It's been a great year here on the Mississippi River but it's time to get ready for our southern migration. The weather in Minnesota this year has been unusually wet, almost feels like living in the Pacific Northwest. And the sunshine of Arizona is beckoning.
Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's from spending three whole days with my daughter, but I came down with a nasty head cold that laid me low for about a week. Thankfully I'm starting to feel better and should be in prime shape to fly out of here next Saturday, complete with cats in tow.
Getting ready to return is always fun, all those lists of things that must not be forgotten. Trying to keep the one checked bag under 40 pounds.
Of course there's always those unexpected surprises that come up...like having your credit card compromised. Yup. I can see it now.
It will get sent to Arizona and forwarded here just as we leave, only to be redirected again. Sigh.
During my stay here I developed a great deal of pain in my feet...not good for an avid pickleball player. I finally broke down and saw a doctor, which is good because now I have a clinic in Minnesota to go to for my needs. I have completely flat feet and planter fasciitis. This makes my feet the only thin part of my body.
Due to the wait for the appointment to get fitted for orthopedics they will probably have to mail them to me in Arizona. But there's always a silver lining and due to the nasty cold/flu that kept me off my feet for a week my feet feel pretty good right now. I try to see the sunny side of things.
I learned about how to find a better shoe which led to an expensive shopping trip and was advised to lose weight. So I joined Weight Watchers (yet again) with my daughter as my team mate in this endeavor. Oh, I knew this day would come. Maybe this will be the time it really works and I can keep it off. It always works, it's a great program. It's the maintaining.
I had considered the gastric bypass but for once I am pleased to say that I wasn't fat enough, plus there's no health concerns that overrule the lack of a larger BMI. Hmmm, I'll bet I could get myself up to that limit without any problems, but that seemed backwards to me. So I guess I'll have to struggle along with drastic measures, like healthy choices and (gasp) realistic portion sizes.
If I am successful this time, the silver lining to this would be that the teeny tiny seats of Allegiant Airlines might actually be comfortable in the future.
Long Live the Plump Queen with Bad Feet
How is it even possible that 50 years have passed. Why that would make me....old. I haven't gone to one of these in like forever, but something about it being the 50th seemed important. Plus I could see my son one more time before leaving for Arizona.
I had planned to just go on Saturday, see my son and attend the reunion and come right back. But then my daughter announced she was coming with me so I added Friday to the schedule to enjoy a nice girls road-trip.
We left Friday morning and our first stop was to Coney Island where I'd be salivating for a chili dog.
I made sure to take her to the original one downtown where the decor has not been altered. I'm doubting it's ever been cleaned either.
It was just as disgusting as I remembered.
As we left my daughter announced that that was the worst hot dog she'd ever had. I have to admit it wasn't as good as my memory recalled, but for me it was more about the memories shared with my grandmother as a young child.
Then we visited the Friendship Gardens, a beautiful little oasis tucked away in Riverside Park. Take a look at their website for a more thorough tour by clicking here.
Soon it was time to visit Joe and finally meet the guys he hangs out with at the Sports Nut. Oddly enough, this is a local bar where you can get homemade Korean dishes as well as incredible wings.
Steph and I went to see Heart of La Crosse perform at the Pump House Regional Art Center. One of my dear friends is part of this troupe so it was a thrill to watch her perform.
By this time it was back to the motel to check in and have a much needed night of sleep.
Saturday morning we were up and at it again with a drive to Soldiers Grove to check out the Driftless Art Festival. This was always one of my favorite shows to do and it was great fun to sneak up and surprise my artist friends. We both purchased some great art and I'll share that in another post.
We had lunch and returned to the motel for a bit of a nap before the reunion.
I went to the reunion and met up with some old classmates.
It was fun watching people try to figure out who each other was.
It felt a little like being in an Alzheimer unit.
I did tell one man that if he didn't have the dignity to get fat and go bald he should leave.
The highlight of the night for me was seeing my Sixth Grade teach, Mr Lyga.
I loved that man.
He had a sparkling sense of humor and made me feel welcome and valuable...something I desperately needed at that time.
Steph went back to Sports Nut and hung out with Joe.
Needless to say, we both slept well that night after another busy day.
The next morning we spent a little time soaking in the hot tub at the motel and then headed to Ross for some shopping. I'd been in withdrawal for some time as there doesn't seem to be any of them in the Minneapolis area. After that we met Joe for breakfast and then said our farewells.
On our way home we stopped at Ecker Apple Farm to watch the performance of Miss Myra and the Moonshiners.
We caught a snippet of their performance at Crooners Supper Club and I've been dying to see them perform again.
She reminds me a lot of Eve Zellmer from back home. Red-headed and sassy.
Click on the link above to see one of their songs. Their music, in my humble option, is like a blend of vaudeville, klezmer and gypsy. After working around road closures to 694 and 494 we finally managed to return home. It was a long day. It was a long weekend. But I was tired and very satisfied.
Long Live the Queen
