Days 8-10 May 17-19: Mystic, Connecticut

The first hour of the drive from Warren to Mystic on I-287 is serene. We are heading north and traffic is light, not too many trucks. When we turn east and cross into New York, it all changes. These drivers all have some place to be and they want to be there an hour and a half ago! Not being in a hurry is great, but makes for challenging driving! After about two hours, we are out of the New York City-inspired traffic and dealing only with more local drivers. We head east on I-95 and finally exit into Mystic, CT. A few minutes later, we are at our home for the next 3 nights, the Inn at Mystic.

Bogart and Bacall honeymooned here, enjoying its privacy and access to Fisher Island Sound. The Inn is a short walk from the heart of Mystic, the Bascule Bridge. We are hungry, so we cross the highway (US 1) to get our first meal of seaside shack fare at Sea Swirl. (We can see this place from the balcony of our room.) Wayne has the Clam Chowder and Grilled Fish Tacos and Amy has the Fresh Cod Dinner. We share Onion Rings. A great meal!

We then head into town to orient ourselves and enjoy a stroll among the quaint shops. A great sign at "Bank Square Books": "Buy books from people who want to sell you books, not from people who want to colonize the moon." We come upon Friar Tuck's Tavern and notice the Southampton/Liverpool match is on. We settle in for an hour of Aperol Spritzer, Guinness and Football. Liverpool is lucky to get their second goal, but I guess the best teams sometimes make their own luck. Game over, we head back to rest up for dinner at the Inn's Restaurant, Rocks 21. The view is fantastic. Amy has the Fish Special, Wayne has the Grilled Seafood Platter and we split an order of Bacon-Wrapped Scallops. Yum. Once again we are stuffed as we walk back to our room.

The new day dawns with us looking forward to three activities:

1) A visit to Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea. Think of Greenfield Village dedicated to a 19th century seaside New England village. The oldest building here is from the 17th century and is in remarkably good shape. They run a preservation shipyard here which successfully refitted the oldest remaining whaling ship, the Charles W. Morgan, which we toured. We learned about Cod fishing and enjoyed many varied exhibits. One of the best was the display of Masthead Carvings.

We eat lunch at Lancer, an eatery in the Museum where we can eat outside in the sunshine. After lunch we tour "Voyaging in the Wake of the Whalers" which chronicles the sad tale of over-hunting whales, but then discusses the hopeful part: half of whale species are well into recovery.

2) After a rest in our room at the Inn, we head back to the Bascule Bridge for our 2-hour cruise aboard the Schooner Argia.

The Schooner Argia

It's too windy to hoist the mainsail, but not so windy that it is unpleasant. After clearing the harbor and the Swing Bridge (supports the Acela line between NYC and Boston), we head south to Fishers Island (part of New York). We turn around and head back north. It is surprisingly serene and enjoyable.

The Swing Bridge (Rail Line NYC to Boston)

The people we sat next to on the sail live in our Portland, just across the river from us in South East. It's odd to meet neighbors 3,000 miles away from home. We had a nice conversation about our travels and about home.

Noank from Fishers Island Sound

3) Dinner at the Oyster Club.

   We share half a dozen Oysters, Amy has the Fish Kielbasa, Wayne has the Mussels. Quite delicious!

We return to the Inn and enjoy a good night's sleep.

We awake to rain. Our plan this last full day in Mystic is to visit Stonington, but we hope for a dry visit, so we have a lazy morning.

Did I mention that there is a film crew here at the Inn? It's a Lifetime movie, scheduled to air in the Aug. to Oct. 2022 time frame. Its title: "How to Live Your Best Death". They are filming in the rooms just east of ours; I ask the crew if they want me to move the X3 and they say "no, we won't film the license plate; it's all good and your car might be in the movie!" We can't wait. But really, the crew seems very kind and it's sort of exciting even though the crew seems to be sitting around mostly and keeping quiet. I think the Inn's staff is more inconvenienced than we are and it's a good deal for the Inn as many of the rooms are booked by the cast and crew.

We head to Stonington for lunch. After a quick drive around the village, we park and dodge the raindrops to eat at Noah's. It advertises that everything is made from scratch. I believe it! Wayne has the Fra Diavolo over Linguine (the noodles are so fresh) with Shrimp & Salmon Cakes. Amy has the Meat Loaf. Both are delicious.

We head back to the room to rest and stay out of the rain. It clears up a bit and we get a chance to explore the Inn's grounds. The Haley Mansion, built in 1904, is now an event space. It is probably the number 1 go-to event space in Mystic. The views from atop the granite outcroppings are great.

The Haley Mansion 1904

Pond South of the Haley Mansion

After a nice rest, we hit Rocks21 for pre-dinner drinks. We have an enjoyable conversation with a couple from Wisconsin who often visit here. After drinks, we walked to S & P Oyster (S is for Sam and P is for Peter, the owners), just east of the Bascule Bridge. We shared a half-dozen Mystic Oysters and each had the Sesame Encrusted Tuna with Risotto. Exquisite! We topped it off by sharing a creme brulee. A very good meal!

We then had a nice walk back to the Inn. Another great day. Sad that it's the last in Mystic, but we look forward to our next locale: Newport, RI.

Days 1-7 May 10-16: Road Trip to New England

As we enter the year 2022, we are anxious to return to seeing America. After two (Covid) years, we are embarking on a Road Trip to New England. We have each, separately, been to Boston, but we have not experienced much of the region beyond that fair city and we have not been there together. We have planned a 41 day trip: 7 days to get there, 26 to enjoy the region, and 8 to get home. This first post covers the first 7 days.

We've have previously driven much of this trip, so aren't looking forward to much sightseeing beyond what we can do from our auto. The first two days has us driving on I-84 from it's beginning in Portland, OR to its junction with I-80 in western Wyoming. We leave in the morning on May 10.

The drive is fairly easy as we fly past Multnomah Falls, then the Maryhill Museum on the opposite side of the Columbia River. We cruise along to Pendleton and head to the downtown area. Our first choice for lunch is no longer in business. We figured out during planning that this would happen. This is the first place picked from an iPhone search. Out-of-Business, we are Batting 1,000!

No problem, actually, as there are a number of other places within a couple of blocks. We settle on Sisters Cafe where Amy has the Greek Salad and Wayne has the Southwest Panini. Both are good. After a pleasant break, we get back in the car and head into the Blue Mountains. 

We stop for gasoline in La Grande, OR. What a surprise! This is Oregon and we get to pump our own gas as there are two people working the station & mini-mart and one is on break. (The other one working can't leave the register.) I remember how to do it from continued practice at Costco #1 in Seattle and we are soon back on I-84 heading southeast. The weather is cool and a bit windy, there's a bit of a storm off to our west:

Blue Mountains near Baker City

We cross the Idaho border and traffic begins to get heavy as we approach Boise. After the airport, the traffic returns to slight and we continue on for another 120 miles, ending at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Twin Falls. We have planned for this to be our longest day of the trip east. We have driven 564 miles. We are pretty tired, but also hungry.

We check out the Hotel's recommended restaurants and find Elevation 486 close by. We consider a couple of other options, but this closest one wins and we drive a short mile to the edge of the Snake River Gorge. Check out the web site elevation486.com and you are greeted with a great video shot from drone over the gorge. We didn't ask, but the name elevation486 probably indicates how many feet the restaurant is above the floor of the gorge. We have a great view of the Perrine Memorial Bridge:

The Perrine Memorial Bridge

We also have a great dinner: Amy enjoys a "Goose in a Pear Tree", Wayne has a "Man-fashioned Old-hattan". (Or was it the other way-round?) Amy has a salad, Wayne has the Tomato Bisque Soup and we share the 12oz portion of Prime Rib. Sides of vegetables and garlic mashed potato round out the meal. It's all delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed the decor; note the fishing reels behind Amy.

Elevation 486 in Twin Falls, ID

We head back to the hotel and get a good night's rest.

We awaken in the new time zone and get back onto I-84. Uneventfully, we cross into Utah and pass Tremonton, where we stayed on our Arizona/New Mexico RT in 2017. We have fond memories of Promontory Point and the Spiral Jetty in the Great Salt Lake. We continue south into Ogden and stop to buy some sandwiches for a picnic. Our eating destination is the first rest stop on I-80 that we join as soon as we leave Utah. Oops, the rest stop is closed! We continue another 8 miles hoping to find a decent place in Evanston, WY. We follow the signs to the River Walk, but find another sign to the Bear Park Nature Way just a block away. It suits us just fine! Picnic enjoyed, we take a walk around the Nature Park (partly along the Bear River). This is an area reclaimed from ice ponds that were used in the early years of the 20th century to farm ice. Large artificial ponds were built. In late winter/early spring ice was sawed off from the ponds and stored in nearby ice houses. Throughout the rest of the year, ice was transferred from these houses by rail to cities for distribution. Fascinating.

We finish our walk and get back in the car to continue 65 miles to Little America. Both of us visited this place on road trips with our families 50 or 60 years ago. How it has changed. Mostly, it seems much smaller; we remember more and larger shops for souvenirs. I don't remember a big hotel, but there is one there now. The biggest change, however, is that trees that were planted here years ago have grown into a mature forest. Seems out of place, but is so welcome.

We patronize Little America by getting a full tank of gasoline and note that premium is averaging about $5/gal so far. We also purchase some soft-serve cones for today's treat. Amy drives the rest of the way into Rawlins, WY. When we stop, it is actually warm as we check into the Fairfield Inn. Dinner tonight is a short drive back west to Rose's Lariat, established in 1954 and ranked as the best Mexican restaurant in Wyoming. Only disappointment: it is completely dry, alcohol-wise, so we both have Iced Teas with our Enchiladas (Wayne) and Fajitas (Amy). Very tasty.

After another nice night's rest, we climb back into the X3 and continue east. It is cooler than last night and a bit windy. There are many signs warning us of gusts up to 50 MPH that will continue until midnight. Perhaps today is a good day to drive at a more modest 75 or 70?

Other than being blown around a bit, the drive through southern Wyoming is peaceful and serene. After about 110 miles, we arrive at I-80's highest point, Summit Pass. There is a wonderful rest area here. We learn that before the Interstate highway system was built, in the late 1930's, the original auto route we are on was built and named The Lincoln Highway.

Summit Rest Area Wyoming

Roadside of I-80 West of the Summit 

View East from Summit Pass

This is the 2nd auto road, after Route 66, to be built across the continent. This one was built to connect Times Square to the Golden Gate Bridge. (Route 66 only went from Chicago.) As I-80, this road was improved in the 1950's, with the highest elevation a couple of hundred feet below the earlier version. They actually moved the Lincoln Statue from the Old Pass to the new one.

We continue on, with the wind picking up a bit. The next stop for us is Sadie's Café in Pine Bluffs, WY, the easternmost town on I-80 in this state. After a nice lunch of Roast Chicken Salad for Amy and French Dip for Wayne, we decide to spend the next hour travelling east on Hwy 30, the original Lincoln Highway. It is quite peaceful. There are very few cars or trucks to contend with on this road. We do get some thundershowers and some heavy rain. We continue into Sidney, where we plan on rejoining I-80 after getting more gasoline. Uh-Oh, the service stations in town (all 4 or 5 of them) offer regular unleaded and Octane 88. Our X3 requires 91, so we can't use any of the in-town service stations. Happily, the two big stations near I-80 provide the premium blend. We gas up and continue east.

The wind has really picked up and lots of the Semi-Rigs are parked (we suppose) to avoid being blown over. We continue past the junction with I-76, which we took west from New Jersey back in 2019, and arrive in North Platte, Nebraska. The scenery is most unwelcoming as the high winds are blowing dust everywhere. Low visibility convinces us to eat dinner at the Ruby Tuesday we can walk to from our lodging, another Fairfield Inn & Suites. Amy has the 6 oz. sirloin and Wayne has the Baby Back Ribs. Both are very tasty and filling. Stuffed, we walk back to the hotel looking forward to another moderate distance driving tomorrow.

After coming down from the mountains, we have moderate hills the rest of the way to New Jersey. The drive from North Platte to West Des Moines is uneventful. The most exciting portion of this day's trip is crossing the Missouri, but there isn't a good view to take pictures. After checking into our Fairfield Inn, we cross the street to dine at the Marriott Hotel. Delicious: Wings, Beet Salad and a Mushroom Flatbread. 

Uneventful holds true as we next drive from West Des Moines to Elkhart, IN. Crossing the Mighty Mississippi provides no scenic stops. After a forgettable dinner in Elkhart, we enjoy a night's rest and then we drive on toll roads (no stops apart from Travel Plazas!) to end the day in DuBois, PA. There is a nice joint next to our hotel which we can walk to and enjoy the Classic 101 Burger (Amy) and the Caprese Ravioli (Wayne).

Our next day takes us into Warren, NJ (after a brief stop at the Outlets in Tannersville) where we unwind and then enjoy a lovely evening with Lennie. We have now driven 2,954 miles in 7 days. We are tired from the driving, but looking forward to finally being in New England tomorrow.

Memories of a Great Trip

It's been a while since our trip to New Jersey. A lot has happened since then, we:

• had a quick trip west across the country to visit family in Sacramento,
• settled into a semi-vagabond life in Portland (Aug. to Jan.),
• found and bought a nice condo downtown,
• contracted our son-in-law and his company (Owen Gabbert, LLC) to spiff up the condo,
• welcomed our first Grandchild, Noa,                                                         
• moved into our new place in The Portland Plaza (top floor, facing west),

Living/Dining Room

View North from our Condo

• and (loud screech of brakes) we entered the era of social distancing.

Oh My! All ready to start our new life in the town of our kids, Sarah & Kevin, and we grind to a halt and have to figure out ways to pass the time until we are able to socialize again. We are alone and unable to go outside except to take a walk or pick up some food. Fortunately, Portland has a strong Food Cart culture.

One thing I have just completed is to revisit a trip we took in September of 2012. We visited Ireland before I started blogging about our travel; on this trip, I just sent daily e-mails to family to let them know what we were up to. For a long time (almost 8 years), I have wanted to organize the e-mails into a document and add some of the pictures we took on the trip. It's been a fun couple of days to review the trip and prepare the pdf. This is one positive to come from the Corona Virus for me!

If you are starting to climb the walls, perhaps we can help divert you with the Diary of our trip to Ireland. Enjoy.

Hope you are staying well,
Wayne

NJ Days 11 & 12: Apr. 27 & 28, 2019 - On to Warren, NJ

(It's been a while. Sorry for not posting this update earlier.)

April 27
We consulted the weather app in the evening. We discovered snow in the forecast for southern Illinois and all of Indiana. Touring around is much less pleasant when the white stuff is falling! A quick consult of Google Maps shows that we have another 14 hours of driving to go directly to Beth & Lenny's place in New Jersey. We could do it easily in two days. Another factor is that we were planning on staying a couple of days in Cleveland. However, we just learned that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is this weekend. Do we really want to be stuck in that kind of mess? A few moments weighing the pros and cons and we have a new plan! We could be there on Amy's Birthday.

The drive is unremarkable except for the snow, which starts, as forecast, as we near Chicago. We stop for a brief lunch at a travel plaza on I-80 in Indiana. We continue driving and successfully make it halfway to our New Jersey destination. We stop at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Youngstown, Ohio.

Parking Lot at a Travel Plaza en Route

For dinner, we venture a few short blocks south to Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley. It seems an odd place for a casino until we get seated in an upstairs restaurant: out the back windows we can see the oval of a race track. Gaming makes sense when combined with the ponies!

The meal is decent and we return to the Inn for a good night's sleep.

April 28
We rise to grey skies. We patronize the "free" breakfast and get on the road. The ride through Pennsylvania is pleasant. There is green everywhere. But it is a little difficult to be spontaneous. Turnpikes are not made to allow easy access to the countryside; they are made to keep you driving and have you stop only at the travel plazas.

We have lunch at a Panera in one of the plazas, then continue on. We reach Amy's sister's place in the late afternoon. We join Beth and Lenny and also Mike & Beth, up from Florida. We are happy to have finished our drive East. And in time for dinner! Not only that, but the gang here realizes what today is and has obtained a lovely chocolate cake to celebrate Amy's Birthday!

This will be our home for the next 3+ months. We'll make a couple of short side-trips to some interesting places. I'll blog about those at a later date.

NJ Day 10: Apr. 26, 2019 - Taliesin & Madison

We arise to a dry day. We have a delicious breakfast, we are the only guests at this B&B today. We have a nice chat with the owner, then load up the X3 and head East and a little North to our next destination: Taliesin.

We must first leave Iowa and head up the Wisconsin River.

Farm on the Wisconsin River

It is a lazy drive on a cool April day. The closer we get to the river, the better we see the same level of flooding we have seen in South Dakota, Minnesota, and in Wisconsin along the Mississippi River. At one point, we see several miles of train track completely submerged. After an hour and a half of driving, we reach Taliesin.

At this time of year, only the House Tour is available. We booked it last night on-line and are here about a half hour early. We kill time by visiting the Gift Shop in the Visitor Center. The tour begins, we board the bus and are driven up the hill to the building that surrounds the brow of that hill (Taliesin is a Welsh Word that means "Shining Brow".)

The building is very interesting, as is the story we learn of Mr. Wright's building it and his history here. He bought the property in 1911 and created this experimentation building. He established an architecture school and had apprentices live here and work on local projects to learn by example. It was a total immersion experience: the building was originally a combination farm, living and working space. The land is now under the control of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, established by his third wife.

In the spring of 2017, we visited Taliesin West outside Phoenix. What we see today is the original school, begun some 26 years earlier than Taliesin West. To me, Taliesin West seems more polished and complete. That is probably due to its being newer and less challenged by the more building-friendly Arizona winters.

Taliesin from Above

The tour is quite enjoyable.

Original Port Cochere

The interiors of the rooms hold many treasures.

Wright-designed Lighting

View South from the Living Room

Frank Lloyd Wright led a very interesting life. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the house and the many stories told by the Docent. Directly after the tour, we stopped at the restaurant at the Visitor Center for a late lunch. Amy had the Vegetable Hash and I had the Tomato Soup and Half a Cheese Sandwich. The location was quite special, having a great view of the Wisconsin River:

View during Lunch

We leave Taliesin and drive for an hour into Madison, Wisconsin. This is where Amy's Sister, Beth, went to University. On route, Amy texts Beth for some suggestions during our short stay. The first is Ice Cream looking out of the lake (Mendota) from the Student Union. We find our Hotel and check-in, then head for the Student Union.

In Line at the Daily Scoop

It doesn't get much better than Ice Cream in Wisconsin! Being in line for a couple of minutes heightened the anticipation. After purchase, we found a couple of seats in the Union looking out on the lake and enjoyed the sugar rush.

After the cones, we walked to another suggested place, the Statehouse Restaurant. This place is in the Edgewater Hotel. (Madison, not Seattle.) The restaurant is about a half mile away. We walk there just to make sure we know what we are doing. Also, it is a beautiful day and we should take advantage to get a nice walk in. On the walk, we notice the Delta-Delta-Delta sorority, Beth's home while at the University.

We confirm the restaurant and return to our hotel for a little rest. We then walk back to the restaurant at dinner-time. We got a great table at a window, looking out at Lake Mendota.

Amy at Dinner at the Statehouse

We have relaxing drinks while perusing the menu. Amy orders the Halibut and I have the Crispy-Skin Chicken. Both were delicious. We then got a sweet surprise: the waitress informed us that we could have a free dessert. Apparently, Open Table told the restaurant that it was Amy's Birthday! She chose the Chocolate-Chip Cookie Baked in a small Frying Pan, topped with a huge scoop of Ice Cream. A fine meal to cap off a great day. We return to our hotel, full and happy.

NJ Day 9: Apr. 25, 2019 - The Upper Mississippi Bluffs

The dawn brings sunshine. Later it will turn to overcast, then rain. Our last bit of time in Minneapolis however, is beautiful. Amy takes another run around Lake of the Isles. After she returns, we get into the serious business of packing the X3. It takes a good half hour to get organized and another half hour to pack the car. We are finally ready to depart.

Our destination today is the "Great River Road", or at least part of it. We will drive Wisconsin Highway 35 from Prescott, WI to Prairie du Chiene, WI. This road is on the east bank of the Mississippi, always within a short distance of Old Man River.

But first, the coffee. We patronize Caribou Coffee on Hennepin Ave. This shop is just south of The Lowry, where we ate breakfast yesterday. Fully fueled, we set out for Prescott. We want to avoid 35 W, so head west to take MN 100 south to I-494. As we pass it, we say goodbye to BMW Motorwerks. We exit I-494 to take US 10 south to Hastings, then fill up at a gas station in Prescott. We drive to Freedom Park to enjoy the views from the east bluffs at the start of the "Great River Road". This designation is important as we will use the green signs to guide us on our drive.

Looking South on the Mississippi

We continue south, enjoying frequent vistas of both the bluffs to the left and the River to the right.

The Castleburg Bluffs

All day long, we will be headed south. We skirt Lake Pepin, which is actually just a geologically clogged part of the Mississippi. The River flows more calmly here. This is a very pretty drive. We stop frequently this morning to catch the scenic views.

A Train Along Lake Pepin

We drive for about two hours until we arrive in Fountain City. We stop for lunch at The Golden Frog. Yes, they have Frogs Legs on the menu. Amy has the Broasted Chicken Sandwich and I have the Prime Rib Sandwich. Both are delicious. We notice the titles on the respective bathrooms: The Women's is labeled Princess. The Men's is Frogs.

As we return to the car, it begins to rain. The rain will fall harder as we drive and will continue until after we arrive at our destination. I'm glad we got a little sun this morning!

During the drive, we see more evidence of the flooding we have heard about in the last month. Late and heavy snowfall, with torrents of rain immediately after, have combined to supply lots of water all up and down the River. We see playfields completely underwater. We see houses in low areas that have water lines half way up their first floors.

The Rain Continues

There is one small problem trying to follow this road: There is no easy way to tell our navigation system that we want to be on a particular road. We give it a destination and the Nav System wants to get us there as quickly as possible. It keeps trying to get us to cross the River to take MN 61, the most efficient road.

We have to navigate the old-fashioned way - we look for highway signs. Continuing, we drive through La Crosse, WI. We pass a giant sculpture of two Native Americans vying for control of the ball, each with their own basket (they are actually playing Lacrosse).

A short while later, we approach Prairie du Chiene. Here we leave Wisconsin, cross to Marquette, IA and drive a short way south to McGregor. Evidence of flooding is everywhere. Pumps are pumping, sandbags are at the ready. We enter McGregor along the River, then drive uphill to our home for the night, The Stauer House B&B.

Stauer House B&B

We check into this lovely place, find our room (we are the only patrons tonight) and rest a bit. The rain lets up so that we can walk to dinner. We walk down Main Street a half a mile to Latinos Mexicano. The Margaritas and the Salsa are great, the food is good. Amy has the Mixed Fajita and I have the Shredded Beef Enchiladas. After dinner, we continue our walk another quarter mile to the Mississippi and gaze at the waterfront damage. The railroad tracks along the River are almost under water.

We cross Main Street and head back up the hill. The evening is quite pleasant as we enjoy the small-town vibe. We return to The Stauer House and retire for the night.

NJ Day 8: Apr. 24, 2019 - Minneapolis Day 3

Today is another lazy day. Nothing to report on until the evening. We head to St. Paul and the shiny new Allianz Field, home of Minnesota United FC.

MNUFC SE Entrance

To explain, we got another day in Minneapolis due to a broken casing on the transmission cover of our X3. Happy Accident! That means we are here for a Wed. night game. The Loons are hosting LA Galaxy. This is great! Another chance to see Ozzie Alonso in midfield (he transferred to MNUFC from the Sounders during the off-season).

Pre-game Ceremony

That's Ozzie just to the right of the officials in Yellow.

And this is a chance to see Allianz Field. This is a stunning new park. Architecturally very modern and sleek. It's a fun place to visit. The seats are very comfortable. And it's fun for a neutral because the fans only stand for set pieces, most of the time we get to sit (and Amy, therefore, gets to see the game).

West End of the Pitch

Since LA Galaxy are rivals for the top spots in the west, it is easy to root for the Loons. Both teams, however, seem to be playing well below their capabilities this night. Zlatan is having real trouble with his teammates and is spending a lot of time explaining what they are doing wrong.

In one sense, the game is very open and flowing, but in reality, one team gets the ball and makes some moves down the field only to give the ball away. The Loons hold their own with only about 40% of possession. The game gets really tense as the Loons press to break the 0 - 0 deadlock late in the 2nd half. Alonso is putting in all the effort he can, leading the attack. It just doesn't happen this night. The game ends a scoreless draw.

We depart the stadium to meet Fran & Barb.

Nice Lighting!

We finally meet up with them two blocks from the stadium. We are heading for a late snack at Monte Carlo. Along the way, they show us some sites of Minneapolis, including the Guthrie and the new I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge across the Mississippi. It replaced the bridge that famously collapsed on August 1, 2007, killing 13 people.

At the Monte Carlo, we are one of two groups having food. There are 10 or 15 people at the bar having a wonderful time. We get drinks and the appetizer sampler, which includes Wings, Chopped Liver, Shrimp, Fried Calamari, Vegetables and Spicy Green Beans. The Beans and the Wings were very spicy, but it was all delicious.

Barb & Fran always show us a great time. We are sad to think that we will be leaving tomorrow. It's been a wonderful couple of days living the good life of travel.