Tonight’s is our Minnesota Meet & Greet at 5:00 pm at Grizzly’s in Plymouth, Minnesota…Rundown of a typical busy day…

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Perfect pink orchids.

Before we arrived in Minnesota two weeks ago today, we’d anticipated we’d be visiting a wide array of sightseeing spots in Minnesota when we were with our family members during this extended visit. 

Waterfall incorporated into the landscape.

As it’s turned out, our time together has revolved around the usual activities that family members who live nearby do many things together. How often do you go sightseeing in your town, area or village? Not much, if any.

We’d assumed we’d be taking photos of popular tourist locations, which we’d post online with our many stories to tell. It hasn’t been that way at all. We’ve blended into daily life commensurate with that of most grandparents, driving grandchildren around town, attending ballgames, local events, activities planned at parks and lakes.

Lush-lined walkways and paths.

Sure, we have a few tourist-type events planned on our remaining online Cozi calendar and family organizer, which, no doubt, we’ll share in upcoming posts. But, we’ve hesitated to post photos during the flurry of activity at our family member’s homes and out and about at more specific points of interest.

I’ve often left the camera behind when I’ve had the one-on-one days with the grandchildren preferring that my hands are free to engage with them instead of snapping photos. Plus, we’ve visited many kid-related venues where indeed parents and grandparents don’t want their little loved ones appearing in our images.

Every path was providing visual cotton candy.

Plus, I haven’t wanted to leave the camera in the car while at a movie theatre while I attended  this week’s three “kid” movies, including “Captain Underpants,” “Wonder Woman,” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Long Haul!”

As a result, although I continue to be mindful of potential photo ops, we’re engrossed and committed to living and loving to the fullest during our six weeks in Minnesota, now with only 28 days remaining until we depart for Nevada.

The appealing restaurant at the gardens.

Speaking of photos ops…tonight is our Minnesota Meet & Greet at Grizzly’s Wood-Fired Grill at 220 Carlson Parkway, Plymouth, MN 55447. If you’ve found you can or cannot attend, please email as soon as possible. 

Space is limited at the restaurant. We’ve had a few cancellations, which we’ve been able to fill in the past 24 hours. But, it’s still not too late to notify us of a spot if you’d like to attend. Typical for most events, we expect a small percentage of “no-shows” and can easily overbook by a few more spots at this last minute. 

Appealing decor and menu. But, we seldom dine off the ship when on tour with concerns about the food would be challenging for my way of eating and the pointless expenditure when the ship’s food meets our requirements and budget.

Update on yesterday…whew!  It was a busy day as follows:

 8:00 am:  Pick up granddaughter Madighan from her home (40 minutes in traffic from the hotel)
 9:00 am:  Return to the hotel for self serve buffet breakfast, which the kids love (30 minutes in traffic)
10:30 am: Drive to Arbor Lakes to shop with Madighan (30 minutes in traffic)
11:30 am: Find the local Chuck E. Cheese so Madighan could play games (She doesn’t like their pizza and wasn’t hungry.  She only drank water while we played games)
12:30 pm:  Drove to a make-your-own frozen yogurt shop in Maple Grove (10 minutes in traffic)
 1:30 pm:  Drove back to Arbor Lakes movie theatre to watch the movie. She was full of frozen yogurt and didn’t want a movie snack or drink. (That was a short drive)
 3:30 pm:  Left the movie theatre, drove to a local craft store to purchase a coloring set for Madighan to stay occupied at Mary’s during the barbecue.  As it turned out, she played with grandson Vincent and great grand nephew David and was never bored for a moment.
 4:00 pm:  Drove to Coon Rapids to pick up two of Tom’s sisters, Patty and Sister Beth, and nephew, Jim. (60 minutes in traffic)
5:00 pm:  Drove to Tom’s sister Mary’s home (10 minutes on city streets) for the weekly barbecue.
8:45 pm:  Returned Patty, Sister Beth, and Jim to Patty’s home (10 minutes on city streets)
9:00 pm:  Madighan and I returned to her home in St. Louis Park (30 minutes in lighter traffic), where I dropped her off, visited with daughter-in-law Camille and grandchildren Maisie and Miles.
9:45 pm:  Returned to the hotel in light traffic (22 minutes)

Time we spent driving: slightly over 4 hours.

Building on the grounds of Butchart Gardens.

As for Tom, his day was equally busy. He’d borrowed one of son Greg’s pickup trucks to get around on our split busy days. He’s not here now for me to ask about the rundown on his day (he’s out with grandson Vincent) but, based on his visit to nephew Tim, lunch with his retired railroad buddies, and later visit brother Jerome in hospital and eventually meeting us at the barbecue at Mary’s, his day included almost as much driving as mine.

We do not doubt that our remaining days in Minnesota will be comparable to those as stated above. This level of activity may be typical for many grandparents who are actively involved in the day-to-day lives of their grandchildren, adult children, and other family members. We commend them for their dedication.

With no signs on this building, we expected this might be a residence for one of the families of this family-owned business.

But, love doesn’t always manifest in the “doing.” For us, once we’re gone again, the love will manifest in our “hearts and minds” for the precious time we spent in the past, in this summer of 2017, and at other times when we’ll visit in the future.

Tomorrow, we’ll be back with photos from the Minnesota Meet & Greet and most likely many stories to tell about those who generously took the time to come and visit with us. We’re humbled and grateful for all of this!

Photo from one year ago today, June 9, 2016:

Each day in Bali, we rescued many grasshoppers who were drowning in the pool. Once we take them out, they dry off for a while in the sun and then fly off.  Some appear dead but often come to life a bit later. For more details in Bali, please click here.

It’s a whirlwind…Living in a hotel for six weeks…What’s that like?…Shopping photos…

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Our two new pieces of luggage in easy-to-spot colors. Tom chose purple while I chose this peachy color. Each bag is expandable and lightweight, with four double-wheel rollers.

This is the longest period we’ll have spent in a hotel since the onset of our travels, beginning on October 31, 2012.  Many have asked why we chose a hotel over staying in a vacation/holiday home while in Minnesota for six weeks. Wouldn’t that be more cost-effective and convenient?

Not necessarily. There are several reasons we chose to stay in a hotel during this extended period from May 26, 2017, to July 7, 2017, a total of 42 nights. One consideration was the cost. It’s expensive to rent a house in Minnesota, but that definitely wasn’t the single most important reason.

Now that we’re here, we realize what a good decision it was to be free of planning meals, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and doing dishes. Without the responsibility of these daily tasks, we’re free to spend time with family and friends at our leisure. We love the freedom.

With a $30 a day budget for dining out so far, we’re totally on track, even slightly under at $81.62 for the three nights we’ve dined in restaurants; Grizzly’s, Champs, and Chipotle. 

We save considerably on restaurant tabs by not consuming cocktails, other beverages, appetizers, and desserts.  Tom says he’s had enough alcohol over these past two 33-night cruises (plus an additional two nights spent in Vancouver) that he’s on a break from drinking anything at all with a possible few exceptions for special functions.

Since I’m only drinking water right now with an occasional cup of herbal tea and trying not to drink anything while eating to improve digestion, it’s easy for me to avoid ordering beverages. Neither of us orders any sodas or sweetened drinks.

Tom’s two new pairs of shoes; one pair Nike tennis shoes and a pair of Nike slides ideal for casual living in upcoming vacation homes.

Thus, it’s easy to dine out for our preferred budgetary expenditure without giving it a second thought, especially when neither of us has a desire to dine in expensive restaurants. 

Much to my delight, I’ve had no problem ordering meals befitting my way of eating. Last night’s Chipotle salad bowl was indeed a rare treat. I haven’t had Chipotle since we left Minnesota four years and seven months ago. 

By ordering only the beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and guacamole, I was able to stay close to the limited number of carbs that I can consume daily. I practically moaned over the delicious concoction. On the other hand, Tom didn’t care for his beef burrito, claiming it had too much rice and not enough beef.

The day was great. Greg, Camille, and the three grandchildren came for breakfast at our hotel at 9:00 am, after which the kids swam in one of the hotel’s two swimming pools. It was fun to see them frolic and laugh, swimming and splashing in the pool, something we’ve missed for so long with all six of our grandchildren.

After they left, we visited Tom’s nephew Tim, and Tom’s sister Margie happened to be visiting Tim as well.  What a pleasant surprise! We have many more visits planned with Tom’s family members over the remaining days in Minnesota.

Afterward, we headed to TJ Maxx to see if we could find two new pieces of luggage. Our two large bags were literally falling apart. We exited the store a short time later, wheeling two colorful 30″ lightweight suitcases to the SUV for under $175. 

The regular retail prices for the two bags were four times the prices we actually paid. The odd colors resulted in several price reductions. We love odd colors on luggage. It makes them easier to spot when coming down the baggage carousel at airports and cruise terminals and less likely to be stolen. Most thieves prefer to swipe less noticeable black bags.

While at the mall, without any expectations, we wandered into a Famous Footwear store. We both desperately needed new shoes when a few of our individual five pairs were falling apart. 

Yesterday, daughter-in-law Camille let me try on her similarly styled shoes, and I was thrilled to find an equally comfortable style at Famous Footwear.

A short time later, we were back on the road, each with two new pairs of shoes. Tom purchased a pair of black Nike tennis shoes and black Nike slides, while I purchased black Clark sandals (my favorite brand) and a pair of casual waterproof shoes, as shown in the photo.

Our total bill for the four pairs was $219.36! What a deal! Nike tennis shoes were over $200 in Australia. Now, Tom can toss the $13 Adidas knockoffs he purchased in Hanoi last summer.  Surprisingly, they’ve served him well.

We’ll each toss two pairs of worn-out shoes which we’ll continue wearing until we fly to Nevada on July 7th, squeaking out every last drop of use. In doing so, we’ll each maintain a total of five pairs of shoes, exactly what fits into our bags.

Later in the day, Tammy and Vincent stopped at our hotel, dropping off two TV trays (there’s no dining table in our hotel room) and a cooler (we have a small refrigerator, but this works for picnics, etc.). It was delightful chatting with them and, we look forward to many more such occasions with all of our children and grandchildren.

Today, we’re staying put until we head to Eden Prairie, arriving at 4:00 pm for dinner at friends Chere and Gary’s home. Chere and I have stayed in very close touch all these years, occasionally through Skype and often daily via email. How fun it will be to begin seeing our many friends as well as our family members.

That’s it for today, friends. We’ll be back each day with more…

Photo from one year ago today, May 30, 2016:

The look on the buffalo’s mouth on the right inspired me to get a close-up of this buffalo’s teeth when we attended a buffalo race in Bali. For more details, please click here.

Counting down the days until our next adventure…

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Earlier this week, while on the Manly Ferry, we were finally able to take sunny morning photos of Sydney Harbour, a cruise ship, another ferry, and Harbour Bay Bridge.

There’s an app we often use to calculate between two dates.  I must admit I probably use it everyday for one reason or another. So if this free app, Time and Date, could be of use to you, please click here. Enter the dates you’d like to calculate and voila!  Easy.

The Sydney Opera House appears to be a floating island.

This morning, contemplating upcoming travels sent me into a tizzy of unbridled enthusiasm, especially now that prior worrisome factors are behind us. Here’s a few calculations made from today’s date of March 31, 2017 that we’re anticipating for the remainder of 2017 using the above app:

22 days –  Cruise from Sydney to North America (24 days)
48 days –  Cruise from Vancouver to Alaska (9 days)
57 days –  Flight from Seattle, Washington to Minneapolis, Minnesota
99 days –  Flight from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Las Vegas, Nevada
124 days – Flight from Las Vegas, Nevada to Costa Rica
237 days – Cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Valpareso, Chili on to a back-to-back cruise to Buenos Aires, Argentina (30 days combined)
268 days – Buenos Aires, Argentina (30 days – ending January 23, 2018)

Lighthouses always create an interesting photo opp.

Of course, of all of the above dates, we’re most excited to head back to the USA to see family and friends. By the time we arrive in Minnesota on May 26, 2017, it will have been (again using the app) as follows since we left Minnesota on October 31, 2012:

“From and including: Wednesday, October 31, 2012
To, but not including Friday, May 26, 2017

Result: 1668 days

It is 1668 days from the start date to the end date, but not including the end date.

Or 4 years, 6 months, 26 days excluding the end date”

Wow! That’s hard to believe! We won’t have seen our three adult children, their partners, and our six grandchildren since they visited us in Hawaii during Christmas time in 2014, a total of 875 days (as of January 2, 2015, when most of them left Hawaii). That’s a long time.

Beautiful scenery.

As for son Richard who lives in Henderson, Nevada, we won’t have seen him since January 3, 2013, when we sailed away on our first international cruise. So it’s been a total of four years, six months, and four days since we’ve seen Richard, and it’s slightly longer for sister Susan who lives in Las Vegas. So, unfortunately, Richard wasn’t able to join us in Hawaii, but we’ve all stayed in close touch over these years as with the others. 

Sandy beach on a sunny day wasn’t populated early in the morning.

Between Skype phone calls, interaction online, and chat in Facebook and email, we’ve been able to stay in touch with all of our family members and friends. Had the Internet not been available, a journey such as ours would have been heart-wrenching, if not impossible.

Across the bay from the ferry.

Instead, we anticipate seeing everyone and spending as much quality time together as their schedules allow. Of course, we’re excited, as is evidenced by our frequent calculations of the number of days until we arrive.

In the interim, with the sun finally shining here in Fairlight/Manly with the after effects of Cyclone Debbie hitting our area last night. The cyclone has since passed leaving a wake of destruction in its path. Also, check out this video of a shark that made “landfall” during the cyclone, which Aussies are now calling “sharknado!”

The Sydney Opera House took on an entirely new look in the sunshine, especially after our own opera experience at the world famous venue.

On a more serious note, please click here for details regarding Cyclone Debbie. We pray for the safety and recovery of the many citizens who suffered the ravages of this destructive storm that hit Queensland this week.

Perhaps this was a tourist helicopter ride?

Today brings us partially cloudy skies with snippets of sun peeking through. Should this continue through the day, a sightseeing expedition may be on the horizon.

Happy day to all!

Photo from one year ago today, March 31, 2015:

There were several refrigerate cases with a wide array of New Zealand-made and Fonterra Cheese Factory-made cheeses.  With cheese suitable for our way of eating, we often seek to visit cheese factories when we travel. For more details, please click here.