Minnesota Trip - Day Ten and Home

(High Bridge, NJ - July 5, 2008) The final two days of the Minnesota trip were spent on the highways. The long trip wasn't difficult with two drivers -- Jan and I drove two-hour shifts. The weather was fine throughout, with only a few sprinkles on Saturday.

The Fourth of July was celebrated by watching three different televised fireworks displays -- from Washington, DC to New York to Boston. It amazed me to see the variation in the different locales, as though each region had its own theory as to what was an appropriate display.

The trip as a whole resulted in some good images which can be seen by clicking here. The pictures are fairly large, so be patient as they download.

This will complete the chronicle of this journey, but likely there will be occasional posts in the future.

Minnesota Trip - Day Nine

(LaPorte, IN - July 3, 2008) The journey home began this morning in Eagan, MN and ended tonight in LaPorte, IN where fireworks are being set off outside our hotel as I write.

Until we got to Chicago, the travel was fun and easy. We traveled through rolling countryside with crops growing and livestock dotting the fields. The trip around Chicago was grueling, partly because it was rush hour and the start of a long weekend, and partly because the Illinois Division of Highways conspired to create several long stretches of detours around construction.

We're grateful for a good night's rest and an Independence Day to celebrate tomorrow.

More to come....

Minnesota Trip - Days Five - Eight

(Eagan, MN - July 2, 2008) The days spent at the family lake house on Hammal Lake near Aitken, MN were great -- great weather, great fishing, great relaxation. We calculate that Jan and I caught at least 3 dozen fish, mostly Northern pike ranging from small to medium size. And each of us caught one bass which I am proudly holding.

When not fishing, we spent time enjoying the house (really a 50' house trailer) to which niece Heather and her husband Kyle recently added new carpeting and flooring in the kitchen/dining area.

Today we returned from the woods and spent a little time with brother Leonard and his wife, Jolene, at Hayfield, and back to Eagan in time to take my daughter Alissa to dinner at Luci Ancora in the Highland Park section of St. Paul. It was a terrific meal!

Tomorrow the trip back to New Jersey begins. More will follow...