pick our dog up from doggy hotel way out where I couldn’t find it, and, by then, make lunch for the kids, before finally driving back for an entire half day of work.
And that was how I spent my summer vacation.
The storm has quieted down a little bit. There really is nothing but crime on this tv. I might actually have to just go to bed.
Note, after I wrote all that last night, I still couldn't sleep. So I watched Priates I AGAIN, but this time I watched it with Kiera Knightly's and Jack Davenport's commentary on, for the first time. They were pretty funny!
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