Bemidji

Yay!  The first Sunday of our trip, we got to drive up to Greg's hometown, Bemidji.

It's a beautiful city and the drive there is beautiful, too.

We started out by taking some photos in front of the lake so

I could send them to my students.  Their behavior is often worse

when I'm gone, so I like to reassure them that I still exist and I'm planning to come back.

During the photo shoot, my brother appeared suddenly, and picked me up.

He raced down the hill and pretended he was going to throw me in the lake - eek!

Until I remembered that no one lives across the lake

and there was no one at the bottom of the hill, I was a wee bit concerned

that my undies were on display.  At least they were pretty!

Then we headed out.

There are lakes and ponds and marshes everywhere in Minnesota.

It's gorgeous.

We enjoyed the drive.

Once we arrived, we stopped to get a birthday card for Greg's Grandma, and then

we went straight to the park where the party was being held.

We discovered later that the part is named "Diamond Point Park" because

people used to search for diamonds on this little peninsula that pokes out into Lake Bemidji. 

There were huge trees everywhere.

The birch trees were peeling.

And the cute little building where our lunch was held was right next to the lake!

Greg's sister, Jenny, and his Mom decorated the party room

in pinks and purples, Grandma's favorite colors.

Nice job, ladies!

When we first arrived, there was a bit of chatting and catching up.

It had been a number of years since everyone was all together.

Greg's cousin Barb, and her Mom, Marj, took care of the food.

It was delicious and simple and fresh.

They are great at preparing things for a crowd!

Some other family members are gluten-free, too, so there were even

gluten-free buns!

I had a gluten-free bun (Schar, I believe), potato chips,

olives, blueberries, grapes, cucumber, watermelon, and carrots.

Later, I even had some gluten-free, dairy-free cake (it may have had eggs in it, 

but I decided to take the risk).

clockwise from left to right:

me

Greg's cousin's son, Brandon (a lovely young man!)

Greg's uncle's grandson

Greg's cousin McKenna

red-head at far left-hand side of table, Amanda, Greg's cousin

standing man, Greg's uncle Mark

right-hand side behind Greg: Greg's cousin Cameron

Greg

I assume Greg was focusing on getting us all in the photo, 

so he didn't have the extra brainpower to smile.

Here's a smiling one (perhaps I got up to do a weird little dance to make everyone smile?)

Here I am, chatting with Aunt Susie while Marj and Barb clean up.

I got up soon after this to help, but Susie's interesting life distracted me

and I didn't notice the work going on around me.  Whoops!

Notice my lack of shoes.  One of the many wonderful things about this indoor/outdoor venue was that shoes were optional!

Susie and Grandma had time to chat, too.

Greg's cousins Blair, Cameron, McKenna

Greg's sister, Grandma, Greg's Mom

We took some whole-family photos, too.

Greg played cards. 

Grandma won! 

I had a chance to hand-deliver the card we bought for Grandma.

This card made me laugh and laugh.

Ahahahah!  "BIRDS fail me!"  

Greg's sister wanted some photos of us.

Sometimes I do something weird in photos.

Of course, I couldn't stay away from the water!

The seaweed was soft and feathery.

I love the patterns and textures the water makes.

Greg and I walked around by the lakeshore.

This poor little guy was only half there!

Greg is very good at getting dragonflies to sit still for him.

I found this fallen tree, half in the water.

Of course, I had to climb on it!

I found many teensy little seashells.

I even found these little seed "cucumbers" on a tree!

At an appropriate time, we went downtown (near a different part of the lake)

to see Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox, and also to get dinner at Giovanni's.

Pretty much every photo we've ever taken with Paul and Babe has been hideous.

This year's aren't great, but they are at least post-able.

The sun was going right in our eyes,

and I have squeezed mine shut for safety. 

Bemidji is an art-appreciating city, and there are creative installations all over town.

Then we headed over to Giovanni's for some yummy pizza!

It's Greg's favorite pizza in the world.

There is something special about their gluten-free crust, I admit!

And the sauce is just the right mix of tangy and sweet.

Plus, they certainly pile on the toppings!!!

We approve!

After that, we drove back to my parents' cabin, enjoying the scenery all the way!

Minnesota Trip

There's the famous Sky Harbor airplane carpet!

Here are some snacks I took . . . 

Blueberry chocolate chip pancakes.

Potato rounds.

Almonds & dried cranberries.

I always think hard about what to wear when traveling.

This time, I decided on my new striped blouse from Target

and a black skirt.

The flight was pretty easy, but I was extra queasy and hot.

The staff didn't turn on the air conditioner or fans until we were in the air, and when it's

above 100 outside, it's not very nice in a crowded plane.

Something happened as far as luggage, too, and we waited an entire hour

for it to arrive.  The area near the luggage carousel was crowded and also hot,

so, thankfully, Greg was fine and was able to wait there and keep an eye on things while I took some time to sit down and drink a bunch of water.  

Thanks to my parents for picking us up!

Once we got to my parents' house, I had a snack and more to drink, and

I soon felt a lot better.

I love the photos on the wall in my parents' hallway.

We exploded a bit once we got there.

We needed to move some stuff around before heading to my parents' cabin the following day.

My sweet Mom had bought me a beautiful cactus vase!

So I wouldn't feel lonesome for Arizona.  My heart got bigger and bigger.

She also saved me this coffee cup guard, featuring the "duck, duck, gray duck"

theme that I love (and that's unique to Minnesota - and it's probably more authentic than the 

"duck, duck, goose" that the rest of the country uses!)

We went to Chipotle for dinner.

It's easy to eat gluten-free and vegan there! 

Later that evening, we watched HGTV and enjoyed chatting and relaxing.

The next morning, we headed out around midday for lunch and a nice drive to the cabin.

Here's what I wore:

We packed up both cars (my parents generously let us borrow one of their cars for our adventures)

with food and gifts (for our faux-birthday party!)

See you soon, Mom!

We had lunch at Davanni's.

One of the easiest places for me to eat is a place that has gluten-free pizza crusts (hopefully without eggs and dairy, too), then put on only vegan toppings.

We were happy together.

And here's my pizza!

pineapple

onion

mushroom

green olives

black olives

And then we drove off again, to go to my parents' cabin.

We drove by the Space Aliens restaurant.

I appreciated the beautiful fluffy clouds against the blue sky.

I think the freeway walls are pretty, too.

The shadows on these towers make them look wobbly!

Here's a typical Minnesota farm.

We were headed to Sauk Centre.

Here's the main church in town.

When we arrived, all the special food my parents had bought for me was 

on the dresser.  Sparkling water was even in the fridge already!

My parents truly think of others all the time.

Then I made dinner!

I tried to make my favorite lentil turmeric pasta casserole,

but it didn't turn out quite right.

I also made walnut black bean burgers, which turned out great!

We added grapes and watermelon.

It was a pretty good meal!

Yum!

More yum!

Later that evening, my brother (Mark), his wife (Jillian), 

and their two precious girls, Cora & Esme, arrived at the cabin.

Hooray!

My Dad and I played in the water a bit with Cora.

Mark & Jillian had brought a new mattress topper, and we experimented

with bouncing on it.

We appreciated the gorgeous creation all around us.

In the next post . . . BEMIDJI!