Minnesota hospitality

Monday was a fun day for us.  We started out by visiting Precision Frame and Alignment in Elk River MN to discuss the tires for See-More.  Our RV is seven years old but the tires are eight years old, which is the max for RV tires.  The tread still looks good, but with RV live there is always the unseen hazards of the tire breaking down on the inside that leads to blow outs.

We met Dave, the owner, and instantly fell in love with him.  He knows his product and has a motorhome himself.  Our friends, Jim and Kathy, referred us to him and we must remember to thank them for this great tip.  Our appointment is scheduled for the morning we leave and will take about five hours to do everything to have us road ready.  Since he has electric hookups on site we will probably spend the night there before heading out the next morning.  The tires and work will cost about $3,200, but the peace of mind knowing we are set for another eight years or more of wandering is priceless.

Then we stopped at Camping World and I purchased the Summit Rocking chair that I coveted at our neighbors house.  The lounge chair I used to own has already been transferred to the kids here in Minnesota.  I just can't get comfortable with a lounge chair.  Maybe it's the spring loaded butt that causes me to constantly get up to take care of a cat or get something...I just can't stretch back and relax long enough to warrant one.  It's my second attempt at this and I finally realize I just plain prefer a straighter backed chair.  However, with the rocking chair I can still lean back and put my feet up on a folding footstool.  I picked up another carry bag to store it in while traveling, so I'm all set to relax and enjoy sitting around the RV again.

Soon it was time for lunch and we found our way to the Anoka Coffee Shop as we had a restaurant.com coupon to use there.  The coupon was good for $10, we just had to spend a minimum of $20.  This is usually not a problem, but the prices were so low here I could see it would be a challenge.

While we were waiting for our food a lovely woman walked in and everyone there greeted her by name, which just happened to be the same name as mine.  She was decked out in a bright green felt hat, hot pink beads and blue fuzzy bedroom slippers.  Yup, she's just like me in many ways.

She greeted us with true Minnesota hospitality and in a manner of speaking right out of "How to Talk Minnesotan".  If you've never caught this play, please do...it's hilarious.  She was respectful of boundaries and never clingy, but very welcoming and friendly.  

Obviously, she did not have much money on her as she ordered a glass of water and a caramel roll, being careful to stay under her $2.00 limit.  Yup, these babies only cost $1.50.  What can I say, the prices are like they were in the Sixties at this place.

Meanwhile, we are struggling to meet our $20 minimum on the coupon so when I had a chance to quietly tell our waitress, I had her put her tab on ours.  After we were done with our meals the owner came out and said we still had 50 cents left to spend and did we want a cookie.  Heck no...I wanted one of those caramel rolls!  So we took one home with us with the topping on the side to enjoy later on.

My last mission was to stop at JoAnne's quickly and pick up more supplies for the t-shirt quilt I'm working on with my daughter for the grand-kids.  

What is there about Anoka that has all these interesting people?  At first I thought the woman next to me had a dog in her backpack, but upon closer look...could that be.....?

I finally had to ask her if what I thought I was seeing was truly a baby kangaroo in her backpack.  Yup.  It was.  She said he's very snuggly when they watch TV in the evening.

I had a multitude of questions I wanted to ask, but I was sensing she was tired of being interviewed by everyone she met and as hard as it was, I left her alone to do her shopping.

Needless to say, it was a very interesting and fulfilling day!

Long Live the Queen of Minnesota