50th High School Reunion

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