Out and About in Minnesota

We've been busy. Busy in a good way. Our social calendar has been full, which is not always the case!  We took the camper north to Ross Lake, north of Aitkin, Minnesota,

and stayed with friends whose parents own this great cabin on a beautiful, quiet lake.

The gathering consisted of Paul's office group from his "old" school, who refer to themselves as "The Clique." Years of working together forged very strong friendships. I am glad I am "married into" this crowd.

We love those beautiful northern Minnesota lakes.  The sound of our laughter was augmented by the calls of the loons.

We moved from there to Maplewood State Park, near Pelican Rapids, Minnesota.

We hadn't camped in a Minnesota State Park since early June.

We always feel "at home" in a state park. Not even a rain storm while we cook our dinner bothers us.

We spent Sunday with my sister, Marlys, and brother-in-law, Paul and their children and grandchildren, Lisa, Kevin, Julie, Andrew and Matthew.  We had so much fun visiting and enjoying the incredible food Marlys, Kevin and company prepared, we forgot to take pictures. That afternoon should have been a blog post all its own. Trust me when I say it was amazing, from the chicken wings and portobello pizzas to the homemade ice cream. Did I mention it was my sister's birthday last weekend? If I could remember how old I am, I could do the math and tell you her age. Fortunately for both of us, I seem to forget those details.

Monday, we spent the day in the state park with our good friends, Bob and Peggy. Again, the camera remained in its case. It was their 35th wedding anniversary that day. Paul was Bob's best man. We had a great visit. They shared pictures of their recent trip to Alaska.  Incredible. The four of us all enjoy exploring outdoors, so we were in the right spot.

We packed up and headed home on Tuesday.

Thursday's highlight was dinner with nephew,  Joe, who was in town on his way from California to Chicago, where the Navy has decided they need him until he is stationed in Florida. We are glad we got to see him. What better place to have dinner with the Simser's than The Nook? I always have the Paul Molitor Burger. It doesn't get better!!!

Friday, we went to a baseball game with a group of friends.  The Twins won! They win often, but that's the first time they have won when we have been in attendance since the World Series Game Six in 1987. I can admit that now the jinx is broken. Before that game, the last time I witnessed a Twins victory was during a Yankee/Twins double header at Met Stadium in the 1960's.

Besides running around with the camper and games and suppers, I have had more cups of coffee with different friends in the past week than I have in an entire year. And, yesterday, we shared some great conversation and iced tea on the patio with good friends, Randy and Ari.  Kids are heading back to college and the school year for our teacher friends is looming very near. People have "running out of summer" in their mindsets.

Fortunately, Nick is home right now to take care of the house for us in our absence. He works lots of hours and golfs when he can. Suzanne is busy and I miss her. We haven't figured out how to fit into her schedule lately.

We are leaving again in a few hours for northern Minnesota. No camper this time. But, there are some good recipes and some good groceries packed. We are spending a few days with fellow foodies, Pam and Dave.

As we say in Minnesota, we are going to "the lake." Talk to you soon!!!