The longer I go without updating the easier it is to ignore this blog. We’re going over familiar roads and I don’t feel the need to chronicle the daily events, though, I assume, in time, I’ll wish I had. Because without referring to the blog, I am finding it harder to remember what happened when.
We somehow managed to extricate ourselves from Appleton without too much trouble. Once we bring so much stuff into a hotel room it seems an insurrmountable task to pack it up again and almost impossible that we’ll get it into the car. I started packing the car the day before we left and that seemed to help a lot. Also, Sissy and maybe someone else managed to get sick the day we were to leave, so that also delayed departure. As it turned out, according to the billing, we spent 23 days at the Appleton La Quinta. Thankfully, that La Quinta seems to be the flagship of all the La Quintas in the country. It as an amazing hotel. Gigantic public rooms, beautiful pool, sauna and hottub, lovely courtyard and gigantic room. The real problem with Appleton was the grey. It was grey and dismal almost each and every day and between the lack of transportation (as Jamie took the van to be with Maca) and the grey, it felt dark and depressing each day. I was finally able to restart my regular runs there and then managed to re-injure it yet again.
We then moved to Minneapolis for 2 weeks and visited with my sister, vegged in the carriage house and fell head over heels with the architecture and housing available in the city. The last time we were in Minneapolis we fell hard for the town but figured it was a passing fancy. We found this time, that it was not. I’m not sure what it is about that town – especially since it is in a state of constant frozeness, but each time we spend time there we find we like it more and more. We’re seriously thinking of both spending next summer there (because we’d be certifiable to spend the winter there) and look for a duplex in which to invest as income property. The architecture and character of the homes there just has us salivating to the point that we want one so badly – even if just to rent it out to someone else most of the year. Kind of how we fell into Merida property. So if you have a lovely old money pit to sell in Minneapolis, drop us a line. For some reason, we just can’t get rid of the desire to dump insane amounts of money on remodels and maintenance.
We had only planned to spend a week in Minneapolis, so be forewarned; we seem to stay double the time we think we will. Sometimes THREE times (see the Odyssey of Appleton). Once again, the idea of packing the STUFF (as we’d ordered lots of STUFF and needed to pack both that and the STUFF we’d already STUFFED into the van) seemed insurmountable. I rearranged the back of the van, again, and again, and again. I was astounted to find that I was able to stuff even MORE stuff in, after declaring the van Absolutely, Positively, FULL in Appleton. We had a lovely visit with my sister and her family and the cousins had a great time together. I had planned out a route as we had saved up enough points with Wyndham and La Quinta for 4 free nights and off we headed to Sioux Falls, for our first stop and renewal of driver’s licenses. I had hoped we could visit the falls and some of the town, but had miles to go and reservations to keep. The weather continued cold and grey and we really felt no desire to sightsee with 4 sleepy kids, so off we headed to our next stop, Olathe, Kansas. After spending 3 weeks crossing Kansas with our trailer one summer and meandering the canyonlands on this trip, it seemed almost magical to pass through FIVE states that day.
I had checked out the roadside offerings of the states we were passing through and hoped to stop at the home Jesse James was killed in (St. Joseph, Kansas) and partake of the highly-acclaimed eatery, Big Mama’s Kitchen. The food was excellent (though we’ll never get used to sweet meat) but small enough portions at high enough prices that we managed to drop $100 just for lunch. While I exercised Kilo oustide the restaurant (which is in the administration building of a school), I finally began to play with my new camera. Whilst in Minneapolis, one of the STUFF I purchased was a DSLR. I’d been looking at them for over a year but could never justify the purchase and really wanted a video option which is just not possible. I had also worried about the heft of the camera and the required lenses (as I definitely wanted an IS telephoto lens) and just didn’t think it would work well for our lifestyle and needs. BUT, I found a deal. And I find it very hard to bypass a deal that allows me to return the item within 2+ months for a full refund and is a good $200 lower than any other prices. So I got the Canon XSI with an 18-55 lens and a 55-200 IS lens and a Tippen UV filter for $570. I added a 3-year warranty for $50, ordered an SD card for $11 and a camera bag for $35. I passed through a bit of buyers remorse and seriously considered sending it back within the first week. I fell in love and out of love. But I really didn’t use it much. I was a bit intimidated and thought I’d probably just send it back andpay the shipping (since there was nothing wrong with it). Eventually.
