This morning we consumed* another great breakfast that Helene made and at 10 we hit the road. As we were driving, Carl and I reflected on what a great 2 weeks we had. Our visit to Waldhof was so nice, Minneapolis/St Paul was very intersting and meeting up with my cousin who I had not seen in decades was a highlight.
The past 5 days in Chicago/Festus have flown by but, will be forever in our memories.
Helene and Peter treated us like royalty: driving us to the eclipse, helping us secure accomodation, introducing us to Cracker Barrel restaurants, entertaining us with comedy cd's and lots of lively discussion. Back at their home, they helped us plan our day in the city, introduced us to their lovely daughter Erika, took me to visit with Helene's Mom, fed us dinner at the Lindy's restaurant on the lake and we taste tested (rather a big taste, I'm afraid) their favourite pizza. It was ALL good.
On the return drive, we dropped in at Jimmy John sandwiches and it was really good. I would return to this chain. The Bluewater Bridge held us up for about 20 minutes but the border was pretty much straight through. We arrived home after 9 and unpacked the car. It was a little while until we could settle down and go to bed. Tomorrow life returns to normal and the house cleaning and laundry must be done.
Bye for now.
AUG 24
Today was to be a chill day yet we still kept busy. In the morning, Helene and I went to Whole Foods to look for dried spaetzle and were successful in our search.
Back at the house, Helene made me a beautiful Edelweiss necklace with matching earrings. She makes jewellery for fundraisers. Thank you Helene!
A lazy day ended with pizza delivery and a National Lampoon Vacation movie. The movie had us laughing out loud.
Carl and I popped out to the nearby Costco for gas for the car and some cheese to bring home tomorrow. It will be a long day tomorrow driving home.
AUG 23
Up early today because Sylvia had offered to take us to the train station on her way to work downtown. How lucky are we to have a guided tour. The express train ride in was 40 minutes. Sylvia led us to very near the Sears/Willis tower where we purchased out hop on, hop off trolley tour tickets. From the upper open air deck we took part in a 2 hour tour of various buildings and the waterfront of Chicago. The buildings are all unique and the older ones especially are very interesting. I really like the Tribune building.
When we got tired of the trolley, we walked to Millenium Park to see the "bean".
From there, another long walk showed the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park, which was dedicated in 1927.
By this time, we were getting tired so we stopped for an ice cream. With the sweet tooth satisfied, we viewed the interior of the main floor of the Sears/Willis tower and then slowly made our way back to the train station to meet Sylvia
The three of us caught the Express train back and we chatted the whole way back. Sylvia dropped us at Helene's door.
We had the pleasure of meeting Erika tonight (Helene and Peter's daughter). She joined us for dinner and then some recaps of her successful skating career. When Erika went home, we watched an old movie called "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and we all had some good laughs.
AUG 22
Well, the breakfast room was a lot less crowded this morning and we had a decent breakfast. At 10, we pulled onto the highway and it was raining. Travvic was lighter than yesterday. There were people checking into our hotel yesterday afternoon because it was taking them to long to get home in the bumper to bumper traffic.
We returned to Kildeer, unpacked and then went to a beautiful dinner spot on a lake called Lindy's.
After dinner, Helene and I went to visit Tante Leni (her Mom and Norm's godmother). We had a very pleasant visit with Tante Leni and Sylvia (Helene's sister).
We later organized our trip into Chicago for the next day.
AUG 21
Since the hotel is completely booked, the breakfast room was a zoo. The food came out in batches as it was being prepared and it was quickly scooped up. Eventually, each of us got what we wanted. With the meal complete, Carl and Peter went back and forth telling jokes. We had a few good giggles.
At 11:45 we went outside; it was hot (32oC). Little by little, looking through our eclipse glasses we saw the moon cover the sun. It got gradually darker and more eerie looking. The lights on the buildings nearby clicked on. The temperature dropped and we stood in awe. Totality lasted about 2 minutes. WOW!
The clouds worried us:
Left with the rest of the day to fill, we decided on an early dinner at Cracker Barrel followed by a movie. Dinner turned out well again. The consensus was that the Wonder Woman movie stunk. It did not live up to the hype that I had heard.
AUG 20
After breakfast we rolled out around 10 o'clock in Helene and Peter's mini van. Carl and I sat in the back and just chilled.
Around 1:30 we entered Springfield, Ill. (capitol of Illinois) and went to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum. There were a couple of well done film experiences and several wax figures diaromas. We hustled through and departed from here at 4:45. It was a worthwhile stop.
We hit periods of slower traffic but, overall the traffic kept moving. Our room at the Quality Inn was waiting for us and after checking in we had dinner at the Cracker Barrel restaurant. The Cracker Barrel came highly recommended by Helene and Peter and indeed our meals were excellent. We went to bed with full bellies.
AUG 19
We said good-bye and thanked Cornelai just after 8:30 and headed for Kildeer. Our first comfort stop was at 11 at McDonalds/ For lunch, Carl had a hankering for Whoppers and at 2/$6 we had some lunch (not healthy, I know).
It was 3:30 when we arrived at my cousin, Helene's house. The four of us chatted in the back yard for a while and then they took us to an "Oktoberfest in August" event held at a german club. They had a delicious german food buffet and live music. It was an interesting and entertaining evening. When we got back to the house, we made plans for our drive to Festus.
AUG 18
We were ready to head out but when our hostess materialized we go into a longish discussion about Americans and their perspective on life, health care and taxes.
Raindrops landed on our heads as we finally walked out to the car and drove to St. Paul to visit the James J Hill house on Summit Ave. This victorian style mansion, once the home of the head of the Great Northern Railway founder was built in 1891 and has 42 rooms. The interior features carved woodwork, stained glass, 22 fireplaces, an art gallery and a 3 story pipe organ. Hill had installed several types of heating and electricity: coal, gas and wood heating, AC and DC electricity. He was away ahead of his time and demanded perfection. Departing the Hill house we surveyed the majesty of the other opulent homes on Summit Ave. It was quite a nice walk.
Leaving St. Paul, we drove to Minneapolis to visit the Mill City Museum. We found it easily and learned quite a lot about the flour industry as it used to be here. The view from the 9th floor tower was lovely taking in a historic bridge and the famous St. Anthony Falls. We were shooed out at 5 o'clock.
The sky had brightened so we drove top down to the Sculpture Gardens. This 11 acre urban garden displays more than 40 sculptures. I loved the "Spoonbridge and Cherry" sculptures. It was still only 6:30 when we left here and our feet didn't hurt yet so off to Costco we went.
AUG 17
It rained most of last evening and into the night and this morning the world is still grey. It will be another day of indoor viewing.
The Minnesota State Capital building in St. Paul had been undergoing renovations and fortunately they were now complete so we were able to get a tour of the 'new and improved' building. It is very impressive both outside and inside. We had a greatly enthusiastic tour guide who showed us through the House of Representatives and Senate. He also provided interesting information about their Supreme Court and its' workings. The highlight is the Governor General's Reception Room that has been totally restored. When the paintings were restores, two of them were not put back because they were considered highly controversial by the indigenous community. Those 2 paintings were relegated to the third floor where they can still be seen. This experience was free except for the parking.
Following dinner, we shopped some more at Big Lots and Best Buy and then returned to our accomodations.
The pain in my ear is finally getting better. At this rate, I think it will be completely gone in 1-2 days.
AUG 16
Rain! It rained so hard overnight that it woke us both us. Well, the continuous ear ache didn't help me any.
Our hostess is a single working woman (German background) and we had quite a nice chat last evening. She is very interested in Canada and has been to several Canadian cities.
For breakfast there was coffee and tea available as well as, bread, cheeses, jam and fruit. Cornelia told us to help ourselves. We each managed to find something to satisfy us from that list of items.
It seemed wise to do an indoor activity so we selected the Minneapolis Institute of Art as our first diversion. We scored free parking on the street and the museum entrance was also free. The building is huge and there is lots to see on the two floors. By 4 o'clock we were bushed and exited the building satisfied that we had seen the majority of the exhibits.
The Mall of American was the next tourist destination. This mall is huge and reminded us of the West Edmonton Mall. It has a zipline, amusement park, mini golf, indoor aquarium and many shops and restaurants.
After surveying the food choice, Magic Pan crepes seemed like it would work well for both of us and, it did! I had a turkey, checker and tomato crepe and Carl had the ham and cheese one. They were very filling and tasty.
When we were in Waldhof, we learned about a home improvement store called Menards so off we went to check it out. They have so many different types of products including food and health and beauty items. Carl even found the light bulb that he was looking for. By the time we finished exploring and paying, it was dark and starting to rain.
The rain got heavier during the time we went back to the grocery store for some breakfast items. We definately did our 10,000 steps today and should sleep well.
AUG 15
Waffles for breakfast! I have to get Ruth's recipe. What a great way to start the day. Sleep was a little elusive last night. When the tylenol wore off, my ear hurt again.
After eating, we packed up the car and headed south to Minnesota via Fort Francis. There was lots of trees and rocks and construction workers. I had anticipated seeing some wildlife but, they didn't want to be seen.
Lunch was eaten in the car and we drove on arriving early evening to our Airbnb. The hosts had left a key under the mat so we let ourselves in and unpacked.
Dinner was a chinese chicken teriyaki bowl at a place nearby and then we went shopping for beer and a few other things.
Time to plan our day tomorrow.
AUG 14
The clouds disappeared and the sun came out so, after an easy breakfast of cereal/toast we decided to hike a piece of the Trans Canada Trail. It started behind the fort at Vermillion Bay. It turned out to be a fairly easy hike up to the view but it was more challenging on the way back with lots of large rocks that been deposited by a glacier to dodge.
Returning to the house for lunch I noticed a soreness and swelling around my left ear. It was hurting to chew my food so Ruth suggested that it needed to be looked at before we head to the US. Ruth drove me to the Dryden emerg dept. We got there at 2:30 and I was seen at 8:30. The diagnosis was inner ear infection likely from co gestion due to allergies. He said I should treat the pain and fill the rx but only take it if my symptoms get worse. We found an open SDM and got the necesary meds and then headed home. The day was done, thank heavens!
AUG 13
We had a leisurely morning that started with Carl and Bill making us scrambled eggs and bacon. After breakfast, Ruth and I retired to the deck to watch the hummingbirds chasing each other and sipping from the feeder.
Ruth and I did some laundry. Ruth and Bill picked some beans and peas from their garden.
Thoroughly sated we enjoyed a campfire in the back yard complete with a campfire treat that tasted like a turnover. The goodies were made with a slice of bread on each side and a swetened mixture of raspberries and wild blueberries in the middle of the cooking iron which then went into the coals for a minute or two. What a lovely end to the day.
AUG 12
Carl and Bill made us a breakfast of wild blueberry pancakes and bacon. Today is Ruth's Birthday and we decided that a trip to Kenora would be a nice way to spend the day.
Kenora is a pretty town dubbed "Winnipeg's playground" and indeed there are scads of Manitoba license plates. The sun was shining brightly for our 1 hour boat trip around Lake of the Woods.
There was information provided along the way about local history. I learned a lot while soaking up the sun and lake breezes.
After our boat ride, we dined at the local pub where lunch/dinner was enjoyed by all. On the return trip we scouted for wild blueberries and found enough for a little nibble. There were so flavourful.
We while away the evening with a game of Dominos (Carl won, BOO) and home made apple/blueberry pie and ice cream. Everyone went to bed tired and happy.
AUG 11
We slept well and had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, yogurt and fresh fruit. Roger & Ellie have sold their B&B and are moving into an apartment down the street. The house is to much work for them as they age. "Someone" from the south bought their house sight unseen.
The departure time was 9:15 and we passed the new Goose on the way out of town. Our home made lunches were had in the car enroute. As the day before, there were several stops at construction spots. During the morning drive, we listened to the Someone know something Podcast about Cheryl Shepherd's disappearance.
Approaching Thunder Bay, we crossed over "the bridge" that been under construction for years and they were working on it still today. Only 2 lanes of the bridge are open.
The car roof went down early in the afternoon and we drove topless the rest of the day.
We arrived Waldhor at 7:30, forgetting about the time zone change and wondering why the drive went so quickly. We quickly turned our timed devices back an hour.
Ruth had prepared a chicken dinner (local grown) alongside several veggies from the Londry's garden.
After dinner, we played Dominos and surprise, surprise, I won.
AUG 10
Left Markham at 8:30, thinking that with 10 hours of driving that we would get into Wawa at dinner time. The top went down as it was sunny but even with my blanket and hoodie I still found it cool out. Later in the morning, rain forced the top to go up and it stayed up due to the occasional rain and cool temperatures. We lunched on our home made lunches in Sudbury at a Tim's parking lot so we could use their facilities.
There was so much construction on the highways and it continuously delayed us.
We arrived Wawa and 7:20, were shown our room at the B&B (nice and basic) with our own bathroom. The hosts gave us a recommendation for good pizza at the Viking restaurant. After eating the pizza and a rainy walk back, we chatted with our hosts Roger and Ellie until 11 o'clock.
