Pinewood Castle

Camping, Waterfalls, and the Donut Shop

Did you know that there are over 130 waterfalls between Duluth, MN and the Canadian border?

We tried camping one more time this summer, this time up at the North Shore (the week before we started school) with the hopes of seeing a few more of the famous falls as well as Grand Portage and some rock hunting beaches. Yes, you read that right. I tried camping again and I almost liked it enough to try again next summer. Almost.

For about twenty four hours I thought I might take to tent camping after all. The the air was cool and dry. A light breeze blew away the mosquitoes. The bathrooms at the MN state park were the cleanest yet. I thought perhaps we had just been camping in all the wrong places and that the best place to be was definitely the North Shore where it was cooler. We enjoyed the evening by the campfire, a chilly night, and awoke to a promising day.

The first thing on our agenda was a hike to Devil's Kettle Falls, a challenging one mile hike but totally worth the effort. There are two large falls and the first one was a wonderful place to linger.

The Devil's Kettle Falls is a geological mystery - no one really knows where half the Brule River goes after it falls into the cauldron on the left.

Waterfalls are so amazing. The sound of the rushing water is energetic, the sight of the falling water mesmerizingly relaxing. The thought of falling to one's death and being swept away down river adds a certain adrenaline rush.

 

We vetnured off the path and found a little bench in the rocks to sit on and contemplate the destiny of so much rushing water. Most likely both halves of the falls lead to eternal life in Lake Superior, but it was amusing to imagine the possibility of half the water gushing into the underworld.

After lunch and a trip to Grand Marais the wind and rain clouds blew in. We had a cool evening by the fire and I still felt like I might like camping after all - until the rain started hitting the tent roof at 1:00 am, the baby woke up crying at 1:30  and the 4yo threw up at 2:00. I resolved for the umpteenth time that I would never go camping again. At last until the youngest is six.

 

The next rainy morning was spent at the laundry-mat and the World's Best Donut shop. I was feeling rather sorry for my poor sleep-deprived self until an older couple at the donut shop struck up conversation about our "lovely family", if our daughers' good posture was due to ballet and if we were unfortunate enough to be tent camping. As it turned out they had six children, took them to the North Shore every summer, and all of them now home school their children. After raising their family they retired and bought a house on the North Shore and love having their children and grandchildren come to visit. Their witness to me that day at that particular time was just the encouragement I needed to get through the rest of the trip and, well, perhaps the rest of life.

 

Although the rain ceased, the fog and mist lingered that day. With Grand Portage on our agenda, we proceeded northward towards the Canadian border. All three times we have been this far north there has been rain or overcast skies. In fact, everything north of the Naniboujou Lodge seems eerie and haunted to me. I kind of like it and kind of don't.

Grand Portage was once the fur trade center of the universe - the half way point between Montreal and the fur trading lands further west. The visitor's center offered interesting displays and a great movie about the lives of the voyageurs complete with their little rest stops to smoke their pipes, the songs to which they paddled, their mosquito repellent of bear grease and skunk oil, and of course the grueling portages. Can you imagine carrying almost 200 pounds on your back on miles of hiking trails? Or carrying this canoe uphill? At least it provided shelter at night.

The gift shop had two great books I have no regrets about purchasing: With Pipe, Paddle, and Song: A Story of the French-Canadian Voyageurs  (Bethlehem Books) and Waterfalls of Minnesota's North Shore. We used the waterfall book on the way home and I had the Voyageurs book read by the end of the weekend.

Since the forecast predicted rain for the rest of our time except the following morning, we decided to pack up during the dry stretch and head home. Joe did not want to pack up camp in the rain, even though it meant we wouldn't be able to get together in Duluth with our dear friends, Lori and family from Loving Them From Scratch.

The drive down Hwy 61 was broken up with several stops - one at Cascade Falls.

Another at Caribou Falls. We were all wishing we had worn swimsuits for this one.

The Little Princess was quite done with all this traveling by the time we hiked to Caribou Falls. She had a tantrum all the way there because she didn't want to go and all the way back because she didn't want to leave while I had that old conversation in my head questioning why we even try to travel with young children at all.

The Little Prince, however, was an angel when he knew we were heading home after not being a happy camper (like, not at all a happy camper) the whole time we were there. Too much wind, too many tree roots to trip on at the campsite, too many people shouting "No!" when he got too near the fire. Nothing seemed to be right with him. He was so glad we were packed up and heading out.

 

I was pleased too. Even though every time we have camped and I swear I will never do it again, I know I probably will - if faced with the choice of traveling or staying home. I'm sure we will try it again next summer - but at a campsite right on the lake shore. Don't tell my husband, but I even find myself daydreaming about retiring there up like the couple in the donut shop, as long as our kids and grandkids have to camp out in the yard so they know what we went through for them!

Camping: A Path to Sanctity

Well, for him anyway -

 

My husband added at least a dozen jewels to his heavenly crown this month. You see, because he wants me like camping he was supernaturally helpful and positive. While I packed up in the house, he packed and unpacked the van and the topper and the platform thing on the trailer hitch. With the record high dew points he was drenched in sweat every time. He pitched the tents, made coffee, grilled meat, hauled anything heavy, did all the driving and let me sleep on the bigger air mattress. He did not complain once, although he did admit at times that conditions were miserable. Saintly, this man who married the likes of me.

As for me, any opportunity to be sanctified by camping was utterly wasted due to my complaining, I am ashamed to admit. I did learn a lot about myself - I learned that heat & humidity do terrible things to my disposition, especially combined with rain, a dirty tent floor, millipedes in the shower, mosquitoes that eat my baby, and crying children in the van. I also learned what my hair really looks like without using a round brush and blow dryer (though this was the least of my worries!)

Did I mention lack of sleep? Falling asleep and waking up on sheets that felt misted,the  baby waking at 2am, a trip to the buggy bathroom at 3am, the birds chirping at 5am and the baby again at 6am.

Exhausting. But worth it? Yes. I can say that now that's it's all over. Over for now anyway.

{I hope you are not too scandalized - I did thank and praise my husband (and children) as often as I could muster, which was when I was comfortably riding in an air conditioned van.}

  

I learned a lot about our children too - that the kids LOVE camping. My eldest girl loved to help pitch the tents, my son became addicted to the fire pit, my middle daughter fashioned a game of mancala on the ground and the four year old learned to play tic-tac-toe in the dirt with a stick.

 

Hands-on experience with insects provided a fantastic learning experience too. We captured this beautiful katydid and witnessed firsthand how the wings rub when it chirps. Several insect specimens were added to this summer's bug collection.

We also continued to learn about Sunshine's talent with paper and scissors - she created this doggy set for her little sister to play with in the van!

Best of all, we learned to travel on a shoestring budget. Compared with two rooms at a hotel, we stayed five nights for the price of one!

Now do you want to know where we went on our second camping attempt?

First stop - The Little House in the Big Woods. Though no longer surrounded by big woods but by cornfields, it was still endearing to see the replica log cabin along the road into Pepin. There's not much else there besides a small museum in town, but it was a nice place to have a picnic lunch and use the restroom.

 

 

Fortunately, there was plenty more to do in the Lake Pepin area -

The National Eagle Center was a worthy stop on a rainy day.

Lark Toys has got to be the most amazing toy store ever. It's like all my favorite kids' catalogs combined into one brick & mortar store. To top it off there is a hand carved wooden carousel could have been designed by Jan Brett - imaginative, detailed and richly colored. My photos do not do justice to the details. I can't believe they actually let kids ride these works of art!

Views of the Mississippi from Buena Vista Park - the drive up the bluff and down a winding farm road that seemed to lead to nowhere was worth the effort.

Here's more scenery of the Mississippi river valley from 500' on top of Brady's Bluff -

Maiden Rock is also in the area - you know that bluff mentioned in Minn of the Mississippi where Princess Winona jumped to her death? We passed it by in a hurry trying to get to our campsite before dark, so no photo.

That was the first leg of the trip.

Part Two:

On the way to Walnut Grove we stopped at the Pickwick Mill c.1850s. They turn the water wheel on for visitors.

Our second campsite was actually 40 minutes away from Walnut Grove at a city park in Redwood Falls, right by a rushing river. Pretty, but humid. We would have hiked all over this park if the dew point had not been near 80.

This also happens to be where my husband proposed thirteen years ago! Last time we were there it was just the two of us!

The dugout site in Walnut Grove has collapsed, but a sign marks the spot.

{Plum Creek was rather deep and muddy for wading.}

The farmers who now own the land graciously let people drive in to see the dug out site and Plum Creek, for a small fee.

The museum in town has a replica of a dugout house as well as a settler's home (like the "wonderful house"), a church, a school, and "Grandma's House". The gift shop and restrooms here deserve an A+.

Everything was refreshingly hands-on, even the pump organ!

Two or three weekends in July they host a family festival in the park complete with food, music, crafts, Civil War demonstrations and the Laura-Nellie Look Alike Contest. And you already know who won that!

{Too bad there was not a Baby Carrie contest too!}

The excitement of our daughter winning made it all worth it - those were longest hottest and MOST HUMID hours I have ever endured, and in Minnesota - go figure. 

See that smile? She is still glowing from this special day. She and the Nellie winner were even in the Walnut Grove newspaper.

Three weekends in July the Outdoor Wilder Pageant is presented by dedicated local volunteers, It doesn't start until 9pm and runs two hours. We were going to skip it, but the contest winners are invited to participate for the night and received a gift certificate for the gift shop on the pageant grounds.

(she's on the front bench on the left - she was thrilled)

More fun in the area - the pageant suppers served up by local community groups in a refreshingly cold community center (with clean bathrooms) before the show begins.

East of Walnut Grove the Sod Houses in a farmer's backyard makes an interesting stop -

These are really quite nice on the inside - the larger one had a wooden floor, the smaller one did not.

Wheels Across the Prairie, a railroad and local history museum in Tracy is the home to this giant engine and several old-time buildings furnished with artifacts from the era.

Jeffer's Petroglyphs is a destination that has been on my list of places to see for some time. See the carving of the Thunderbird sideways in the middle?

Their visitor's center was also a fantastic place for travelers seeking cold a/c, clean restrooms, hands-on exhibits and friendly staff.

The Harkin Store - an 1870's general store/post office where much of the original inventory remained on the shelves after closing.

Here we are enjoying a refreshing wade in the creek at Ft. Ridgely State Park's picnic grounds -we could have stayed here forever! This is what we were hoping Plum Creek would be like.

That wraps it up! Many, many thanks to my saintly husband who accommodates the plans I dream up and to the families who loaned us prairie dresses. I think we will be getting our own before we make it out to De Smet. After we returned Joe discovered that his boss's boss specializes in sewing prairie dresses. I sense she is jumping at the chance to make some for us!

{If you ever go, keep in mind that the gift shops have aprons and bonnets for sale, most likely made by local ladies, so you don't have to have them ahead of time.}

I am not sure when we will go to De Smet if it remains too hot to camp and the hotels are full, but I hear it's the best site out of the three. Maybe next summer?

Thankful Thursday - Camping Edition

Last Friday night our family experienced our first real camping trip. By real, I mean that there was no option of taking shelter indoors if anything went wrong.

For years I have procrastinated family camping for fear that it would be too hot, that it would rain, that there would be too many mosquitoes, that the baby would cry in the night and not sleep well, that the showers would be gross. As long as we could possibly swing it, I have voted (and gotten my way) for a hotel suite or adjoining rooms. Well, this year we couldn't swing it so I decided to give camping a try rather than stay home all summer. A few hundred dollars in equipment is nothing compared to a week of hotel bills.

{The first night we were all in one tent and our luggage in the other. The second night the kids got the blue tent and we got the big tent with the baby}

Were my fears unfounded? No! When we arrived at our campsite (a county one - all the state parks are closed due to a government shutdown) it was nearly 100 degrees, humid, and with a relentless 20 mph wind. Sometime between pitching the tent in the wind and dinner I got a mega headache and by the time we were brushing our teeth a severe thunderstorm rolled in.

It took hours for the storm to subside and the baby to calm down enough to sleep and my headache persisted all night. Lying awake feeling damp, cross, and miserable I planned the speech I would give my husband the next day, explaining that camping was just not for me, that we should cancel our reservations for the rest of the summer and just stay home because this suffering and misery just wasn't worth it. Plus, the bathrooms were gross (rusty water, full of bugs), there was no swimming beach and mosquitoes ate us alive. My poor baby had bites all over his face and neck even though we tried to keep him in the tent the whole time. {Lori, you were right!}

God humbled my proud heart at His earliest convenience. When the birds woke me up at 5:00 and I check the news on my iPhone I realized how lucky we were that a branch did not fall and kill one of our children. How lucky we were that we did not take shelter in a nearby B&B that caught fire in the middle of the night. Lucky that we would not come home to find a tree through the roof of our house. Lucky, protected, spared. Obviously I do not know what misery really is. It could have been so much worse.

After the first night we actually had a great time. It was still hot, but the ultra high humidity broke. The wind died down. We left the campground for the day and explored Mankato, MN and saw the attractions on our itinerary:

The Hubbard House

The Betsy and Tacy Houses

The Bench!

And a huge highlight - I actually recognized a fellow blogger this time - not like last year!

This is Grace from Our Field of Little Flowers. She was with her LIttle Flowers group visiting the Betsy-Tacy houses too!

 

The next night in the tent was not nearly as hot or humid. We packed up, made it to 11:30  Mass at the beautiful church of Sts. Peter and Paul, headed to New Ulm and enjoyed this quaint German town.

The Wanda Gag house (Millions of Cats)

The Schell Brewery

the Cathedral

{photo from the Cathedral website}

and we climbed 100 feet to see New Ulm from the top of Hermann the German

Even though I am most grateful to be home and back in my own bed, I think I might be willing to try this camping thing again if it means we can explore this state.

Misery is relative.

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. ~ Psalm 107:1

 

 

Fall Break and a Homecoming

Do you take a fall break? I have been noticing from reading other blogs that I am in good company with others who do. After all, there is the Seasonal Clothing Exchange project and cleaning and baking and just taking time to enjoy the fall weather, if you do have fall weather where you live. Sometimes the school work just has to be set aside to accomplish such tasks.

I did do all of these things on our break and more, which is why it turned out to be a little longer than expected. You see, my mother turned 80 this month. While I had hoped we could get away for a visit, it wasn't until a cousin organized a joint birthday party for her and two other relatives that I knew we really needed to get there. I was not at all sure I would make it, based on how I felt most of my first trimester. After quitting Zofran two weeks ago it took about five days until I felt well enough and confident enough that I could make the 12+ hour trip to Oklahoma and survive 4-5 night of motel living. But I did, so we made our hotel reservations and drove out of Minnesota's dreary cold and rainy weather.

My mother has two cousins (who are brothers) with October birthdays - one turned 80 and the other 90. It was a surprise party of sorts - each thought the party was for the other two! My mother had no idea we were coming, can you tell from this expression?

All of our family attended: my two brothers, my sister and all of mom's grand kids. 

 

Each birthday honoree explained the photos on the posters made for them and it was fascinating to hear the life stories of two octogenarians and one nonagenarian.

I just have to say that my mother's 90 year old cousin (on the left) is a complete hoot and thoroughly enjoyed joking with the kids. He is an accomplished woodworker as well and brought wooden spinning tops for the children.

The next day we met my mother for Mass and drove around my hometown. It is quite comforting in some ways to revisit the environment in which you were raised and humbling in other ways. The place where I would have most liked to enter into again was our old church, abandoned after it was deemed "structurally unsound". A new contemporary church was built, a controversy that caused a huge rift in the parish, even though they did have the decency to re-use some of the stained glass windows and all of the stations of the cross.

When we drove past the corner of the old church I was shocked to see that the church was GONE! Leveled. Steps leading up to an empty lot. I was too shocked to even take a picture, but here is what it used to look like:

The rest of Sunday was happily spent meeting an old friend and her husband for lunch, swimming with the kids, my sister and niece, and taking my mother out to dinner. For some reason I don't have pictures of that day either; sometimes I guess I don't want to ruin the moment with the interruption of the camera, but just want to keep the memories safe in my heart. The friend we met was one I have known since elementary school all the way through high school. We were in band together and part of a little group of friends that ate lunch outside under a tree. Now that's a photo I do have if I can figure out how to scan it in:

 

My friend Stephanie is on the right in the back row. I am on the right sitting in the front row. I am still in touch with a few friends in this photo, some through Facebook and one much more personally.  Two of the girls were foreign exchange students. I still exchange Christmas cards with the one from Japan! Stephanie and I were just so happy so see one another happily married (finally!) and to sense so much of the same heart and soul in one another still intact.

Monday morning after a quick tour of the city in which I attended college and had my first teaching job we headed down the turnpike for a side trip to Fantastic Caverns. They were indeed filled with fantastic formations!

One more night in a hotel and we were crossing the border back into Minnesota, finding the weather to be exactly the same as when we left: cold and rainy.

The rest of the week was busy with unpacking and laundry, lessons and errands. We joined some friends on Thursday to make a frosted sugar cookie rosary and on Friday we cleaned out the girls' room (again) and filled an entire trash bag with Pack-Rat's stuff. My dh's grandmother turned 80 something and we had yet another birthday party to travel to on Saturday, this time only a few hours away. While we were out that way we stopped in a museum to see the Kensington Runestone and Big Ole. Vikings territory indeed.

Of course you may have heard that the weather here worsened over the weekend. The rain turned into snow. This really isn't funny to me - the leaves are still green! The grass is still green! Our tomatoes have yet to ripen! And there is more on the way!

We only accomplished two days of seat work in our two weeks off so tomorrow we will have to get back to our normal routines. We are praying for an Indian summer so we can enjoy our usual fall pleasures - pumpkin patch, fall nature hikes and apple orchards.

You were all right - we went to Duluth . . . and beyond!

You native Minnesotans really know your state!

And now I feel a little more like a real Minnesotan!

The North Shore of Lake Superior is the closest thing to the ocean for us land-locked folks. It all starts here with the Duluth harbor -

Farther up there are plenty of rivers with cascading waterfalls that empty into Lake Superior.

Gooseberry Falls:

Baptism River Falls:

Temperance River Falls:

 

Our son fell in love with the waves lapping up on the rocky shoreline. They were talking to him, he said. Kissing him even.

The iconic Split Rock Lighthouse was a worthy stop.

We stayed halfway up in the Lutsen mountains. I know, I know, these are small mountains - only at a 1400 ft elevation without a tree line or anything, but they are the highest hills I've seen in years the biggest "mountains" the kids have ever seen!

The ski lodge there was running a great summer special. We rented a townhome that slept six - five nights for the price of three!

The gondola ride took us up to a mountain-top restaurant -

The alpine slide was a huge hit. When the kids are old enough to haul their own sleds we will splurge for an all day pass!

Further up the shore is the artsy harbor village of Grand Marais -

This is the Naniboujou Lodge's famous dining room painted with Cree Indian designs. The pan-fried walleye was amazing but the wild rice side dish was even more savory!

We went all the way up the shore as far as we could go without current passports. Sorry Renee!

A quick left gives you one more waterfall to see. The Pigeon River divides the U.S. and Canada here so the Grand Portage Falls are shared between us. See the people on the right? They are in Canada!

 

And that's all we had time to see in the five days we were gone. The children were sick one day, one was rainy and the last night I came down with the bug. I tell you, if there was such a thing as a vacation flu vaccine I just might consent to that one! Running a fever the whole way home was no fun at all!

We just have to plan a trip back to see and do what we missed - a canoe trip, the Grand Portage fur trading fort, some restaurants we didn't have the stomach for, and all the Duluth destinations. Can't wait!

I'm Back!

Can you guess where we've been?

The Rest of Our Trip

I just spent two hours typing up a post with photos and links and stories and then I typing something - I don't know what - that made the whole thing disappear. Not even my husband, the computer wizard can find it. So here are the photos minus the lengthy descriptions and links.

BTY, I feel like this for the second time today. The first was when, after just submitting a grocery delivery order and sending my husband to the store on his way home from work, I realized I had NO eggs to make this cake. Just when I thought I was getting on top of things around here!

Ok, so here's the church I had mentioned in an earlier post:

Aunts on my father's side I had not seen since his funeral twenty years ago. I had stories and everything that I don't feel like retyping at 11:30pm! I think I have my Aunt Virginia's chin.

A relative who shares a middle name with our baby. And the baby's name is the same as this woman's grandmother (my great aunt - I never knew her). This lovely lady's husband's name is Bob White. No kidding!

The OKC Zoo

Science Museum of Oklahoma - planetarium

Swimming with the British cousins

Myriad Botanical Gardens

New (in 2000) and huge Natural History Museum on the OU campus.

The first "mountain" the kids have ever seen

With my sister and TX brother

And friends who live in Irving, TX and wholeheartedly recommend the area for Catholic family living. University of Dallas, an FSSP Mass, playgroups and homeschooling groups galore - thanks dear P&P for showing us around!

That's it. I am so sorry - the post that evaporated was much more interesting!

On the Road With the Little People

                                                                                                                                                          I am a total wimp when it comes to traveling with children. Hence, we have been out of state only a handful of times since becoming parents eight years ago!

So, how did it go? As well as can be expected!

Here's what I think helped the trip go well for us:

In the Van

• First of all, we purchased a Toyota Sienna last fall with this trip in mind. Not as roomy as a Trad van, but with a Rooftop Cargo Box we were able to fit everything in and still get 22 MPG. Couldn't park above the first floor in the hotel ramp, but got a really great valet spot close to the door instead!
• My husband took it in for an oil change and tire rotation before we left as well as a spa treatment at Master Wash!
• Eight hours of driving per day max!
• Homeopathic Motion Sickness Remedy for Dancer.
• This footrest for Sunshine who is prone to "pins and needles".
• Backseat Car Organizers from Lillain Vernon stocked with tissues, wipes, drawing pads, mini magna-doodles, chenille sticks, markers, tape (Sunshine goes through a lot of tape!) and a trash bag for each child.
• Cookie sheets with edges for lap desks.
• Anne of Green Gables Trilogy Boxed Set on DVD - 644 minutes!
• Lots of new CDs like Wee Sing in the Car.
• Lots of activity books like dot-to-dots, mazes and color by number. My MIL gave the kids activity books by Holy Family Press for Easter that we saved for the trip.
• The activity books were a GODSEND in the mornings - the kids could keep busy in the hotel room while waiting for mom and dad to get ready and leave for breakfast.
• Gallon jugs of water and Stainless Steel Thermos Leak Proof Bottles with Flip Up Straws.
• Lots of snacks and juice boxes of course!
• One rolling suitcase per child. They LOVED packing and pulling their own!
• For the baby - I just packed a tote bag full of toys and pulled them out as needed. Her typical pattern in the van went like this: sleep for an hour or two, awake and happy for an hour or so, maxed out and needing a diaper change and nursing session until the next suitable stop!

Overnights:

• We spent three nights with a friend of a friend brave enough to help put us up and the rest in hotels. Most nights we made due with a room with two queen beds, but sleeping was a little rough. The best room we had was in a La Quinta - a two room suite. King in one room and a sofa bed in the other. We brought the pack & play (co-sleeper actually) for the baby.
• Again, activity books for the mornings gave them something to do while waiting.
• We brought along a CD clock radio to play favorite night-time music and stories on CD.
• I brought my own laundry detergent and did about five loads over the course of the trip.
• Some dish soap was handy for washing out water cups in the hotel sink.
• A night light for the bathroom was a must!
• In the health kit: vitamins, Emergen-C  and night-time cough syrup.
• Paper bowls, plastic spoons, cereal and Almond Breeze saved us $$$ on breakfasts.
• Take & Toss products for the baby.
• We didn't get a mini-fridge in our room, but brought along a small cooler.

Back at Home

• I put in a hold request online at USPS.
• My husband forwarded our home phone calls to his cell phone.
• The boys next door earned money by feeding our porch cat.
• The family on the other side collected our newspapers, watered my two plants and parked their car in our driveway.
• We put a lamp on a plug-in timer and left a radio playing.
• My husband hid the computer and firebox in the basement, just in case.
• He also locked up the garage and turned off the power to the garage doors.

Prep

• One thing I think my husband was glad I did before we left was to print out maps and destination info that I put into a three-ring binder. Directions, phone numbers, hours and admission prices were all in one place!
• A friend suggested starting allergy meds before leaving as a precaution - everything was in bloom down south.
• The baby slept in the pack & play several nights before leaving to get used to it.
• We put together a little photo album for the kids to show other kids they met.

Back at Home:

• We stopped by the grocery store for "a few things" on the way home. I was at the checkout before I realized we were packed to the hilt and might not have room for twelve bags of groceries. It all fit, somehow!
• Hubby took off an extra day to help unpack and do laundry. And call insurance about the fallen tree. Thanks, honey!
• After the van was unloaded I took it for a gas, wash and vacuum.
• And of course, vacation from homeschool is extended until next week!

Biggest travel challenges for me:

• Getting enough fruits and vegetables.
• Sleeping.
• Homesick children.
• Packing everything I needed to be gone for the whole day; diapers, wipes, baby food, a bib, baby spoons, baby water, baby blanket, etc.

Hope this helps and good luck to anyone traveling in the near future - and please leave comments with your own travel tips!

Where We've Been - Second Leg

Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain . . .

And was it ever windy - a different kind of wind than the kind we get in Minnesota. Not the cold and biting sort that makes one hunch over and tighten up (like that makes you fell any warmer?!) but a warm wind, alive and full of energy. The blooming redbud trees (OK state tree), pear trees, tulips and pansies were a welcome sight for eyes that saw six inches of snow just a few days before!

First stop:the Courtyard Marriott in the Bricktown district of OKC for a six night stay. Comfy, spacious and relatively new - a priority for a germ-a-phobe mom with a scootin' baby.

Second stop: My grandmother's old house where my mother and her four siblings grew up. After being rented out to all sorts from Catholic nuns to crack addicts since my Grandmother's passing, the current owner is doing a marvelous job restoring this nearly 100 year old home. I had intended just to drive by and take a picture, but the owner was in the yard and I couldn't help getting out and introducing myself. He was happy to show us around after hearing that my grandmother used to live there -

I just have to share a very funny story about this gravestone that the owner had recently dug up in the garden bed -

I recognized the name of my great grandfather but had no explanation for the current owner as to how it came to be buried under a bush. He had researched the name and found that the body of of E.C. Rohkar was buried elsewhere, so at least he knew that his shovel would not be hitting a corpse as well! I took this photo I headed to our family reunion to surprise my mother and Aunt Joan.

Third Stop: Family Reunion. My Aunt Joan's jaw dropped to the floor for a full minute after seeing the photo of this tombstone. It only took her about five minutes to solve the mystery (you should see how quick she solves Wheel of Fortune puzzles!). She remembered a stone being buried by the east steps, but the top was smooth as she recalled. She never know what it was. Must be, she reckoned, that after her grandmother died, a new tombstone was made with both her grandparents' names and the old one with only her grandfather's name was taken home and buried upside down. Now to retrieve the family heirloom!

Visiting with relatives on a gorgeous spring day sure beats those oppressively hot summer reunions I remember from childhood. The big reason for our visiting in April - to coincide with my cousin Sarah's visit to OK.

• She is my only cousin my age (2nd cousin once removed or something like that).
• I hadn't seen her since 1988 -  20 years - the year we graduated from high school and also the year that her mother and my father died.
• She now lives in Kent, just outside of London, is married and has two lovely children whom we met for the first time.
• We've been in touch via email for maybe eight years or so, we're both still Catholic and her children attend St. Margaret Clitherow Catholic School.

The lads busied themselves building a boy's club.

Not to be outdone, the lassies constructed a girls' hideout.

Of course we had the pleasure of seeing an abundance of relatives including my mother and sister. My kids always take delight in noticing the ways in which I look like their beloved Aunt Terri.

Fourth stop: The very same evening we met up with a friend whom I've known since the 5th grade, roomed with two years in college and have not seen for, oh, fifteen years?! We took our eldest daughters to the OKC Philharmonic concert after dinner. I don't know why I don't have a photo of my olden golden friend, but here are our girls outside the Civic Center:

To top off the day, we paid a visit backstage to see a former clarinet student of mine who now plays principal in the orchestra. When I was in college I taught lessons once a week to budding clarinetists in his hometown band program. Chad was one bud who flowered in a big way, going on to earn degrees from Northwestern and Yale. Read all about him here.

Time for a break before the next installment. As soon as I got home I got a bee in my bonnet about cleaning the mudroom, washing and storing winter gear and of course all the unpacking and organizing. Today I get to work with the hum of a chainsaw transforming the fallen pine into firewood!

Where We've Been - First Leg

I alluded to our trip in this post but didn't want to blatantly advertise our absence in case I have any lurkers intending to case our house. Call me paranoid.

Day One: Kansas City
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Country Club Plaza. We stayed overnight a a hotel in Westport called The Q Hotel. Nice place, but I would not recommend the place if you actually want to sleep.

Spring was springing in Kansas City, complete with daffodils and robins. Heavenly!

Building fairy houses!

Margaret, this is where I was sitting when you called for gnome consultation!

No time for shopping, but we did drive around to see the fountains in the Plaza

The rest of the day was spent driving through cattle ranches in the Flint Hills. Usually gorgeous, this time of year they are undergoing controlled burns.

The Oklahoma border brought cheers and a deafening rendition of the musical tune; O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

First item of business: hamburgers and shakes at Braum's!

Home to Okla-HOME-a

Our trip in numbers:
13 days
12 nights
6 states
2,467 miles
0 fevers
0 vomiting
4 with coughs & colds
dozens of relatives and friends seen

Our home upon return:
0 house fires
0 tornadoes
0 copper pipes stolen
1 dead 80 ft pine tree succumbed to the southerly winds

0 children injured because (thank God) we were gone!!!