Visitors

Recently my daughter Sonia, her son, Archie, and Lane one of my other grandsons were here for a visit. Sonia and Archie are home now, Lane is still here. I really enjoyed seeing all of them. We had a great time in Breck at the condo. Other relatives were there also: Amy and her kids: Amber, Julia, and Cade; Jim and Karen, Don and Nadine, Brent and Sue and Erica, Josh, and Jeremy. Thanks everybody for making it great 4th of July weekend.

We walked down town, ate, walked down town, went to a parade (downtown), ate, walked down town, went to a fireworks, walked down town. Did I mention that we drank coffee, and we drank coffee, and we...... you guessed it, walked down town and drank coffee.

Summer and Winter

It seemed as though last winter would never end. I got really tired of shoveling the snow and even more tired of the cold weather. I thought, 'boy, I wouldn't mind moving to Arizona'. I knew that Arizona has really hot summers, but anything would be worth it to get away from the winter.

Well, now it is summer in Colorado and I find myself complaining about the heat. I'm certainly glad I am not in Arizona, but now I am thinking that North Dakota wouldn't be so bad. North Dakota! Man, I must be delusional. Maybe I really am cracking up.

It's just that working in the cold and the heat are hard on me. Just think, I used to run 4 miles a day in 90-100 degree weather. Not anymore! It's my knees. Anyway, why can't it just be 55 degrees at night and 73 degrees during the day? That's the way I would have created the planet.

Well, at least I am not in Arizona constantly sucking Gatorade to stay alive, and I am not in North Dakota slapping mosquitoes. By the way, who set retirement age at 67? Must have been some young guy or somebody already retired.

What's this Thing About Beds?

Traveling and vacationing are supposed to be pleasurable things to do. I guess for the most part they are. The once dreaded aspect of this..... at least for me is bedtime. If I have figured it out right, the main reason a person rents a hotel room is to have a private bath and to sleep. The TV is secondary.

So, then, why is it hoteliers find the absolute hardest and most uncomfortable beds in the world. Sleeping on them is almost as bad as being water boarded (not that I have been). The point is, that no matter how tired I am, sleeping on a hotel bed is pure torture. Especially when they slam it right next to their noisiest in the world air conditioner.

And as far as the private bath is concerned I haven't have had good luck on that front either. The bath in Mobridge wasn't so private since the door wouldn't stay shut. The bath here in Breckenridge is private, but what's with the slanted ceiling in the shower and the ripped shower curtain? Either I bump my head or have a back ache from bending sideways. And..... the ventilation fan sounds like a tractor. That might not be too bad for the person showering, but for the other person trying to get a few winks it might be a little annoying.

At least I was able to bring my Starbucks coffee with me. But the coffee pot is also a little sad.

Vacation in Devils Lake

On Friday, Brent and I started out on a short vacation in Devils Lake. Instead, we ended up at Lake Oahe. that's the other big lake on the Missouri River. The weather never allowed us to complete our trip by small plane. I was sorry to miss the party for my mother-in-law, Viola Sinness. I did want to see her. On Sunday Brent and I flew back to Denver. The weather was perfect for that trip.

We made a pit stop in Greely where we did things that you do on a pit stop. Had a great breakfast at the airport in Greely. During the flight Brent did the piloting and I held the maps, and my bladder. Oh, and I also looked out the window. This is a much better view than in a commercial airliner. Brent is a pretty good pilot. I had to kid him though by telling him that the only person braver than the pilot is the passenger. All-in-all, it was a pretty good time.

Sue, was waiting for us at the Erie airport, and gave us a ride to their house. At their house was fresh rhubarb pie and fresh coffee. The pie was topped with ice cream. A nice way to end a vacation that virtually didn't happen.

Thanks for the flight, Brent. And thank for the pie, Sue. And thanks to all the nice people we met in Mobridge. If I had a boat I would go back up there and fish.

Mobridge Extended Vacation

Man, oh man, do I miss Starbucks. Who would ever dream that they wouldn't have one in Mobridge. I guess Farmers Brothers served from the lobby of the hotel will have to do. God must have known that the economy in Mobridge is el stinko so He send us here to spend our money, I don't know why else we would be here.

All seriousness aside, we're having a decent time. I don't feel an obligation to mow the lawn, do laundry, or run out and do bids. I don"t miss having pizza for dinner, either. I had a great time sitting in the cafe looking out the window watching it rain. I recommend it. I did watch "The Magnificent Seven" Four of which got killed, two left town, and one fell in love and stayed. Pretty magnificent. Other than that, I watched the grass grow. It would have been nice to have had a Starbucks while I watched it grow.

Anyway, tonight I am looking forward to sleeping on a hard motel bed, but softer than last night's, and listening to the air conditioner, but quieter than last night's. I am also looking forward to the flight to Devils Lake, which might not happen due to high winds.

Today, Brent and I went to the airport and looked through the chain linked fence staring at the airplane. We must have looked like a couple of prisoners with our fingers clutching the fence and peering through. Somehow Mobridge is holding us hostage. The highlight of the day was the dinner mints. Even now we are plotting our escape. I hope the plane stays tied down until tomorrow. At least I got my phone charged at a price of $29.

Hope to see you all in Devils Lake tomorrow.

Mobridge Vacation

At the last minute I decided to fly with Brent up to Devils Lake, ND to join Audrey who is there to see her ailing mother and to attend her school's class reunion. So we left Denver in a little Cessna and headed for Mobridge, SD where we would stay the night. The intention was to leave Mobridge at 8 this morning and arrive at Devils Lake at 10:30. Well, the weather isn't cooperating. Rain this morning, a low cloud ceiling, and storms between us and our destination. So, now I am enjoying a vacation in Mobridge.

The motel, MoRest Inn, wasn't so hot. Hard beds, noisy air conditioner, bathroom door doesn't shut, no place to set a tooth brush. But, by George, we do have high speed internet. We also had to rent a smoker's room. And the town is overrun with boats. Lake Oahe, you know. Big fishing tournament.

Oh, we did get an airport courtesy car. An old Crown Victoria with cracked windshield, speedometer doesn't work, and wiper blades are bad. And it was raining, of course.

We had breakfast at a family cafe, and that was actually pretty good. I had choice French toast and ham. I asked what was choice about the French toast and the waiter said I had the choice of ham, bacon, or sausage. The Staley's syrup gave me a gut ache.

Tonight we are staying at the Wrangler. Much nicer room with quieter air conditioner. It has an indoor pool, and I forgot my swimsuit. It has softer beds, all-day coffee, vending machines, a cafe, and....... high speed internet. The room is also much larger.

We were going to rent a car to drive the rest of the way to Devils Lake. The Ford dealer is the only ones that rent.... they we all out of rentals. Ho-hum!

Flying in I told Brent that it looks like we are at the end of the earth. Now I am convinced of it. The airport manager lives on a ranch. His closest neighbor is about 10 miles away. We must have flown over about a hundred square miles where we saw only a dozen or so houses. I'm not sure why everyone lives on top of each other in New York when they could be here fishing on Lake Oahe.

Well, I did enjoy the plane ride in. It was pretty cool until we were landing. When Brent cut the power for the decent it sounded and felt like we had no power at all. I was wondering how we were going to make it the rest of the way to the airport. We seemed much too low and slow. To make a long story short, Brent made a perfect landing with about 3/4 of the runway left over. Cool! I have to remember to get a picture of me standing next to the plane. The only person braver than the pilot is the passenger.

I think I'll go over now and get one of those free cups of coffee. If it were Starbucks this would be a great vacation.

Just remember this. I love you all. I had to tell you that because we are flying again tomorrow. :-)

Great Blessings

Some of the greatest blessings in my life are my grandkids. They bring a great amount of joy at some of the most needed times. They know how to brighten up my life.

The other day when I was starting a job I received a phone call from my grandson, Archie, who lives in Wausau, Wisconsin. He wanted to tell me how he was promoted in school. Cool. He also told me that he loved me and was looking forward to seeing me this summer. That's pretty neat I'd say.

Then, this past week I spent several days with three of my Grandkids (Amber, Julia, and Cade) up in Avon. Ya, they kind of wore me out, but they were also loads of fun. Together we hiked (they scootered), We went on the paddleboat, we fished, went to Mc Donald's for ice cream, went to the coffee shop in Edwards, went to the rec center to swim, and played war, and played war, and played war. The kids are not only good winners but also good losers. Thanks for the great time kids!

Amber, did you enjoy your Starbucks frapaccino?

Then on Father's Day I got a pretty nice card from the grandkids in Michigan. Each of them wrote a pretty nice note in it and that really touched my heart. Then today they called to let me know they were giving Orville a permanent. Actually Tory was doing that while Lane was taking pics. I wanna see those pics.

Kids, you are a real blessing to your grandpa.