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| Tom used to travel along these same railroad tracks in Wayzata as I looked out the window (in the late ’80s) of my lake view office watching the passing trains. Little did I know… |
This morning we had to run a few errands resulting in today’s late posting. We had to pick up a few items at local stores, which were along the drive through the beautiful town of Wayzata, Minnesota, where I worked many years ago (let’s say around 30 years ago), to take photos to share.
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| Ducks, tails in the air while feeding on Lake Minnetonka. |
I felt a little nostalgic in the upscale Lake Minnetonka community, where over the years, I boated, dined at good restaurants, shopped, and worked.
A few of today’s photos include the location of my old business when I owned a few ReMax offices, which I later sold and are no longer in that location. Times have changed.
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| My former office location in the late ’80s. |
Both Tom and I were surprised to see how much this famous lake town has changed in these past five years since we’ve been gone. There were new buildings everywhere, new and different restaurants, new shops, more offices, residential buildings, and many more mature trees.
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| This was where my office was located (as a business owner), with views of the train depot and the lake. It seems like a lifetime ago. |
Wayzata was even more beautiful and appealing than it had been years ago when it was considered one of the most desirable places to visit and, for a lucky few, places to live.
In my boating days in the ’70s and ’80s, it was a perfect spot to dock the boat at the public pier and head to lunch or dinner at one of the several restaurants walking distance from the docks. Lots of great memories occurred there and in many other areas of the famous Lake Minnetonka.
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| Boats at one of many marinas on Lake Minnetonka in Wayzata. |
By the time I met Tom in 1991, I had lived on a different lake where I had kept a boat and rarely ventured out to Lake Minnetonka. My “hay days” were over after becoming 40+ years old.
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| We can only imagine the cost of renting these boat slips in Wayzata in this day and age when 40 years ago I paid $2,000 for the short summer season. |
This new period of my life morphed into mature activities with friends and neighbors, which resulted in a plethora of phenomenal new memories, which Tom and I share.
Today at 5:00 pm, with much delight, we’ll be with those friends/neighbors when we pick up dear friend Sue and drive out to our old neighborhood to spend the early evening at Jamie and Doug’s home (they lived two doors from us) while they take all of us on a happy hour boat ride on the lake.
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| The historic train depot in Wayzata. |
It will be weird to see our former home but certainly, won’t bother the new owners. Neither of us knows what to expect when we see the exterior, but we’ll report back here tomorrow.
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| Were we sightseeing for the first time since we arrived in Minnesota? |
By 7:00 pm, we’ll all head out to dinner at a favorite local restaurant and surely enjoy more of some of the most lively conversation to be had, reminiscent of our “old times” together. We can hardly wait!
As we begin our final six days in Minnesota, a sense of whirlwind activities is upon us. We’ve reserved this last week to say goodbye (once again) to family and friends, make any last-minute purchases, prepare our old clothing for delivery to Goodwill and make the finishing touches on our packing to comply with baggage weight limits on Delta Airlines.
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| A little history of the railroad coming to Wayzata in 1867. |
We fly out on Friday, July 7th at 2:20 pm, arriving in Las Vegas at 3:39 pm with a two-hour time change (we won’t even notice that!). With the fourth of July this week on Tuesday (US Independence Day celebration – for our friends overseas), lots of activities planned, and unreal traffic, we’re attempting to plan this final week carefully.
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| Plenty of seating was available for spectators in this beautiful area. |
Our top priority is to say our goodbyes and keep this final week as stress-free as possible. In the time-constraint arena for most Americans, stress can quickly overtake one’s state of mind with the endless congestion, busy schedules, responsibilities, and plans.
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| Wayzata Bay of only a tiny portion of huge Lake Minnetonka with over 14,000 acres and 140 miles of shoreline. |
It’s been easy to become caught up in the frenzy of life, often finding ourselves more tired than usual, struggling to get a whole night’s sleep. Dining out most meals has also taken a toll on our typical healthy, grass-fed, organic homemade meals.
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| Walkway at the depot. |
At this point, I hadn’t cooked for us since before April 22nd, when we spent our final time in Australia before boarding the ship to Seattle, Washington. That was 71 days ago. I have no idea if I’ll be cooking any meals during the upcoming three weeks in Nevada, but I anticipate we’ll be dining out during the majority of that period as well.
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| Miniature historical representation of Wayzata railroad. |
Don’t get me wrong. We’ve loved the time we’ve spent in Minnesota being with our family members and friends. But, six weeks is a long time living in a hotel regardless of the comfort and amenities.
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| Alternate view of the depot’s historical display. |
A month from today, we’ll be settling into a life of leisure in the upcoming rental in Costa Rica, where we’ll live for over three months. We’re not complaining. It’s all been good, better than we’d expected.
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| More history of Lake Minnetonka. |
Now, as we roll into this holiday week, we wish all of our friends/readers a safe and happy fourth of July. Be well. Be safe and be satisfied.
Photo from one year ago today, July 1, 2016:
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| Live crab in a bin in the market in Singapore, one year ago today. For more photos, please click here. |