Still alive...mostly

Sorry for the delay in posting but Internet is hard to find here.  This is a brief recap to catch up.  We left Canada on Sunday and were all braced for a long and difficult crossing.  We worried for naught.  There were a few questions and then we were greeted with a “welcome home” and that was it.  So why was it so hard to get into Canada?  Left Brain’s guess is the Texas license plates.  Yup, we Texans are known for our love of guns and running drugs I guess so they were very suspicious of us.  I guess that explains why the constant questioning of whether or not we owned or were carrying any guns.  They just couldn’t envision a law abiding Texan being without one. 

So, we were back in the USA again and we made one stop on the way for lunch at McDonald's.   While entering Kiersten commented that it really wasn’t their favorite place for lunch.  I explained that when you are in a motor home pulling a car, any place large enough to allow you to park and drive around to get out again without unhooking the car instantly becomes your favorite place for lunch. 

We arrived at Shayna’s cabin where we set up in the driveway and her husband assisted with hooking us up to the water and electric.  Oh it’s good to be home!  We sat amongst the pines and looked at the lake while visiting and planning our stay.  That night we went out to supper and had a nice conversation over food. 

On Monday Shayna and her son, Blake, were heading into Duluth for some shopping for school supplies.  So it was time to take the girls over to Charbonneau’s for a visit.  They were kind enough to allow us to drop off our scooter (Harley Worth-It) in their pole barn until next year.  It’s become more of a hassle to wrestle it off and on than it is a convenience to have.  Also, Left Brain noticed it was wearing on the rear tires of the car and this was not good.  We’ll go without it for a year and see if we want to keep it or sell it.  After meeting their furry family of a dog and two cats we decided it was time to show the kids how the north woods does lunch.   

Since Shayna graciously offered up the use of their ATV, we had enough for all of us to ride.  Left Brain had me ride around the yard a few times to get the hang of it since I’d never driven one of these before.   

So, off we went on three ATV’s through the woods and along dusty dirty paths.  Our destination?  The Cro-bar, one of many little bars up this way that offer food and libations.  Since this was a Monday we figured it would be pretty quiet but a group of bikers arrived just before us.  The only problem with this was that there was one woman working the bar.  She would also be the cook for the seventeen of us there for lunch.  But she handled it with no stress or problems and soon we were all fed. 

Emily opted to order her own Reuben this time, having sampled a part of mine before.  Her culinary tastes just keep maturing all the time.  Kiersten had chicken tenders and French fries as her usual order of grilled cheese and French fries was getting too predictable and has become an item of teasing lately. 

The girls were much more relaxed on the way back having had a little experience and weren’t clinging to us for dear life.  They anticipated swimming at Charbonneau’s but when they walked down to the dock to check on the water temperature the wind blew up and the air was cold, so they decided not to go in. 

That night we rested in the RV and I did their laundry so they could return with clean clothes from their trip.  It’s amazing how many clothes girls can go through in one week.  This is when the cold that we’d been taking turns with hit me hard.  It was a rough night as I hacked and coughed through the darkness.

Morning arrived and I went back to the cabin to fetch the last load that was left in the dryer.  Now all the bags are packed with fresh clothes and we loaded up the car and took off to meet with our daughter who was meeting us halfway to turn over the kids.  In keeping with the excellent car we have provided so far the kids breakfast consisted of doughnuts from the gas station where we filled up the car. 

We met up with Stephanie at a restaurant and thus began the joyous reunion of mother and kids.  We’re a loud bunch on a normal day and the decibel level was unusually high, due to a combination of excitement and our not being able to hear with our congested heads.  Steph had brought along the new glasses that Emily will start wearing now and she looked so darn cute in those things!  She kept slipping them up and down checking out what she can now see that she couldn’t before and was in disbelief at all she had been missing.

After our final goodbyes in the parking lot they headed home, excited to see their dog Zeke.  Their father is in Hawaii right now visiting his brother, so he’ll get his greeting later.  We went home and immediately went to bed for a nice long nap.  After checking in with Shayna for a bit about what we might do the next day (should I live through the night) I left Left Brain to his own devices for supper and went back to bed. 

Today, on Wednesday, I feel much better.  Maybe even enough so to do the dishes that have been piling up waiting for my health to return.  Yes, I do believe I have the will to live again.  The coughing has subsided and my head is still fuzzy, but much clearer than the last two days. 

We will miss the kids dearly; this has been the best trip we’ve ever been on with them.  But I have to admit, it is nice to be back in our little RV alone with George and Gracie and the quiet of our lives. 

Long Live the Queen of the NorthWoods