A memorable night out with old friends…

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Sue, our dear friend who lived down the road with me, Sue’s daughter, and dear old friend Sherry. Sadly, although he was present, her husband, Michael, wasn’t in the photos. Sorry, Michael!

Our dear friend Sherry had arranged a reservation at Jimmy’s Kitchen and Bar for 5:30 pm. Five of us arrived at 5:15, anxious to get the anticipated fantastic evening started. In no time, we were seated at a big booth/banquette for seven, and only Nelleke and Dave were yet to arrive, who appeared a short time later.

Sherry had planned the get-together at this excellent restaurant close to everyone. As it turned out, it was only about seven minutes from our hotel. This restaurant has been in business for 17 years, but neither Tom nor I had ever been there. It was only about 20 minutes from our old home.

Tom, along with Dave and Nelleke, our former next-door neighbors. Gosh, we’ve missed them all.

Once we were seated, the conversation flowed easily. At times, we laughed when we were all talking at one time. It was not unlike 11 years ago when we often got together for drinks, food, and fun. In those times, I didn’t drink alcohol but never failed to have a fantastic time sipping on my iced tea.

As mentioned in prior posts, I didn’t drink alcohol/wine for 20 years for no particular reason other than thinking it was better for my health. On a cruise in 2016, when we both had the premium drink package included in our cruise fare, I decided to try drinking a glass of red wine, which I’d always preferred over white wine and found tasted good.

Sherry’s dinner looked appetizing.

Once I had that first glass, I decided I could drink red wine in moderation, enjoying every sip. Since that time, I’ve pursued finding wines with lower alcohol than the usual 13% to 14%. In South Africa, many lighter wines were available, which I like with alcohol as low as 5%, which I particularly enjoy, along with another label at 8%. I cannot find similar wines here in the US, so when dining out, I drink regular red or white if I choose to have a glass.

No photo of Michael but a nice photo of his rib dinner.

Last night, they poured very little in the fancier restaurant in the fancy glass, so I ordered a second glass. Our dinner, with tax and tip, was $132. Wow! That’s a lot. We aren’t used to paying that much for the two of us. Everything is very expensive in the US.

Sue’s perfectly cooked filet mignon and au gratin potatoes.

Thank goodness, once we get to Ecuador in less than three weeks, we’ll be able to play a little catch-up with comparable prices in South Africa. We look forward to that and other aspects we’ll enjoy in South America.

At one point during last night’s dinner, I found myself smiling from ear to ear and saw a similar smile on Tom’s face as he conversed with Michael and Dave at the end of the table. It was more wonderful than words describe being with our old friends and neighbors again.

My filet mignon deconstructed salad with three rare pieces of filet mignon, avocado, and a lettuce wedge topped with bacon and onion.

As neighbors, we were all so much more. Our lives were intertwined in many ways, especially when our dear Chip, Sue’s deceased husband and our friend whom we dearly loved, He passed, only a few months before we left Minnesota. I had the honor of speaking at his memorial service. We all miss him terribly.

Sue sold her house in our old neighborhood on the lake and now lives in a retirement community near here. Sherry and Michael live nearby in Minnetonka, the city where my kids grew up before moving to the lake, and Nelleke and Dave still live in their house, which, as mentioned, was next door to us.

Dave’s pasta dish.

Before we knew it, our meals and a few desserts were savored at the lovely restaurant, and it was time to go. We’d enjoyed every moment with our friends and felt disappointed the evening was over. Tom and I talked about it one our way back to our hotel.

Once back at the hotel, we streamed two more episodes of Formula 1 on Netflix, which we binge-watch as time allows in the evenings. Soon, we’re heading out to brunch with Greg and two of the grandkids, Madighan and Miles, since Maisie is away at school. Afterward, we’ll return to Greg’s house to watch the Minnesota Vikings game.

Tom’s short ribs dinner atop a bed of mashed potatoes.

Have a pleasant Sunday.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 24, 2013:

There were no photos posted ten years ago today. For the text for that post, please click here.

Lovely evening at dear friend Connie’s home to commemorate Jeff’s passing…

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Mark, Sandy, Tom, Micheal, Connie, and Nina sat around the outdoor table on the veranda of Connie’s Lake Minnetonka home.

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of our dear friend Jeff passing away at our holiday home in Marloth Park, South Africa. Connie, his wife, was thrilled when she read in our posts that we’d be in Minnesota during the anniversary date so she could plan a special dinner for a few select friends to acknowledge Jeff on the anniversary of his death.

We hesitated when she extended the anniversary since September 21 is the same date as our grandchild, Mad, and grandson, Nik. Madighan’s birthday, which we didn’t want to miss. But we worked out another plan for the birthday without a problem, and all was good.

The blue pot contained tender, delicious beef with mushrooms in a flourless gravy.

Yesterday afternoon, we stopped at a liquor store to pick up a bottle of red wine for Connie. I brought a bottle of low-alcohol dry rose that I miraculously found a few weeks ago. Low-alcohol wine is not easily found in the US. Once we return to South Africa, we won’t have any trouble finding low-alcohol wines. I have no idea what we’ll find in Ecuador at this point.

Connie had made a fantastic dinner with several items I could eat, which was thoughtful of her. As a professional chef, she’s obviously an excellent cook and moves through the process of cooking and serving food with ease and finesse. The spread was not only pleasing to the eye but also mouth-watering and delicious.

Connie made this delicious chicken and prune dish. I tasted a bite of Tom’s but couldn’t eat it due to the sugar in the prunes.

If I hadn’t eaten so much of my favorite cheese, she served with the starters, Belton Farms Cheddar, which has a crunchy texture and amazing taste. I’d have had more room for the dinner. But, I had a little of everything I could eat and was full and content. Tom enjoyed everything as well, especially the garlic-buttered French bread and the pot-roasted meat, reminding him of one of his favorite dinners I’ve often made for him when the proper cuts of beef were available.

I was able to eat everything here except the potatoes and the bread.

The group of guests were enthusiastic sailors, and the conversation flowed on this topic as well as many questions from the group on our world travels. It was fun to share our varied interests. Michael asked if we’d ever be interested in sailing around the world. No, we are not. One, we aren’t sailors, and two, neither of us would be interested in all the work required to sail long distances.

Connie found these napkins to remind her of the time she and Lindsey spent in South Africa with us one year ago when Jeff passed away at our house.

Nor would we ever be interested in a non-sail boat, or as we’ve often been asked, traveling in a motorhome. Long ago, we considered that possibility, but after considerable research, we aren’t interested in that lifestyle either. What we’ve been doing these past almost 11 years suits us just fine.

Everyone’s tastes and desires are different. Most people cannot imagine giving up everything they own and leaving a familiar lifestyle to do what we do. Interestingly, more often, men say they could do it, but women can’t imagine living out of one suitcase and parting with their beloved belongings. We certainly understand that. Sometimes, we shake our heads, unable to believe that we did it.

Last night’s half moon in Minnesota.

Today, we’re meeting several of Tom’s family members at their usual Billy’s Bar and Grill in Anoka, where they often meet on Fridays at 3:00 pm for drinks and dinner. When we were here in the past, we’ve always enjoyed this special time together with his sisters and other family members in the fun and busy establishment.

The time before we leave at 2:15 will be spent on various projects we’ve been working on in order to be prepared to leave the US in a mere 19 days.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 22, 2013:

In Diani Beach, Kenya, our property owners, Hans and Jeri, invited us for dinner at their house next door. The table was set on the well-manicured lawn. With the balmy breeze and the fire roaring, the mosquitoes stayed away, although we were well armed, wearing our BugsAway clothing. For more photos, please click here.

Another busy day on the horizon…Memorial dinner party tonight…Booking, booking and more booking…

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Tomorrow, we’ll be busy listing Tom’s railroad memorabilia online for sale, including about 12 of these commemorative plates.

Last night, our plans with Madighan were dashed due to potential strep throat and flu. Neither of us could afford to get sick with plans to leave here in 20 days. Also, Tom is still on antibiotics and Prednisone, and getting sick on top of his awful cough would only worsen matters.

Instead, we’ll pick a date next week to get together and celebrate. Today, at 4:00 pm, we are heading to our friend Connie’s home for dinner at her home on Lake Minnetonka to commemorate her husband Jeff’s passing at our holiday home in Marloth Park one year ago today. It’s hard to believe that was a year ago. It seems so much longer.

After a while, we’ll go to the nearby liquor store and buy a bottle of wine to bring to Connie’s. We always feel it is essential to bring something when invited for dinner at a friend’s home. In South Africa, we only needed to bring our drinks, mix, ice, and possibly meat to cook on the braai. That tradition is not common in the US.

This morning, we spent almost two hours researching flights from Quito to Manta, a hotel for one night in Manta since we didn’t want to drive to the holiday home in the dark, and a rental car for three separate months. Tom will have to return to the airport twice while we’re at the house to get another vehicle.

As it turned out, each of the three rental car periods had much better pricing using three different companies rather than trying to book a car for the entire time at the house from October 24 to January 8. Plus, the rates had almost doubled over the Christmas holiday season.

As a result, Tom will have to make the one-hour drive from the holiday home to Manta twice during our stay; most likely, I will go with him each time to shop at the bigger grocery stores. I anticipate the remote location where we’ll stay won’t have any major grocery stores nearby.

Since our flight from Quito to Manta doesn’t arrive until after 8:00 pm, we planned to stay one night in Manta so that we can more easily find our way to the property in the morning. Also, it will allow us to do some food shopping in Manta before we head to the house.

No doubt, the small car won’t have a lot of room for lots of groceries, but at least we’ll be able to squeeze enough for a few days while we figure everything out from the house. Moving into a new remote location requires extensive research to see what’s available in the area.

In the worst case, we can buy coffee, cream, and staples for the first week. A few restaurants are near the house in case we have to eat out for several days. This part of our travels is fun for us when we find the best solutions for our needs while we’re there.

There weren’t a lot of options for flights from Quito to Manta. There were prices listed for half of what we ended up paying for the one-way flight, but those prices didn’t include any carry-on bags or checked bags. At the higher prices of $99 each, instead of $59, we saved over $200 for baggage fees. It made a lot of sense to go that way.

We found a highly-rated, inexpensive hotel near the airport so we wouldn’t have to drive far in the dark in unknown territory, which included breakfast. We’ll get up early, have coffee and breakfast at the hotel, and be on our way, as we mentioned, looking for a supermarket on the way.

It’s all becoming a reality now as we pin down our plans. Once settled in Ecuador, we researched where we wanted to go. Do we go to Brazil and Bolivia to the Pantanal or plan a cruise on the upper Amazon? Or both? Time will tell. Of course, this is all based on how we’re feeling at the time due to a few recent health concerns.

At 3:30 today, we’ll head out to the memorial dinner party at Connie’s for surely what will be a good experience.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 21, 2013:

Moonbeams over the Indian Ocean last night at the Blue Marlin Restaurant in Kenya, reflecting off the ocean and lighting the sand. Tiny sand crabs were scurrying about at our feet as we stood in the sand. For more photos, please click here.

Another busy day for both of us, separately this time…

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Tom was checking out this 1966 Oldsmobile 442 convertible. I have no idea how he can identify many old cars.

Yesterday afternoon, my dear friend Chere stopped by the hotel while we sat in the lobby and chatted as we had earlier during this visit and other visits in the past. With Chere and I, the conversation flows as if we’ve never been apart. We have a lot of similar interests, mainly centered around health, fitness, and wellness, and it’s fun to share our thoughts and ideas on these topics.

Next week, toward the end of the week, she and I will be getting pedicures at a local beauty school, where she explained sanitation is of the utmost, as compared to some salons. This appealed to me since I’ve heard of many instances where patrons encountered infections from less-than-ideal sanitary conditions. Student standards may be more stringent at a beauty school than at an unfamiliar salon.

After our pedicures, we intend to go to lunch. Like me, Chere is into healthy food, and I’m sure we’ll go to a restaurant that caters to our mutual interests and needs. It will be fun to see her this last time since she and her husband will travel after that get-together.

As for Tom, yesterday, TJ picked him up around 3:00 pm to head to a small town, Henderson, Minnesota, for a weekly car show. TJ has a classic car and particularly enjoys going to car shows throughout the season. It was delightful for him to go with his dad.

This is a 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible.

Information about the car show in Henderson, Minnesota:

“About

The Henderson Classic Car Roll-In is a free weekly event along Henderson’s Main Street.

Every Tuesday night from May – September, the streets will be lined with 275+ vehicles and 150+ motorcycles, with a different variety every week!

Visitors from all over the region show up and walk, enjoying vehicles, atmosphere, and food.

Many food choices are available from the food vendors and restaurants, farmers market, and food trucks.

Businesses along Main Street are typically open and welcome visitors in to see what they have available.”

I’d planned to order my dinner through Grubhub, but when I started looking online to see what was available within delivery distance, I was shocked to see how much it would be for me to order a Cobb or similar salad. I have a year-long coupon from Grubhub and don’t have to pay a delivery fee. But, with tax, service fee, and tip, a salad would cost over $30.

On principle, more than anything, I refused to pay that much for salad. Instead, I ate the one remaining hard-boiled egg in the little refrigerator, which we keep from breakfast a few times a week for snacking and two little packs of Wholly Guacamole on the side with a few of those tiny red and yellow bell peppers. Later, I ate a pack of crispy seaweed snacks we bought at Costco, a favorite treat I love while close to the warehouse store.

Soon, we’ll return to Costco to purchase more seaweed snacks since these have zero carbs and lots of nutrients, and maybe a few more items using more of our remaining gift cards.

Year unknown…a Chevy Camaro convertible.

Our grandchild, Madighan’s birthday, is tomorrow, but we’re celebrating with her tonight. Greg will drop her off at Champps at 4:15 for an early dinner and then head to a movie. We would have observed the date of her birthday, which is tomorrow, but we are attending a memorial dinner for our friend Jeff, who passed away at our holiday home in Marloth Park one year ago as of tomorrow’s date. Connie planned this special dinner, knowing we’d be here on that date.

This morning, we went to the hotel next door to do our laundry, which will soon be done. They only have one washer and dryer at the hotel across the parking lot, where this hotel has a cooperating agreement for their patrons, and it takes us a few hours to complete one load. Having this done and out of the way is a relief for another five or six days.

Tom went through all the bins with the stuff he picked up at his sister Patty’s house. He went through everything and sorted all the railroad memorabilia he’ll put online for sale on a Facebook group with railroad memorabilia enthusiasts and possibly eBay for the entire lot. It is too time-consuming to sell each piece one by one, and we don’t have enough time until we depart for South America.

Today, we’ll book a domestic flight in South America from Quito to Manta, Ecuador, where we’ll head for the new holiday home. Also, we must rent a car at the Manta Airport for our arrival.

Time is moving on quickly, and soon, we’ll be on our way.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 20, 2013:

As we pulled away from the project, Tom alerted me to grab the camera. The battery was almost dead, but I was able to get this parting shot of cows walking along the road, a common occurrence in Kenya, new to us. For more photos, please click here.

Visit with some of Tom’s siblings and daughter Tammy…

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I was sandwiched in and wasn’t able to get a good angle for a photo of everyone, nor was anyone prepared for a photo. I left out sister Margi and brother-in-law Eugene. But more will follow when we spend more time with his family in the coming weeks. On the left are sister Patty, niece Trish, and sister Mary. Of course, Tom always has a smile on his face.

Yesterday proved to be a busy day, after all. First, we decided to head to Tom’s sister Patty’s house in Blaine to see her and pick up several bins of railroad memorabilia he’d stored at her house over these past years. She had plenty of room in her basement; we’d practically forgotten about it. We’ve often said we had no storage, but Tom had saved these few bins at Patty’s, certainly not like having a storage facility with household goods which we don’t have.

Before we left, he gave the grandchildren all the railroad watches and clocks, but he didn’t have time to unload the balance. Now, the challenge will be to put the entire collection on eBay and Facebook and try to sell it. Many people are very interested in railroad memorabilia, as are collectors of other historical artifacts and memorabilia.

I will leave the intensive work on this to him to decide what to do with it and how much he wants for the lot of five bins of items. Surely, he’ll want my help setting it up for sale on eBay and Facebook, and I will gladly help. We’d better get the show on the road on this big project since time is whittling away with only three weeks until we depart.

We have so much to do With many family and friends visits on the horizon. Also, I am still ensuring we have ample supplies for our time in South America since many items we use may not be available for sale there. I am checking out various websites to see if they have some things we may need while there.

If we run out of something, we don’t want to have to order a shipment from the US when international shipping costs are so high and take so long to arrive. We’ll have to play it by ear while I try to anticipate what we’ll need by reviewing everything we currently have.

After Tom loaded the five bins into the back of the rental car, we sat at Patty’s big table in her kitchen, chatting and having a great time. Before we knew it, three of his sisters, Colleen, Margie, Mary, and Mary’s husband Eugene, arrived along with his niece Trish, Colleen’s adult daughter. We all sat around the table and talked and laughed for several hours.

Finally, it was time to meet daughter Tammy for dinner at Wagner’s, an old-fashioned drive-in restaurant, and eat dinner outside on picnic benches. After checking the menu and not finding a single item I could eat when everything was fried or laden with gluten, I suggested we stop at Chipotle to get me a “bowl” to bring for my dinner.

It all worked out well, but I was shocked when my “bowl” was almost $20 when I ordered it with a little extra meat and a dollop of guacamole. Wow! Prices are high here. I remember buying a bowl here 11 or 12 years ago for under $10 how prices have changed!

We made it in plenty of time to meet Tammy, and she and Tom ordered their food for another $36. It’s hard to believe how much it costs to eat out here. We are easily spending an average of $80 a day for dining out and for a few less expensive meals we buy at the local market, Cub. We still have plenty of money left on our shop card for Costco and hope to use it for meals over the next three weeks. We’ll see how it goes. If we don’t use it all, we certainly can use it at some time in the future since it doesn’t expire.

This afternoon, Tom is heading out with son TJ to go to a car show in the small town of Henderson, Minnesota, about 40 minutes from here. He won’t return until 8:00 or 9:00 pm, so I will plan something for my dinner. I still have my Grubhub account with free delivery so I may order something from there later.

Hopefully, my friend Chere will visit around 2:00 this afternoon and spend a few hours with me. She’ll come to the hotel, and we’ll hang out in the comfy seating area in the lobby.

That’s all I have for today. More will follow tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 19, 2013:

While visiting the site of our landlord, Hans, in Diani Beach, Kenya, a multi-unit building under construction, we were amazed by all of the handmade ladders made from materials on the site. For more photos, please click here.

Fun evening with grandson, Vincent…Getting organized…

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Tom and grandson Vincent at the skeet shooting range.

We had a great evening with our grandson Vincent, 17, when we picked him up in Crystal and drove to a skeet shooting range in Blaine, about 30 minutes from his house. Watching him shoot and see the range was interesting when only Tom had ever participated in this activity. Without guns, we could only watch him, but that was fine with us. We’d done this to be with him.

We took some photos, as shown here today, and when the skeet shooting session ended, we headed back toward his home in Crystal, where he lives with his parents, Tammy (Tom’s daughter), and her partner Tracy. We asked Vincent where he wanted to go for dinner, and he chose a very casual bar in Crystal, Steve O’s, where they “have excellent boneless chicken wings,” which Vincent longed to have once again.

Vincent is skilled at the sport and belongs to a team at his high school.

Steve O’s was one of the most casual bars/diners we’d been to in a long time, more like those found up north where fishing and hunting are popular. As it turned out, they had decent food, and none of us were disappointed. I ordered a grilled chicken salad, Tom had a Reuben sandwich, and Vincent had the wings he loves.

After dinner, we drove back to his home to find Tracy there and Tammy shortly after she returned from the dog park. We all sat outside on their deck and chatted for a few hours, and by 8:30 pm, we were back on our way to our hotel to stream a few more episodes of Formula 1 on Netflix and head to bed for another good night’s sleep.

This morning, we had the included breakfast in the hotel restaurant: coffee, eggs, and sausage, and now we’re back in our room as I prepare today’s post and work on adding plans to our calendar while we’re here. It’s filling up fast, and we look forward to seeing more friends and family members.

There was no way we could take photos other than from this angle.

I am glad we have a living room in our hotel room. This way, it’s not so confining to be in the room working on things we must accomplish while here. It has a sectional sofa with a large ottoman, a side table, a large desk, and a tiny kitchen with a sink, teapot, and hotel refrigerator. We have plenty of plugins for our equipment. The only unusual thing is there is housekeeping only every other day, so we make the bed on alternate days. Fortunately, we get enough towels to last for the two days.

Perhaps, with staffing issues, this is how hotels manage operations, keeping services to a minimum. We still see many “help wanted” signs at shops, restaurants, and other businesses. We’ve noticed the service is slower at many restaurants and even checking out at the grocery store when we stop in for a few items. There are fewer cashiers than ever.

The pandemic significantly affected businesses in the US and other countries. Seeing so many familiar restaurants and shops closed permanently as we drive through the cities is sad.

It’s amazing to see how our grandchildren have grown as they develop interests and skills they enjoy.

Yesterday afternoon, we went through the extra suitcase we’d shipped to this hotel a few months ago. When we left South Africa, we had to pack everything we owned except some household goods we’d accumulated, spices, and miscellaneous long-lasting food products. Louise stored those items for us. But, we had started to accumulate too many clothing items when we purchased new items that arrived over the years in shipments we had sent to us.

After going through everything, we made a new pile for Goodwill and then packed and organized our luggage with what we were keeping. Once we get ready to leave here, we’ll still have three checked bags, each with clothes and the third with supplies. I carefully went through the supplies bag to see if we could consolidate, but it didn’t appear possible. I can’t imagine getting down to two checked bags at any time shortly.

Many travelers return to their homes to unpack. Without a home, we’re like turtles…we carry the equivalent of “our home” on our backs. That’s the way it is, and we’ve accepted the reality.

Today, our plans are up in the air. We’ll decide later and let you know what transpired tomorrow.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 18, 2023:

In Diani Beach, Kenya…Our glass table was set and ready for our dinner guests. With no Windex or glass cleaner in the grocery stores, I’ve had a heck of a time cleaning the glass tabletop. I asked Hesborn how he could clean it so well with no streaks. He said he uses soap and water on a rag, drying it with a dry towel. I tried this method, only to end up with streaks. I guess I’ll watch him do it today. For more photos, please click here.

Booked flight and hotel for Quito, Ecuador…Spending time with our grandson today…

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Here’s a map of the route of our flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Quito (UIO), not that far away compared to many of our other flights over the years.

We waited to book our flight to Quito, Ecuador, departing on October 11, until we were here in the US, watching prices drop. With costs dropping only a small amount, we booked the flight and one night in the hotel JW Marriott in Quito, arriving one day early for our cruise/tour to begin.

Celebrity Cruise Line contacted us a few days ago for our passport numbers and expiration dates, flight information, and hotel information. Since we booked an extra night at JW Marriott, they wanted to tie it to the portion of our cruise/tour that includes two nights on each end for five nights, including our extra-booked night. They wanted to ensure we wouldn’t have to move to another room, which we appreciated.

Between the two booked nights for the hotel on either end of the cruise/tour, we’ll be flying to The Galapagos for a seven-night tour on the 16-passenger ship, basically a yacht, as opposed to a traditional huge cruise ship. It should be interesting. We’ll be flying from MSP on United Airlines. The cost of the flight for both of us is $1283.40.

As for the cost for the hotel, JW Marriott, for our one night, not included in the cruise fare, was $150.28, including taxes and fees.

The JW Marriott in Quito, Ecuador.

The next flight we’ll book in the next few weeks is the flight from Quito to our new holiday home in Manabi, Ecuador, about a one-hour flight, around $120 for the two of us, plus baggage fees. Our holiday home will be waiting for us, and we look forward to that part of our time in Ecuador as well as the cruise/tour. We’ll share more details later.

I’m a little concerned about the altitude in Quito at 9,350 feet above sea level, but hopefully, we’ll both be fine. I used to ski in the Colorado mountains in my younger years (before I met Tom) and never had a problem with elevations over 10,000 feet. I’m hoping it will be the same now. Tom has never experienced such a high altitude.

While we were at urgent care for Tom a few days ago, we got a prescription for Diamox (acetazolamide) to be used in advance for potential altitude sickness. With many possible side effects, we’ll wait and see how we do before taking the drug.

Later today, at 3:30, we’ll pick up grandson Vincent for skeet shooting and then for dinner. It will be great to spend time with him. He’s almost 18 years old, intelligent, and quite a conversationalist. No doubt, we’ll have a wonderful time with him.

Last night, we stayed in watching a few episodes of Formula One on Netflix and one episode of The Good Doctor, a delightful series we’ve watched intermittently, enjoying each episode. By 11:00 pm, we were both fast asleep and awoke feeling refreshed in the morning. Tom is taking his medications regularly and has started to see a slight improvement. Hopefully, soon, he’ll feel much better.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a good Sunday.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 16, 2013:

No photo was posted here ten years ago. To read the text for that post, please click here.

Another enjoyable lunch with dear old friends…

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You know me and food photos! Tom’s taco salad yesterday at lunch with Pat and Charlie. I had the taco salad without the shell.

OK. I screwed up again. I forgot to take a photo of our friends Pat and Charlie, whom we met for lunch in Albertville, Minnesota, yesterday afternoon. But I didn’t forget to take food photos. Shame on me! Tom and Charlie, old friends from the railroad, had seen one another a few times when we’d come to visit in the past. But I hadn’t seen him, and neither of us had seen Pat since Tom’s retirement party just before we left 11 years ago.

I’d intended to take a photo of the two or have our server take a photo of the four of us, but the lively conversation distracted me, and the time flew by so quickly. We’ve been grateful to see so many friends while traveling lately and look forward to more opportunities.

Finally, after a delicious lunch at the restaurant, it was 3:00 pm and time to head out. We hugged Pat and Charlie, saying we hoped to see them again on another visit sometime in the future. It had been way too long since we saw them.

I don’t know what Charlie ordered, but it had lots of gravy. He didn’t eat all of it.

We’d planned to drive to the nearby outlet mall and see if we could find water shoes for our upcoming tour and cruise to the Galapagos Islands in a little over a month. We checked out a few stores in the outlet mall to no avail. All the water shoes were gone, with Minnesota winter looming, and styles were geared toward winter activities rather than being in the water.

Our next best option is ordering them on Amazon since neither of us likes to drive all over town to various stores. We don’t like shopping. Even when we walked into the Payless Shoe Store, we cringed over all of the options but could not find anything that worked for either of us.

When we didn’t find shoes at the outlet mall, we headed to the Gap store to purchase some tee shirts for Tom. All he had left were worn and tattered tee shirts, which could easily be tossed into the garbage when they weren’t worth donating to Goodwill.

Pat’s lettuce wraps.

Next, we need to find him several short-sleeve button-up shirts. Since we began traveling, the Bass button shirts he’s been wearing have become threadbare and are ready to be tossed into the trash. It appears that the particular style that he likes is no longer available. We often find that to be the case when we return to the US to make new purchases of items we want.

At the Gap store, we could buy him seven nice tee shirts at half price that appeared to be of high quality. Now he can toss the old ones. We were thrilled to get all the shirts under $70 without sales tax. Minnesota has no sales tax on clothes, saving us 7% or 8% when purchasing items here.

I found Tom two new Bass shirts on eBay this morning and ordered them for him. I hadn’t shopped on eBay for a very long time, but in the past, I often found some fantastic deals on various items. I’ve seen some shirts that may work on Amazon and will place the order soon, along with water shoes for both of us.

On the way back from the restaurant, we returned to the pharmacy to pick up Tom’s prescriptions for his cough. Finally, everything was in stock. We were anxious to get him on the medications that hopefully will help him. He started everything last night, but I don’t expect to see any improvement for several days.

Today, we’re heading out on a few errands and will pick up food for dinner, which we’ll have at the hotel tonight since we made no plans for tonight. Soon, Tom’s family members will return from out of town, and we look forward to seeing them soon.

Have a great weekend!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 16, 2013:

Hans, the owner of the house in Diani Beach, Kenya, and our next-door neighbor, made Tom one of his special local concoctions while I sipped on my usual iced tea while chatting with Hans’ lovely wife, Jerie. For more photos, please click here.

Tom’s trip to urgent care…Visit to Costco with information overload…Another Minnesota Vikings disappointment…

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The Vikings lost last night for the second time in the regular season. Our sons are big fans of the Vikings and were sorely disappointed, as was Tom.

Yesterday, we took Tom to urgent care for an unrelenting cough he’d had since he got the flu on the last cruise. We’d tested him for COVID-19 at the time, which was negative. But, his cough, mostly awful at night, was worrying. Finally, he agreed to get an appointment at the same urgent care facility he’d visited when he got COVID-19 pneumonia in 2022 when we were in Minnesota to see family. As it turned out, he was so sick and potentially contagious that we never saw family during that visit.

The doctor spent a lot of time with us and prescribed several prescriptions for Tom, which hopefully we can pick up today. The Walgreens pharmacy had to special order one of the meds, a popular drug we were surprised they didn’t have on hand. That was frustrating since the major medication would help him the most. Now, we’ve lost a day or two in his recovery.

It was wonderful to see our old next-door neighbor and good friend, Nelleke, again, who works at that urgent care facility. She’s the X-ray tech and did Tom’s intake. She, too, is a regular reader of our site and knew everything we’d done and everywhere we’ve been. We’re working on planning a get-together with her, her partner, friend Sue Sue’s daughter Sherry, and her husband Michael. Hopefully, this will all work out. We’d love that!

Fortunately, nothing horrible was found on his X-ray besides the same appearance of his “honeycomb lungs,” the same thing they’d seen on his last X-ray when he had COVID-19. The doctor explained this can happen for long periods after being infected with COVID-19. The end result, he, too, has long-haul COVID-19, just like me. Hopefully, this new round of drugs will help him.

Also, after finishing the post yesterday afternoon, we headed to Costco, only a few minutes from our hotel. We had about $500 in shop cards we’d accumulated since the last time we were here, including credits for using the Costco credit card worldwide for fuel and annual perks.

Most of the credit came from booking one of our recent cruises through Costco Travel. Each time a customer does so, they receive a “shop card” once the cruise has ended. We had booked many cruises through Costco, but seven were canceled due to COVID-19; thus, we never received those shop cards.

Walking into the store reminded me of past visits during our travel years and feeling overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” in the massive warehouse store. We were in a state of “information overload.” I had a list of items we wanted to buy, but as it turned out, they didn’t carry most of my list.

We left with only purchasing dinner to bring to Greg’s house while we watched the Minnesota Vikings’ second game of the season. What a disappointment! Our favorite team has had little success over the years, and yet Tom and our kids and some of our grandkids continue to watch with the hope that someday they will do well enough to go to the Super Bowl, let alone win the big event.

After the game, we headed back to the hotel, leaving leftovers for Greg and enough leftovers for us for tonight’s dinner. To keep costs down, we’re trying not to dine in a restaurant more than once a day, and when we’re alone, to have meals we’ve selected from the grocery store that we can reheat in the hotel’s microwave oven.

With plenty of good shows to stream, we don’t mind the quiet nights when we don’t see anyone end up hanging out in the living room in our suite hotel room. We have a refrigerator and use of the big kitchen here for dishes and flatware. It’s easy for us to entertain ourselves.

Today, at 1:00, as mentioned, we’re meeting old friends Pat and Charlie in Albertville for lunch, about 40 minutes from here. Thus, if we’re hungry tonight, we can eat our leftovers from last night. If not, we can eat them tomorrow night since we have no plans for Saturday night at this point.

Many members of Tom’s family are out of town this weekend, but once they return, we’ll make plenty of plans with them, and our schedule will fill up in no time. In the interim, we can spend lots of time with my son Greg, his girlfriend Heather, and the two remaining grandkids, Madiighan and Miles, who spend every other week at their mom’s house. They’ll return to Greg’s home this Sunday for a week, and we’ll plan something with them during that time.

That’s it for today, folks.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 15, 2013:

We had dinner in a cave restaurant in Kenya. Diners began to filter in around 8:00 pm, filling all tables by the time we were ready to leave around 9:45 pm. We’d be warned not to rush the servers worldwide when customs and expectations differ from the US. Many countries’ servers are accustomed to taking their time in delivering the food and the bill. Most often, as is the case here in Kenya, tips are only allowed to be paid in cash, not added to the credit card slip. Of course, this requires us to keep adequate foreign money currency on hand. For more, please click here.

A special dinner with my granddaughter Maisie…

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My sweet granddaughter, Maisie, is heading to school in Wisconsin. Last night was a special time for us to get together before she had to leave today. We had a fantastic time.

When we knew we were coming here, we were aware that Maisie would be attending school in Wisconsin, and we wanted to spend as much time with her before she left. We planned last night as a special time for just the two of us to chat and commiserate as granddaughters and grandmas often do.

The time passed quickly as we chatted and ate our dinners while situated in a comfy booth at the familiar restaurant we often visit when we stay in Eden Prairie. Tom had perused the menu before I left and picked out his “dinner to go,” which I ordered for him during the last 20 minutes in the restaurant.

When son Greg dropped me off at the hotel with Tom’s dinner, he hugged Maisie and wished her well on her new experience. Gosh, our grandkids are growing up fast. Fortunately, we’ve returned to Minnesota many times over the years to see them and see how much they’ve grown and matured.

Maisie enjoyed her pasta but couldn’t eat all of it and gave her dad the leftovers when he came to pick us up.

Back in our room for the remainder of the evening, we streamed the last episode of The Lincoln Lawyer, a great show, and began watching a series recommended by our friends Marylin and Gary, who visited us in Henderson, Nevada, about a week ago. The show is on Netflix entitled Formula One, a docu-series with five seasons to watch. We got into the show right away and look forward to many other episodes.

Thanks, Marylin and Gary! I apologize for spelling your name wrong in past posts. I recalled something unique about the spelling of Marylin’s name, but I looked up a past email to see if I’d been spelling it wrong. Sorry about that, dear friend. I will get it right in the future!

Speaking of dear friends, in a few minutes, my friend Chere will arrive at the hotel for us to visit. We saw each other about a year ago when we were here, and it will be fun to see her again now. We’ve been friends for about 25 years, and conversations with her are exciting and delightful.

Later today, Tom and I will head to Costco, just around the corner from the hotel, to use some of the gift cards we received from booking one of our last cruises through their travel department. Plus, he had a few other Costco credits from buying gas using the Costco credit card and another bonus we received. Overall, we have about $500 in Costco gift cards.

My Cobb salad from Champps was good but not great. The chicken should have been cut into small pieces and tossed into the salad. Otherwise, it was good.

We’re going to Greg’s home tonight to watch the Minnesota Vikings game at 7:00 pm. We’ll bring some ready-made food from Costco, so we don’t have to cook and make a mess.

After a wonderful get-together with my friend Chere, I just returned to the room. As usual, she and I sat at a table in the hotel lobby area and enjoyed chatting. Hopefully, she and I will figure out other times to meet again before our month in Minnesota ends.

On Friday, at 1:00 pm, we’re meeting Tom’s old friend Charlie and his wife Pat for lunch in Albertville. He and Charlie were pals for decades while working on the railroad. It will be fun to see them both once again.

That’s it for today, dear readers.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 14, 2013:

Ten years ago today, we booked our first safari adventure at Sanctuary Retreat, Olonana, in the Maasai Mara, Kenya, one of the most fantastic safari locations in the world. For more, please click here.