Last week it was 90. This week it’s 30. Not the Memorial Day Weekend kind of weather one wants to kick off summer with, is it? Oh well … at least Fresh! remains fresh with a new, summery, celebratory photo. I figure the flag covers Memorial Day, Flag Day (June 14, in case you were wondering) AND the Fourth of July.
Memorial Day plans include the Lake Bash at Eric’s cabin in Michigan. We’ll be kamping at the local KOA, where the restrooms are clean and the swimming pool is warm. Roger and I have decided we like the concept of being high maintenance campers; none of this lightweight let’s put everything we need into one backpack and survive off of tree bark for three days kind of camping bullshit for us!
We gave the new 14×14 Coleman tent a dry run (actually, a wet run considering the rain on Sunday) this weekend at Saktah Lake State Park, just south of Northfield a half an hour or so. The mosquitoes were out in full force; after 17 bites on my legs in 20 minutes, we were off to Waterville in search of bug spray.
Our visit to the tiny town reminded me a bit of an episode of the X-Files. Once we were in town, I wasn’t sure if these people and places really existed or if the town itself was a figment of my imagination. We found our way to Main Street and enjoyed a classic automobile show and trip to the hardware store. Imagine your local Sears. Now imagine putting that Sears into the size of your local MiniMart. Uh huh. The owner told us if we could find our way out of the store, he’d give us a job. The hardware store was surreal in itself. One should travel to Waterville just for the hardware store.
Next stop: firewood, then ice cream and a newspaper at the local Philip’s “PhilMart.” Don’t pass a bad check in Waterville; they’ll hang a framed copy of it up in the gas station. Might as well post their mugshots, too, while you’re at it.
Back at the campsite, we enjoyed grilling, S’mores, the campfire and brisk evening. The rain started around 6 a.m. Sunday morning and persisted, until we finally gave in and tore down the tent in the downpour. Tonight: pull the soggy tent out of plastic bags and reassemble on my lawn, hoping it doesn’t rain again and hoping that some senior prankster doesn’t run off with our weekend housing.
Updates will be sparse until next week sometime (but hell, what’s new?). I do promise to post some fetching photos of our weekend in Michigan.
State Investigates First Homicide in Park System`s 110-Year History. Makes me think about my own Sunday in the State Parks.
I wish that the weblog community would get over the Kaycee Nicole hoax and instead pay attention to a “real” death: Professor James Holloway of Pacific Lutheran University was, at random, gunned down last Thurdsay by a gunman who walked onto campus, shot the man four times, and then turned the gun on himself. PLU is a “sister school” to St. Olaf and we only know too well what it is like to deal with tragedy this year.
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