The Tale of Steaks

Wednesday I bought top sirloin steaks to bbq on Friday.  Well then Friday morning Rebecca told me that they were bbqing steaks after they got back from the river. 
I devilled up some eggs, got some cauliflower ready to steam and sliced some cucumbers.  They came home about 5, but nothing seemed to be happening. Gordon left.  So I started the charcoal and got my steaks seasoned.  Then Gordon came back with expensive rib eye steaks and some New York strip steaks.  They opted to only cook the rib eyes since my steaks were going on the grill.  Now it was a lovely meal.  And I think Rebecca still has those NY steaks for another day. 

Recap

My trip consisted of just under 6000 miles, $450 worth of gas, four nights in hotels, 25 days away from home and tons of dead bugs.  I saw all my first cousins on my dad's side.  I saw three aunts and two uncles, double second cousins, first cousins once removed, and my sister and brother-in-law. I left with a car full of bikes, toys, games and misc. stuff that belonged to the littles.  I came home with Amish chocolate, syrup, quilts, a new wardrobe from Helga, dishes, a cake dish and souvenirs.  I made great memories and heard old stories.  New experiences.  It was good to catch up.  I got hopefully enough (and it never will be) hugs from my little man to last till the next time.  Cuddles from my girl.  I left big pieces of my heart in Kokomo.

Prince's

We spent some time fishing in MN when I was a kid.  Mom would take us down to the river near our house.  I remember catching a northern and Grandma cooking it up that night.  I can remember fishing for sun fish on pontoons.  

In MN you fish with live bait.  Minnows.  That meant a trip to Prince's for the bait.  I always liked watching all the little fish swim around.  I can remember learning how to attach a minnow on the hook.  I liked it a lot better than hooking a worm.  

Prince's in still there and still selling minnows.  

Bear Stories

Most of my trips to MN do not include a visit with my cousin Greg.  Greg now owns the farm and comes up from the city most weekends.  That means that this year I got to see him.  And I remember how much I like him and all his stories.  We're not close but we are still family.
I found the hot pad at a little roadside store near Fred's house.  I got it in honor of the first bear story Greg told.
He was out hunting bear.  Sitting up in a deer stand in a tree.  Mama bear and her two cubs came through.  He had no interest in them of course.  They stopped right by him.  Mama bear gave a huff and the two little bears went up trees.  One tree right next to the one Greg was in and then one right up his tree.  Little bear sat right on his toes.  Greg looked at the cub and the cub turned and looked at him and they sat there very quietly.  Greg had his rifle right on his lap.  Just in case.  Well turns out there was a big male coming through.  It was the one Greg was hoping to shoot.  Mama bear gave a huff and tangled with the male.  After a couple of minutes the male gave up and went on his way.
Greg had been kind of nudging the cub with his toe trying to get him to just go down.  But that cub was not coming out of that tree until the Mama bear said it was all right.  Well behaved babies.  And Greg wasn't trying all that hard. He didn't want that cub making any noise as that would have brought the Mama bear up in the tree. Greg never got a shot at the male as it never made it to the spot Greg was hoping for.  Mama bear gave a huff and the cubs went down and wondered off.  Greg says maybe he will get that male this year during bear season.
His other bear story happened in Wyoming I believe.  He was out hunting with a friend and he saw a rack of antlers sticking up above the grass.  So he went to see if he could cut them off and pick them up on the way out.  When he got pretty close to the carcass a grizzly bear popped up out of the grass.  They looked at each other.  After a long minute Greg took a step backward.  The bear took a step forward.  Greg estimates they did this dance for about 100 yards before the bear turned around and went back to the carcass.  Greg didn't need those antlers after all.

Notes From the Road

Just some observances.  Gas in North Dakota and Montana sucks.  I think they add more ethanol than 10 %.  My gas mileage dropped as soon as I filled the tank in ND and didn't go up until I filled a tank in Idaho.  Nothing is comparing with that clear unleaded I put in in Wyoming though...I got 37 mpg on that.  I didn't do it on purpose. I wasn't paying total attention to the pump. The octane was right.
In Montana I saw a convocation of eagles.  A most amazing sight.  And naturally by the time I realized what I was seeing I was past them.  And I was in the wrong lane to pull over.  There must have been something to eat there because there were like 20 of them circling. 
Loads of roadkill.  But only in those middle states.  The most was in MT and some of those were pretty fresh. 
I sure was appreciative of the windshield wipers Leo had installed on my car.  Not the rain, but the bugs.  My car needs a big bath. 
I really wanted to see prairie dogs and I knew they were at Painted Canyon.  When I came though though there were tons of cars so I chose not to join the crowd.  Painted  canyon is just gorgeous.  And then what did I see?  There was a critter almost across the road.  It was a prairie dog.  Success.  Silly thing should stay off the freeway though or it will be roadkill.
Every other state I was in does  road construction different.  Fines are only double when there are workers and sometimes when there is no work being done the speed limit goes back up. Loved that.
The Mississippi River is still spectacular and I really liked the Yellowstone River. 

Home

Google said I would be home at 7:15 p.m  I was home by 6:30 p.m.  I don't feel like I was too speedy.  It sure feels good to be home though. The dogs missed me.  Sunset missed me.  Mica must be mad as I have not seen her. Willow seems indifferent.

Way Home

Google says it takes 25 hours to drive from Zimmerman to Vancouver.  We shall see.  I got up not too early and loaded the car and rearranged.  I wanted my snacks by me and the rest in the back.  Headed out.  Realized after  I got on 94 that it would have been shorter to go to St. Cloud first.  Hindsight.
My goal was to reach Billings MT.  It is almost half way.  And I was successful.  I did all right with moving around every time I stopped for gas.  MT is much stricter in terms of the covid.  So I ended up eating Taco Bell in my hotel room.  I didn't mind.  Ate, took a shower and went to bed. Amazing how tired you can get just driving. 

Megan's Party

I have never been to a high school graduation party before.  They are traditional in the Midwest.  So my cousin Lanny's daughter graduated this year.  So Megan had her party.  It was hot and humid and a lot of people still showed up.  I stayed a good long while talking to my cousins.
Megan is going to go to St. Cloud Tech in the fall.  Her goal is to become a paramedic.  She isn't sure how it is going to work since she still has to work.  She moved in with her brother and his girlfriend so she has rent to pay.  We just told her to hold the dream, work when you need, take as many classes as you can.  And if it takes three years to do the program, it takes three years.  It will be worth it.  I think she will be fine.  She is a very motivated young woman.
And for me, it was good visiting with the cousins and hearing more stories. 

Up North

Barney and Denise were heading much north to look at a snow plow.  So they said we were getting up early, but it wasn't early.  But we still got moving early enough. 
I headed back to Brenda's to pick her up.  She wanted to tag along to her dad's house.  We had a nice visit with Fred, Melinda and Pete.  We saw the wild turkeys come in to eat.  His dog didn't like me and Morrie the cat is the first one on my trip who did not at least come to meet me and smell my shoes.  I'm not sure she was even aware I was there.  She was already mad at Fred and Melinda for putting a flea collar on her. 
When it was nap time you could tell.  So we headed out so Fred could  rest. 
Went up to the farm and Greg was there.  So we heard a whole bunch of new stories.  Neighbor dogs being aggressive, baby bear in the hunting blind with Greg, big cats and wolves, and his kid stories. 
He gave me my things from Nila and we were off so he could go visit Fred and I could take my own nap.  We'll see him tomorrow at the party.

Sister Day

I spent the day with Denise and Barney.  We spent the whole day talking.  Hearing all kinds of stories about my grandparents.  When you live 1700 miles away there can be a disconnect.  So all the stories of every day life get lost.  That is what my trip is about...connection.
Grandpa hunted until he didn't.  He was 94 when he died.  So there were some excursions that had now funny stories.  Grandpa shot his truck once.  He was putting his hunting rifle back in the case for the drive home.  He tended to leave one bullet chambered in case he saw a deer. Well when he put the rifle back in the case he accidently pulled the trigger.  Made a big hole in the door as the case was laying on the seat.
Barney did many hunting trips with Grandpa out to the back 40.  Grandpa missed a lot of deer.  My guess is he just didn't really want to shoot a deer, but he wanted to be with the guys.
Barney got a few shop tools from Grandpa/Glen back in the day.  So he had stories about the tools and finding parts.  He had to contact the manufacturer or the retailer for one.  That company still had all the old receipts so they sent that along with the part.  Grandpa had bought it in the 50's for $157 and that was a lot of money back then.  Cool that all these years later it is still in use.
I heard some repeats of Dad stories and some new ones.  I think maybe I could have done without at least one of those stories, but I didn't learn anything I didn't already know about my dad.  We discovered that Denise and I had lived in the same community before Mom moved us to Portland.  Amazing.  We didn't know about each other then.
We had a splendid dinner at Osaka's.  Steak all the way around.
Nila called to find out if I was interested in some items from Grandma.  I said of course.  So she is going to send the stuff north with Greg when he heads that way.
Denise has this cat that doesn't like people too well.  Well he liked me.  He did hiss at me a couple of times when I was trying to pet him and he wasn't having it.  He is very temperamental that way. Other than that we gave each other a lot of attention.  And he has a great tail.  Haven't seen a tail like that since Savannah.

Getting Caught Up

Terri met me at the Mall of America and we had lunch. She brought me up to date on her, Kelsy and Sophia.  Sophia is spending some time with her grandparents.  We had a nice lunch and a nice visit.  And then it was time to again try Nila.
Got there and I saw movement in the window.  She let me in and we had a nice little visit.  She is taking Covid 19 very seriously so we sat across from each other at the table and I wore my mask.  It was good to see her.
Then back to Brenda's.  I brought a box of Cinnabon's for us to have for dessert.  Dave really liked cinnamon rolls.  And they were delicious. 

Short Drive

Helga thought that I should leave at 5 a.m. and I disagreed.  I woke up when I woke up and got ready to go.  Left Poplare Grove about 8 a.m.  I was in Lakeville by 1.  And then naturally Nila wasn't home.  I dinked around a little and she never returned.
Back on the road and headed to Zimmerman.  Phone died as soon as I was on the first highway.  So I drove the rest of the way just by instinct.  And I got there.  The phone had charged enough to turn back on so I could get Brenda's address.  And then I was there and settled for the rest of the day.
I met her boys and we chatted with Dave.  Very nice.  She offered to let me stay at her house the whole time there if I needed it.  She told me that Melinda and Pete are staying at Fred's this week so he is kind of full up.  So Chez Brenda it is. 

Just Visiting

Today was given to the Otts.  I went and visited Vern and Dorothy.  We talked about all the pictures on the wall.  I took a picture of one.  So it's not great, but it's better than nothing.  In the photo from left to right, Ernest, Lottie, Francis and Dorothy. They were getting ready to go to Francis's wedding. 
Then they had to leave as Dorothy had a doctor appointment.  So I moseyed on over to Paula's house and had a long visit with her.  I usually miss her on my trips as she works and her shifts rotate.  This time I purposely planned an extra day in Illinois so I could see her.  She has a beautiful home and gorgeous cats.  It was splendid.
Then it was back to Wayne and Helga's to just spend more time with them.  Tomorrow I head to the old stomping grounds.

Quiet Day

We had a quiet day at home.  Russ came over and had lunch with us.  Helga made my zucchini and tomato dish that I was so craving.  The weather changed and it was a beautiful day.  Frank brought the guinea pigs out in the yard so we sat outside and watched them.  I kept thinking about how much my little woman would have liked to play with them. 
I spent a lot of time playing with Sugar and Charlie.  Sugar loves me and Charlie tolerates me.  They are big boy cats.  Sugar weighs in at 22 pounds and he is not fat.  Charlie is 20 pounds.  They are brothers and wonderful. 
Just spending time with the family. 

On the Road Again

We hit up the farmer's market this morning.  I bought zucchini, tomatoes, an onion and garlic to take with me. 
And then I was on the road heading for Rockford.  Made excellent time.  Illinois allowed me to pay my initial toll and after that I was told to pay online.  So when I got to Wayne's, I went online to see if my missing toll from the beginning of my trip showed up.  It had not. So I'm going to wait for them to show up and then pay them.
Frank showed up soon after I got there.  He is always good for a laugh. 

Playground

Another quieter day.  The kids needed an outing so we went to the park.  They got to run around and burn off some energy.  There were a few other kids there so they had playmates besides themselves. 
My poor girl comments on the way that she has red dots all over.  Hives.  Her dentist had prescribed some antibiotics and Cassie wasn't thinking about it, but it was amoxicillin. She said something on day 3 of taking them and  realized it is the antibiotic that she is allergic to.  A friend had told her that since there was no reaction at that point that she wasn't allergic.  I totally disagreed and Cassie stopped giving her the medicine.  I don't know why it takes several days for the reaction, but she got one.  Not as bad as when she got her first reaction, but definitely has little hives all over. She got some benadryl in her and I think that helped.

Supplies

Dutiful grandma strikes again.  Four kids on a single paycheck household is hard.  But it is amazing at how well Cassie and David are handling it.  They have a roof over their head, the lights are on, the frigs are full and the closets have clothes to last the kids awhile.  There are programs in this area that Cassie is able to utilize for help.
And then this week I bought all the kids news shoes.  I picked up backpacks for the biggest two, socks for the school aged ones, shorts, shirts and snacks.  I had brought all the big kids stuff with me and that created a little animosity as there was not enough to go around.  So I picked up scooters for the youngest three.  The oldest got a replacement doll for the one that got lost in transit.  It is not a lot, but it is a great help to Cassie and David.
When I was a kid my grandma helped my mom with those things that are not necessarily extra but needed.  And now I am doing that for my grandkids. And it is fun.

Fair Time

The fair was a go in Howard County. The littlest boy spent the day with the other Grandma and the older kids went with us, along with the girl Cassie babysits. We lost the little girls.  Cassie was in a big panic.  I wasn't.  But then I have lost kids at the fair before.  It all worked out.  One ended up at security and the other walked around with friends of her older sister, who had called her mom.
The kids loved the little show put on by some acrobats which consisted of a human cannonball.  Cassie and I got new purses and all of us got rings. We have mementos until we lose them.  All of the kids decided that they LOVE elephant ears.  I bought one for me as they had cinnamon rolls.  I did get a few bites.  I was amazed that they all tried it and then liked it.
My ring is stamped with a heart and then Kokomo.  Means my heart is in Kokomo.

Little Bits

Just little things I want to remember.  Amish convenience stores are a little different.  They have nails among other things.  It makes sense if you think about the community needs, but it sure is odd compared to the stores at home. 
Simba finally decided I was all right.  He let me pet him but he wasn't lovey.  Last night he climbed up on me to sleep.  Got to love cat love.
I loved the back deck at the Hiram Inn.  Being able to watch fireflies.  Definitely one of the things I miss about the Midwest.
Murals and street art still amuse me.  The hoverboard is getting a lot of use as is the playdoh sets and the etch-a-sketch things.  The best hummus came from the Westside Market. 
Leo gave me real maple syrup.  One of our outings we actually found where the trees were set up for collection. They run this tubing from tree to tree and then when they tap the trees it flows to where it is collected.  A lot better than carrying buckets from tree to tree. 

Every Plan Has a Kink

Leo and I met at a restaurant that isn't open.  We don't know if it didn't survive Covid or if it just hasn't reopened yet.  We did find a little coffee shop that was open and had muffins and coffee.  Then we headed over to the auto parts store.  Leo thought I should have nice new wipers for my car for the trip back. He is right.  They did need to be replaced.  And I have been hitting a lot of rain and bugs on this trip. 
Then I hit the Ohio turnpike.  No touring this time.  Easy on and easy off.  I was in Kokomo a little after one. Traffic was again super light.  I like it.
The little man and I took a walk and then later both kids, Cassie and I took a walk. Dang near 8000 steps on a day that had five hours of driving.  Amazing. We got to do the last walk because the youngest two went to their grandma's house to spend the night.  Made it pretty quiet here.  Tomorrow the littlest one is going to stay at Grandma's and the rest of us are going to the fair.  So I'm not on baby duty afterall.

Sunday Finding Amish

Leo and I took a drive to Geneva on the Lake and walked around a bit. Leo said the place is usually jumping but Covid has slowed everything down. 
On our way back we went in search of some Amish haybales.  Found them.  Then we found a group of Amish as a local park.  The horses are so cool.  Sunday is their day to rest and so they gather and rest.  Leo said they are very hard working.  And I would have to agree.  It is kind of soothing to my soul to see the buggies going down the road.  Gives me pause and think about how much simpler their life is.
We made plans to meet for breakfast in the morning before I head west back to Kokomo.  Leo also decided he needed to check my car...oil, fluids and tire pressure.  Thanks Leo.  I'm all good now. 

Cleveland

Leo and I ventured to Cleveland today.  We started at the Westside Market.  It is filled with produce, meats, pastries, spices, etc.  We both spent a little money there.  It smelled so good in there.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Then we made it to the Arcade.  It was once a mall, but is mostly closed now and that made me sad.  It is a gorgeous building.
We drove around his old neighborhood where he grew up.  A lot has changed over the years.  And then we went and checked out Lake Erie.  And she was a bit of an annoyed lake today.  Very wavy.  I timed walking a pier wrong and got hit with a nice wave.  Leo tells me that sometimes the lake is very calm, but never trustworthy.
Then we headed back and stopped at an Italian restaurant.  I had my very first cup of wedding soup and it was delicious.  We stopped and a bookstore and bought a book.  Then it was back home and time for naps.  A fabulous day with a lot to see.  And it was good to hear some stories.