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| Tom and I dined here in our old lives. Dining here now doesn’t fit into the budget in this life. |
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| Many buildings had changed or been added along Lake St. in Wayzata. |
Shortly TJ and family are coming for breakfast, after which they’ll be dropping me at my dear friend Karen’s home in Eden Prairie, where I’ll spend part of the day on my final visit with her.
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| This was formerly Sunset’s Restaurant and is now Cov. Maybe we’ll try this for dinner one evening this final week. |
Tom will drive to Wisconsin (a one-hour trip) with TJ and family, where they’ll purchase fireworks for the Fourth of July festivities. In the US (for our friends in other lands), the annual celebration of Independence Day is often commemorated with massive fireworks displays at both public venues and private backyards.
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| Outdoor dining at Cov Restaurant. |
Minnesota is strict in many regulations, including prohibiting the sale of fireworks (beyond sparklers and ground snakes) for anything that makes noise or shoots into the air. Neighboring Wisconsin has no such laws, and many Minnesotans make the annual trip to shop at various stores close to the border.
Speaking of Minnesota laws, as of today, it will be legal to sell alcohol on Sundays, but only from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, at the discretion of liquor and wine shop owners.
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| Another new building on Lake St. |
Old laws on the books prevail in Minnesota, including that car dealerships must be closed on Sundays. Oh, I won’t get into this topic any further; however, if your curiosity is piqued on “dumb laws,” click here for a few shockers.
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| Few boats were yet at the public docks in the cool early morning. |
Now that we’re residents of the state of Nevada, we pay attention to what’s transpiring there. As of yesterday news, we discovered the following as quoted from this article:
“Sales of recreational marijuana kick off in Nevada on Saturday, July 1, and the state is expecting an onslaught of tourists coming to sample the local merchandise.”
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| The Lafayette Club private golf and country club is situated in Wayzata. As a popular and desirable wedding venue, I was married many moons ago (not to Tom). |
Gee… many changes are occurring throughout the US and surprisingly here in Minnesota while we’re here and then in Nevada, where we’ll soon arrive in a mere five days.
Yesterday was another busy day with the morning’s sightseeing and photo taking in Wayzata, which we’re wrapping up in today’s photos and midday shopping to round out our required purchases.
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| The owner of this newer 34-foot boat was busily washing the bow. The upkeep of a boat is a constant and costly responsibility which we’re happy is no longer a part of our lives. We both had boats before we met and for many years after that. |
Last night was memorable, spending the evening with dear old friends and neighbors with whom we’ve stayed in close touch over this past almost five years. It was as if no time had passed at all when we all so quickly fell into step with warm hugs and animated conversations.
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| A footbridge at the Wayzata Boatworks. |
Tomorrow, we’ll post photos of our old neighborhood and Lake, including photos from our “happy hour” boat ride Jamie and Doug, who so generously hosted on their boat with fabulous food and drinks.
After the boat ride, we all headed to a popular local restaurant where all of us had dined in years past. It was an evening we’ll never forget and look forward to repeating next time we return to Minnesota.
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| This was new…planter boxes with flowers at the boat docks. |
Tonight, we’re meeting more close friends, Lisa and Brian, at another restaurant frequented in our old neighborhood. Photos will follow for all of these meaningful events over the next few days.
Thanks to all our readers who’ve written to us expressing how they’ve enjoyed reading about our family-orientated visit to Minnesota. We’d expected our readership to decline during this period, but it has not. It inspires us to know that wherever we may be, whatever we may do, we always have YOU at our side.
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| Here is a small portion of the many expensive slips in Wayzata for Lake Minnetonka boat owners. There is an annual lottery for 100 residents only. The remainder of boat owners must pay exorbitant fees at various locations, often priced well into the thousands of dollars. |
In 30 days, the pace will kick up as we make our way to Costa Rica. I can’t wait to take photos of those colorful frogs, birds, and other wildlife indigenous to the wildlife-rich country. Back at you soon!
Photo from one year ago today, July 2, 2016:
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| Lots of fresh fish are reasonably priced in Singapore. For more photos, please click here. |