The Outer Banks

Dave and I decided to go on a vacation for no reason - just pick a place we both were interested in and go there. We decided on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Yoga North was on break for the last two weeks of May so that's when we went. I still had a bit of a problem with my schedule since I teach off-site too but thankfully two of my co-workers were able to cover for me.

Day 1 - Wednesday, May 19th

We decided that we should take advantage of our MN park pass and camp in the southern most part of the state for our first night. Of course that wasn't really a full day of driving but darn it! - we were going to get our money's worth out of that one year pass (which we'd only used once last spring). We camped at Beaver Creek Valley State Park. The campsites were ok- nothing special, but there were only about 5 groups camping so it didn't really matter that the sites weren't super special. The birds were amazing. Tons of tweets all over the place. We slept with the rain-fly off (living dangerously in Minnesota) so we were really able to hear the birds in the morning. The coolest thing about the park are the natural springs which gush out of the sides of limestone cliffs. It's enough water to create a small river. The artist in residence was a woman who had been to Antarctica - small world, huh?

Day 2 - Thursday, May 20th

We drove along some very small and picturesque roads in the morning until we reached Dubuque, IA. Then we started to realize that unless we put the peddle to the metal we were never going to reach the Outer Banks. We had only driven about 100 miles and it had taken us 3 hours! We got on the freeway and hightailed it all the way to Indianapolis. It was pouring rain most of the afternoon so we decided to get a hotel. We traveled with Petra when she was a puppy (about 10+ years ago now) and we could not get a hotel to let us have a room since we had a dog with us so we were nervous about being able to find accommodation if we weren't camping. We had done our research and knew that the Outer Banks were dog-friendly, but what about all the places in between? So, we picked a hotel by the freeway, Dave went in, asked for a room and said we had a dog. The girl didn't say anything so he wondered if she had heard him. So he says again, "We have a dog." She's like, "Great!" We had never stayed at the Jamison Inn before so she kindly waived the pet fee. You know, even after camping for one night, getting a hotel is so luxurious! Plus, after driving for 12 hours it was nice to not camp in the rain. (BTW - at this point in our trip I am starting to get laryngitis.)

Day 3, Friday, May 21st

We left (not so bright and early) and hit the interstate again. I had chosen a southerly route to the Outer Banks because I wanted to see some of the towns in North Carolina and because it looked like the southern beaches were less populated. We wound our way south and ended up in the Smokey Mountains. How beautiful! We camped at Big Creek Campground, a National Park Service campground. There were just 12 sites (tent only) plus some horse camping sites about 1/2 a mile down-river. As we were looking over the sites to choose one, a fellow came up and asked if we had picked yet and if not, then we should go look at number 12 because it was the best site. Sure enough, it was open (he said the people had just left) and it was the best site because it didn't have anyone else next to it and the creek was just down below. Wasn't that nice of him? All the sites but one filled up that night so we really lucked out getting there when we did and getting good advice from a fellow camper. Getting to the park we traveled on a tiny, one lane road. Luckily we didn't meet anyone in a horse trailer.

Day 4, Saturday, May 22nd

We continued our drive to the beach. I had really wanted to see Asheville and some other NC cities but since this was already day 4 and we had a whole day of driving ahead of us, we ended up just zooming through. I thought I could at least get a feel for each city as we drove through but we couldn't even see them! At all! The trees along the highways completely obliterated any views that there might have been. Even in the middle of the city! It was amazing. I thought Minnesota had tree tunnel roads but we've got nothing on North Carolina. Anyway, we finally made our way to the very end of the land, Cedar Island, NC,  where we could catch the ferry to Oracoke and find our next camping site. We drove at least 2 hours though countryside completely devoid of tourist amenities - I was worried we were going to have to sleep in the car. We were too late for the ferry that night but fortunately there is a strategically placed, somewhat dumpy motel at the end of the line, the Driftwood Motel. It's where everyone stays who needs to catch the morning ferry. We didn't really care that it was dumpy. We were pretty tuckered out anyway and I was developing a cough. Dave thought he was traveling with a 3-pack-a-day smoker because my voice was so gone by now. Our neighbors were a bunch of Harley motorcycle guys (a.k.a. retired accountants) so I fit right in with my raspy voice.

Day 5, Sunday, May 23rd

We were signed up for the 10:30 am ferry (in case we didn't make it all the way there the night before we opted for the 10:30 instead of the 7 am). This was fine because we had time to walk on the beach in the morning. The night before some folks had told us that there were feral horses and cows on the island and that we might see them if we walked far enough. Well, we did see a feral bull without really walking far at all. We had been walking a short while and I was noticing these funny hoof prints - not horse. I thought, "Those look like cow prints but how could that be?" (I had forgotten what the people the night before had told us.) But sure enough, wild bull, right there, on the beach, in front of us. Yikes. He was just laying there, practically in the water, so it was hard to tell at first what we were looking at. But suddenly, as we got closer he decided to stand up and check us out too. That's when we decided it would be smart to go back to our motel and pack our bags.

We had a lovely ferry ride from Cedar Point to Oracoke. The sun was shining, the temperature was lovely and the passage was smooth. It's about 2.25-2.5 hours to cross. Oracoke was the cutest little town. Everything was all cottage-y and cedar shingles and fancy architectural details. We were prepared to camp again though so we left town and headed towards the only NPS camping on the island: Oracoke Campground. Most of the sites were nothing special except for the row that was just on the other side of the dune from the beach! YES - at last, we are here!

Immediately after setting up our tent we climbed over the dune with our beach chairs, snacks and water and set ourselves up to hang out for the rest of the day. Petra did great. She laid under Dave's chair in the shade while we played in the waves, belly-busting breakers (and sometimes getting slapped up side the head). The water was a super comfortable temperature. Even I could play for hours without freezing my behind off. We played for the whole afternoon before giving in to hunger and headed back over the dunes to our tent. After supper we headed back to the beach for a walk and to watch the Piping Plovers. They are the cutest little birds. Always running their little legs at blur speed. And they never get knocked over by a wave the way we do. Smart. The beach on the Outer Banks is fantastic! White sand, warm water, big waves, and on Oracoke, not very many people either.

Now, does karma dictate that you have to pay for the best day ever? Because we did - with the worst  night ever! No-see-ums (biting gnats?) plagued us all night long. Any bit of skin uncovered was fair game. Naturally it was hotter than hell because a storm was brewing so who wants to get in their winter sleeping bag? All night it was slap, slap, slap (both of us), cough, cough, cough (me), and then the rain came. Poor Petra was so hot and tired that she didn't even notice that it was raining in on her (at our feet) through our still opened front window (too hot to close up everything). I finally thought to check on her and she was soaked as were the bottoms of our sleeping bags and by morning we had a small lake in our tent.

Day 6, Monday, May 24th

It was still raining in the morning when we got up, so we pulled up our stakes, dumped the water out of our tent, stuffed everything in the car and took off without coffee or breakfast. We drove back to Oracoke town thinking we could get breakfast or coffee or something. But, no, Monday's are the day all the little restaurants aren't open. So we drove to the other end of the island and caught the ferry to Hatteras Island. Yes, all in the pouring rain. Luckily the ferry ride was much shorter. Only about 40 minutes. There was no protective overhang on this ferry so we had to stay in the car the whole time. When we got off the ferry we found the cutest independent coffee shop. Their cappuccino and chai were delicious and so were their pastries. We were so happy to be out of the rain for a bit.

After our worst night ever camping we decided to go nuts and rent a cottage for a few days. After looking at a few places (again - in the pouring rain), we found a place in Avon with a decent price, right on the beach (back of the dunes) and dogs are acceptable. It was a side-by-side duplex. The upper story was the living area and the couch was situated perfectly to lay on it and gaze over the dunes to watch the breakers. Ahhh, heaven (in a homely wrapper). The bugs didn't come in on the 2nd floor so we could keep the sliding glass doors open all the time to enjoy the ocean breeze. As soon as we moved in (in the rain) the skies cleared up and we were able to go play on the beach again. Avon has a beautiful beach. We were at a spot where the waves were cross crashing though and it seemed like there were rip currents so we didn't go out as far as we had down in Oracoke. Getting swept away in a rip current on your vacation would really put a damper on things.

How do these old piers even stay standing?

Day 7, Tuesday, May 25th

There was a storm warning for today. Gale force winds expected. And yeah, it was pretty windy and the waves were huge. We walked on the beach in the morning and got sandblasted (I think you have to pay for that service in some high priced salons). We decided it probably wasn't too safe for swimming, especially since the Weather Channel had a guy right by the pier just down the beach from our cottage, reporting on the "terrible" weather. Of course we are used to the Nor'easters on Lake Superior so we just thought it was fun to be out in it.

In the afternoon, Dave went to visit historic Hatteras Lighthouse (tallest in the nation) while I stayed home with Petra and napped. He climbed to the top and encouraged a number of out-of-shape folks that they too could make it up there. I had been up a lot coughing through the night but was able to lie down for 2 hours and gaze at breakers, enjoy the breeze and nap without coughing. Just a heavenly napping site. We had a lovely dinner that night and decided that if the weather cleared up we would stay another day but if it was rainy or cold we would start to head home.

Day 8, Wednesday, May 26th

Cold and rainy. Gale force winds still in effect. Time to pack it in and head for home. We drove north on Hatteras and realized how lucky we were that we had come in from the south. We had so much more open space, wild space, in the southern part of the Outer Banks. The northern part is much more touristy and developed. Tons of McMansions, cottages, chain stores. If anyone ever gets down to this area I highly recommend going as far south as you can.

We chose a more northerly route home. We drove through Washington DC - not that we could see anything - but we made it through without getting stuck in traffic which we thought was a major accomplishment. We also lamented the fact that we didn't have months to travel the east coast area. There are so many signs for historic this or that which would've been awesome to go to but no time on this trip. Now we know that we want to return though - when we have lots of time.

We spent the night in Pittsburgh at a Holiday Inn Express. Don't believe the ads - it doesn't make you smarter to stay there. As a matter of fact, I feel a little dumb since it was our highest price accommodation. However, the pillows were excellent. We decided we could make it to Chicago the next day so we called Siri and Deborah to see if they wouldn't mind some unexpected company. And yea! they were happy to have us drop in.

Day 9, Thursday, May 27th

Another day of highway driving. We drove mostly on toll roads. Traffic was pretty manageable except for one area where we saw the aftermath of a terrible car accident. There's no way a person could've made it out alive. The car was crushed like a can. I'm so sorry for whoever was in there. We made it all the way into downtown Chicago without getting hung up in traffic. Then, 5 miles from Deborah's house we lost our luck and drove at about 5 mph for the next hour, finally getting to our turn off.

It was so fun to drop in on family in Chicago. We walked to Siri's garden plot to pick strawberries, had a wonderful dinner, and then, while Dave and Deborah talked about taking canal boat tours in France (our plan for next year's vacation), Siri gave me a Tui Na (sp?) treatment for my cough/cold. I don't know what all she did but it sure felt good and I was able to sleep all night without coughing.

Day 10, Friday, May 28th

We visited for a while in the morning and waited for rush hour to be over. We left for home around 10 am. The remainder of our trip was uneventful. We were happy to be heading home because it was obvious that everyone and his brother were on the road for Memorial Day. Generally, once you get north of Eau Claire on 53, there is no one else traveling with you. But today, the roads were packed with cars, RV's, and trucks hauling boats and ATV's.

As we drove over the bridge from Superior to Duluth we realized what a beautiful part of the country we live in. Lake Superior and the St. Louis river frame the hillside of Duluth in a picture postcard perfect kind of way. We loved our trip and we are happy to be home.

Who's the Fairest of them All?

Mid-April beach walk on Park Point. 

 Dave and Petra and a giant's chair.

Sara and Petra in the yard.

The fairest of us all - Petra, Queen of the Dandelions.

Why we Need Health Care Reform

I wrote to my congressman in support of the Health Care Reform bill. In response he sent a letter with some startling statistics. Congressman Oberstar writes:

It is imperative that health insurance reform legislation be enacted to help Americans afford their health care by lowering the cost of premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, and to relieve the burden on small businesses across the country. The cost of inaction is too great. Since 2000, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have more than doubled, representing a growth rate three times faster than cumulative wage increases. The average cost of an employer-based family health insurance policy in 2009 was $13,375, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Without reform the average family premium is projected to be $23,842 in 2020. Many families already pay more than $1,000 in additional premium costs each year to compensate for those who do not have insurance. Further bolstering the need for reform, 60 percent of personal bankruptcies were related to medical costs in 2007.

We need health insurance reform because American businesses are losing their ability to compete in the global marketplace due to rising health care costs. The burden is particularly heavy on small businesses. Since 2000, small business premiums have risen 129 percent. In 2008, 38 percent of small companies offered health coverage, compared with 41 percent in 2007 and 61 percent in 1993. On average, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large firms for the same health insurance policy and an employee of a small business is 50 percent more likely to lose job-based coverage than an employee of a large business.

I would like to see a public option but I recognize that that choice is just too radical for some people at this time. I am thankful that the government is doing something to reform our broken system and I look forward to continued reform and refinement of the system.

Sara's Birthday Extravaganza

Things are getting out of hand here in Duluth with all the birthday celebrations. First it was Kay's Birthday Extravaganza, then Lynn's Birthday Extravaganza and now my birthday extravaganza.

Dave put presents out in advance of the actual day.
Petra was certain the presents were for her.
I mean, why wouldn't they be?
She's so dang cute!

My mom invited us out to her house for cake the weekend before my birthday. Kris and Carolyn (and their kids Catherine and Emma) also were visiting. As soon as they pulled into town, the 6 of us headed out to Clover Valley for some country fun and German Chocolate cake. German Chocolate cake is my favorite. My mom makes it for me once a year and that is just the right amount. Kris thought it was so filling he dubbed it "the steak of cake's." Of course he had 2 pieces so it's no wonder he was full but he is also correct - it is amazingly dense cake - YUM.

Yes the "4" represents decades not years - good one mom.

We took a walk up to the old fire tower after lunch 

and then returned to my mom's to play on the swing...

That evening we joined Kris and Carolyn at The Edge Waterpark and Hotel where they had reserved a room for the night. What a blast! Dave and I stayed there once before about 4 years ago when we sold our country house and moved back to town but we didn't have nearly the amount of fun we had when we got to join friends on the waterslides.

Kris, Carolyn and kids joined us at our house on Monday for a few overnights. On Tuesday morning the Karsell's joined me for my yoga class and in the evening we went to Lynn and Mark's for dinner. Wednesday morning we stuffed ourselves at Uncle Louie's Diner and then the Karsell's headed home. Now we've celebrated both Dave's birthday and my birthday this year with them. How fun.

Dave and I had a few days to organize ourselves before our Hotdish potluck event on Sunday.

The weather has been beautiful so we took a walk on Park Point, skipped some stones, sat on the beach and enjoyed ourselves. This is the first time we've taken Petra to the beach since her knee surgery last fall. She did so good. She was very tired by the end of the walk and a little gimpy later in the day but by the next day she was just fine.

On Saturday, the day before the party, Dave and I blew up a bunch of balloons and stuck them to the ceiling with static cling. Some of the balloons didn't have enough integrity and would randomly explode, scaring the crap out of us and the dog. We lost about 6-10 balloons pre-party but only 1 at the actual party which was lucky since we live in the 'hood and people get scared by loud noises.

At the party:

We had a bunch of lovely guests (click the image to see larger).

 We had tator tots on cocktail toothpicks for appetizers
(don't try this at home).

Everyone went above and beyond in making tasty and beautiful hotdishes.

We even played party games: Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

The weekend after my birthday Emily took me out to dinner to celebrate since she couldn't make it to any of the other festivities. In all, I've had a great time celebrating for the past 4 weekends. 

Happy Birthday to me! I love being 40!

Lynn's Birthday Extravaganza

So, the very next night after Kay's Birthday Extravaganza, Dave and I took Lynn out for her birthday. Well, technically, we were using a payment we had received for teaching at the Homestead Road Dance a few weeks earlier. But anyway, we went to Hanabi, a new restaurant in Duluth. It was soooo fancy (compared to the down-home style we are used to. People were still dining in sweatshirts but the restaurant itself was very fancy.) They had a few vegetarian options (enough to make a meal) and Dave and Lynn ordered something with fish. Our dinners were beautiful and delicious.

We're not 100% sure on what we ate but I do know that this one is seaweed salad and I have had the exact same thing at Nokomis. I really like it.

Dave got this one with the ends all fancified. Usually when you have Sushi the ends are all crumbly and falling apart (at least when we make our own at home this is what happens) but they deep-fried the ends to keep them together and then presented it so gourmet.

Turns out we knew our waitress too. She used to work at the Scenic and both Lynn and I recognized her. You really can't go anywhere in Duluth without running into someone you know.

After dinner we headed over to a swing dance at Norway Hall. We heard about it when we were teaching at the Homestead Road dance. It seemed like the perfect thing to do since it was Lynn's birthday and since we all love to dance.

The band was the Fractals and they really went nuts playing great danceable songs. I think we danced for about 3 hours. Everyone there was super friendly. We all danced with multiple people (besides the few we came with - me, Lynn, Dave, Vicky & Dennis). We were really happy to meet people who wanted to dance. We just had a blast! Happy Birthday Lynn!

Kay's Birthday Extravaganza

For the past 4 weekends I have been celebrating birthdays: friends' birthdays and my own birthday. It's a big year for some of us - the BIG Four-Oh. Hard to believe it, but it's here. And it has been great! Starting on the 3rd weekend of March, Kay came up from the cities and the flock gathered around her. Kim flew in from Portland, Renee A. (U) drove up from the cities, Renee M. from TH and I was already here in Duluth.

Kim, Kay and Renee M came to my Yin Yoga class and we had some inappropriate laughing which could've turned into something quite hysterical but luckily, now that we are all 40, or near 40, our maturity got the better of us. I say luckily because as the teacher of the class I don't think it would've been acceptable to totally lose it in front of my regular students.

Anyway, from there we went down to Renee's to get ready for dinner. Dinner was at Va Bene - a lovely Italian restaurant on Superior Street. They were so nice to us. I think we were there for 2.5 hours, making a scene, laughing our heads off and taking pictures- and they never asked us to be quiet. We closed down the restaurant and moved on to the Red Star lounge. We had such a blast talking, catching up, drinking martini's and dancing. I haven't had a night like this since college.

The lovely thing about this night is that, although we had drinks, we were not out to get drunk (as perhaps we might have been in college). We were out to get to know each other again, to share stories of growing up and of living our adult lives. I'm so glad to have gotten together with these old girlfriends. Thank you Kay for bringing us all together. Happy Birthday!

Here's to friends ~ Cheers!

Pork Products

As Sara read Eating Animals she would read sections of it to me. And as she progressed through the end of the book it created a discussion in our house. The discussion centered on the suffering of animals and particularly our role in it.

This winter we took a class at Yoga North that detailed the concept of suffering – how we suffer, how to alleviate suffering and what does it mean to suffer as a person. This class and Eating Animals seemed linked in that if you are party to the suffering of the food you eat and you are what you eat, then very simply, aren’t you suffering? This doesn’t sit right – do we have to be a party to suffering? Does being a vegetarian immunize us from the suffering of animals? What about milk and cheese, doesn’t the cow suffer, doesn’t the calf suffer? What about vegans? Considering the migrant workers, the pesticides and the herbicides, is there any less suffering in vegetable matter? Doesn’t the suffering continue with the exploited land and workers and water?

If so then isn’t all food infected with suffering? What can you?  To live we must eat.

Author Jonathan Safran Foer didn’t do a very good job in his book Eating Animals. He presented a world where all animal production is cruel and painful and if you eat animals or produce animals for food then you are complicit in a great suffering. Is that true for the entire world? I wasn’t convinced. I went down to my local food coop and looked at the labels on the pork chops. They read Pastures-a-plenty Kerkhovan Minnesota. A trip to their website confirmed my suspicion. They are raising and selling pork in such a way as their animals don’t suffer – their lives are as close to suffer free as can be possible – raised on open pastures the sows birth on pasture, feed on pasture and live without hormone supplements or drugs or confinement. The farm is a family business that employs another family business to process their pork – no slaughter house, just a family butcher shop. Can you trace a line so clearly with the tomatoes in the supermarket? How about the pineapple or mango?

Eating animals isn’t bad. It isn’t bad for you and it doesn’t have to include suffering. The pork chops from Pastures-a-plenty are delicious; they feed my body and my conscience. Shouldn’t we support farms like these? Aren’t they a big part to the solution to removing suffering from our food? Can’t we all take a more active role in understanding where all our food comes from? I think we can.

Please visit Pastures-a-plenty and Organic Valley and make up your own mind about suffering and food.

Eating Animals

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (author of the novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) is one of the hardest books I have ever read. And I recommend it to everyone I know. I found myself reading it in small doses like medicine. Medicine for the accommodating, don't-make-anything-special-for-me, vegetarian. I'm still so overwhelmed with feelings and information that I can hardly express what I feel. But one thing is for sure: I don't want to be an accommodating vegetarian any more. I don't want to let my own morals slip for the sake of  others' comfort. I don't want to be party to the incredibly wrong treatment of animals.

Foer shares his personal journey of oscillating between being a vegetarian and a meat-eater throughout his life. On the brink of fatherhood he wants to find clarity about food and he goes all out: he visits (sneaks into) factory farms and slaughter-houses, interviews factory farm workers, ranchers, PETA members, and old-style farmers. He lets them speak in their own voices in his book.

I love what the most ethical turkey farmer says. He raises turkeys from old stock. They roam the fields all day, they can fly and they can reproduce by themselves (which factory farmed animals cannot do). He believes factory farming is deeply wrong. Not just for the inhuman way the animals are kept penned up and often beaten or almost killed (that's right - not killed, almost killed) before they are skinned and gutted, but also because of all the "preventative" antibiotics given which are undermining our nation's strides towards better health by making diseases mutate so fast that we can't keep up with the multiple antibiotic-resistant strains. Anyway, he says, "I don't want people to live up to my standards, I just want them to live up to their own standards."

I love this quote because most people would agree that they do not want animals to be tortured with electric prods, beaten with iron bars or mutilated by having beaks and claws cut off. And yet every time we buy meat at the grocery store we are voting with our dollars that we DO want this for animals, that we DO support the horrors of factory farming, and that taste trumps compassion.

I wish that Foer had talked about dairy cattle in his book. I so want them to be treated better than the meat cattle. I love cheese. I just bought some rice-cheese and it sucks. I am all confused about how I feel about diary now. I've always eaten cheese - it's my fall back snack/meal. I don't eat many eggs and when I do I usually get them from my mom's chickens. I don't drink milk and rarely eat any other dairy products (except cheese). I know I have some more research to do and some more feelings to sort out but in the mean time I ask that everyone read Eating Animals and think about what you want to support with your dollars.

Lunch and a Drug Bust

Dave and I were enjoying the warm weather, having leftover sushi for lunch on the sun porch, and chatting about our week so far. Dave has had a bit of a hard week in the 4X market while my week has been relatively easy (I only teach 5 classes this week, compared to 12 last week).

A couple of kids pull up in front of our house and start wandering around (looking suspicious). The driver goes around the corner and starts talking with some kids in another car (we can see them through our side yard hedge) and the passenger of the first car jumps in the driver's side and takes off. Dave and I are thinking this is all a bit strange.

Then another car pulls up and parks right next to the car by our side yard and these Mormon looking fellows get out and start talking to the kids. I was thinking, "Well, if the Mormons are talking to them they must be ok." Suddenly, the kids are out of the car and the Mormons aren't Mormons, they are plainclothes police officers and the kids are getting questioned by the law.

Then, just like in "Cops" one kid takes off on foot, followed by one of the officers. The other officer puts the other kid down on the ground and radios for help. Boy did the Black & Whites show up fast. Those kids didn't have a chance. They were so busted. Anyway, after a bunch of talking, the original kid from the first car whose friend ditched him, got arrested, and the kid who got put on the ground got a warning, and the girl who was a passenger got searched but no arrest or warning.

Kind of puts your week in perspective seeing a couple of folks get arrested like that. Really, overall, a pretty good week for us.

Into the Wild

So many people live within unhappy circumstances
and yet will not take the initiative
to change their situation
because they are conditioned to a life
of security, conformity, and conservatism,
all of which may appear to give one peace of mind,
but in reality nothing is more dangerous
to the adventurous spirit within a man
than a secure future.

The very basic core of a man's living spirit
is his passion for adventure.

The joy of life
comes from our encounters
with new experiences,
and hence there is no greater joy
than to have an endlessly changing horizon,
for each day to have a new and different sun.

— Chris McCandless, Into The Wild

Dave's Birthday!

And our 2nd Annual Trip South!

We visited our friends Kris and Carolyn again this year in Rochester for our 2nd annual trip down south for the winter. OK that's sort of a joke since obviously Rochester isn't that much warmer than Duluth and it's not like we did any suntanning or anything. But we did have a great time, laughed a ton and came home happy.

Last year's visit seemed too short so this year we spent two nights. We arrived on Friday, had a nice dinner and then attended Catherine's violin recital. This was a new experience for both me and Dave. Catherine did great and so did most of the other kids. There was one piece called "Meditation" which made us all quite sleepy.

After the recital Carolyn's folks came over and we all had birthday cake. Both Kris and I had made Dave a birthday cake and I think he was pretty happy about that!  We all know how much Dave loves cake!

On Saturday we packed in the activities. We went to the  farmer's market in the morning (wow does Rochester have a lot going on in the winter). There were so many delicious looking potatoes and leeks; there was a honey vendor, a couple of meat vendors, folks who had homemade pies and preserves; it was awesome. Luckily for us all, the chocolate-covered-bacon vendor wasn't selling his famous wares that day. I had almost decided to try a bite since I have never tried bacon before. And after all, how bad could it be if there was chocolate involved? Maybe next time. Then we took a special trip to Fleet Farm. I got some new rubber boots and a pair of Carhartt jeans. Carolyn and Emma helped me while Kris and Dave looked over the snowblowers. What a fun store.

We went home for lunch and then zipped right out again to make it in time for the community skating time. I haven't skated in about 20 years and Dave hadn't skated since he lived in Holland as a little kid. Oh the scary times of nearly tripping, careening over a fallen kid in front of you, and not being able to stop at will. Good time! After a while we both got the hang of it again - sort of. We had that I'm-old-and-scared-of-falling stance but what can you do?

Obviously we hadn't had enough activity so we headed home to take a quick walk and then play a few rounds of ping-pong and air-hockey. Carolyn is definitely a ping-pong shark. Dang she's good. We played girls against boys and I'm sorry fellows, but you just didn't rate.

More food and cake followed along with more good conversation. Well, the pressure is on for next year! How can we top this weekend?

Winter Break, the Wedding, and New Year's Eve

Dave and I were lucky enough to get out of Duluth over New Year's. We were happy to leave the cold, snow, ice and salty roads in exchange for California's sunny beaches. We flew out of Mpls so we headed down 1 day early to spend the night at our friend Kristen's house. She is a super entrepreneur who owns her own flight catering company, Atiki's Catering. She also makes me laugh my head off. Dave was talking about how he thinks everyone has a secret talent (his is blending in to any culture; mine is facial recognition). Kristin wondered what hers was and I knew right away - she is a funniness magnifier. She makes everyone around her feel like the cleverest and funniest person. She said, "I just thought all my friends were super funny." I said, "No- only with you." Anyway, we had a great time catching up and eating the delicious Pad Thai Kristen made for dinner.

The next day we headed to California for Bud and Jenifer's wedding. The gathering took place at the Asilomar Retreat Center in Pacific Grove (near Monterey). The retreat center is located on a state park so the feel inside the rooms is slightly government. If you've ever stayed somewhere run by the military you will know what I mean. I'm not saying I didn't like it because I did. It was awesome. No TV's, no phones, just woods, beach and quiet. The Center has tons of cedar shingled "cabin pods", each with about 10 rooms plus a common room. The wedding party took up about 3 of these pods plus a few extra rooms.

Dave and I got there early the first day and were able to walk for hours on the beach checking out the tide pools and the pathways throughout the resort. It was soooo nice to be able to walk around in just shirtsleeves.

The rest of the family arrived throughout the day. We were in the same pod as Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jim, the Pratts, Bud's parents, and a number of Bud's siblings and their kids. There was one unfortunate couple who were not part of our party but who were stuck with us in our cabin pod. I think we were ok to be around though. We observed quiet hours for the most part and shared some delicious wedding cake.

In the morning the day of the ceremony the family was able hang out, walk on the beach, and get some visiting in. Mary Alice and I even waded in the ocean. Definitely gave you an ice-cream-headache in your feet but it was still super fun dodging the waves.

The ceremony was both fun and touching. They interspersed their vows with singing (see youtube video - Bud and Jenifer sing their vows) and at the end the whole wedding party sang to the new couple (see  youtube video - The wedding party sings to Bud and Jenifer). Bud and Jenifer are so clearly in love. It is so sweet to see them together. I wish them as much happiness as they can hold in their new life together.

The wedding and reception were on New Year's Eve and held at the Asilomar Retreat Center. After the ceremony we took pictures then adjourned to dinner: an excellent  meal and delicious dessert. We were left to our own devices after dinner and luckily the moon was full, the tide was extreme, and the whole beach was lit up by moonlight. Dave and I took a late night walk (not quite til midnight but it was midnight in Minnesota - body clock time) on the beach and were amazed by the brightness. Each whitecap glowed as it came to shore, the white sand beach looked like snow it was so bright, and there were a number of small beach parties going on with little bonfires. And it was warm! Warm enough to walk without a coat. It was a lovely New Year's Eve.

On New Year's Day we all went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was soooo cool. The jellyfish tanks were super serene. And the tank with the sharks, tuna and other fish seemed really big. The room where you could stand and watch was dark so the tanks seemed super blue and soothing.

That evening we went to Phil's Fish Market & Eatery for dinner. It's a family style restaurant - meaning that you sit at any old table even one where people you don't know are sitting. Not sure that would go over in MN. The food was great. And even though they were primarily a seafood place they offered vegetarian options and I had one of the best veggie burgers I've ever eaten. We rode there and back with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jim which was fun because we were able to catch up and also devise a sure fire TV hit "Bridget goes to the Quetico." (Bridget being the northland version of Gidget.)

On the 2nd, Dave and I left the warmth and sunny skies of California and headed back to our regular life here in Duluth, MN. It's ok to be back. We like our life. But it sure was nice to take a break! Thanks to Bud & Jenifer for bringing us all together for such a fun and memorable event. Best to you both in your new life together.