Vacation 2009 - Part II

After two uneventful travel days from New Jersey to Minnesota, we headed north to our place on Hammal Lake in Aitkin County. With us were my brother, Leonard, and his wife, Jolene, and my daughter, Alissa, and her husband, Allen Streitz. (Pictured above on my brother's pontoon boat is Leonard, Jan, and Allen in the back seat) We spent 2 1/2 days fishing, feasting and just relaxing.

Fishing from a pontoon boat is luxurious. It is stable, so one can stand, walk around, or sit without any threat of it tipping. One can bring extra gear, tackle and clothing without feeling crowded. The general modus operendi was to troll -- moving slowly by motor around the lake with fishing lines attached to lures and trailing behind. As a fish takes the lure, one reels it in, shows it off, removes it from the lure and returns it to the lake. This "catch and release" method maximizes the fun and minimizes the work.

Jan and I had great success. We caught and released at least 30 fish each during the 2 1/2 day period. Most were pickerel, but I caught one bass and Jan caught one perch. My biggest thrill was hooking a small pickerel and discovering, as I reeled it in, that a much larger pickerel had grabbed it. Just as I was to lift both into the boat, the smaller one shed the hook and dropped back into the lake, still firmly in the jaws of the larger one.

That part of the vacation is complete. Tomorrow -- the Minnesota State Fair!

End of a great vacation

The past two days have been spent in Yellowstone National Park. It is even more beautiful than I remember. We managed to pack the two days with a whirlwind of sights, sounds and, yes, smells.

Wednesday was largely devoted to the geysers and other volcanic-action sites -- Old Faithful, of course, but also hot springs, bubbling mud pots and vents emitting the rotten-egg smell that is a hallmark of the park. We stayed at the Canyon Lodge and joined an evening presentation in the outdoor amphitheater by a National Park ranger.

Thursday was devoted to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the amazing waterfalls, the northern Tower Fall and several trails up and down the falls areas, giving us better views of the falls action. The evening was spent on a three-hour Yellowstone bus tour watching and finding some of the wildlife that inhabit the park.

Friday is home travel. (This is the first time I am able to add to the blog. I did have Internet connection in the park using my Verizon MiFi. The speed was slow, so I devoted the time to business matters.)

After some time to organize the photos, I'll publish a link to a gallery of the trip. Stay tuned!

Some things never change

In a way, the vacation Jan and I are taking is a drive back in time. My family made several trips West, both through the Black Hills of South Dakota and to Yellowstone Park.

One of the enduring icons of South Dakota is Wall Drug, an ever-growing complex just off the highway, which has been there forever. Here are two pictures, almost 60 years apart. Wall Drug and its buffalo remain the same. In the black and white photo is my Dad holding my sister Barbara, my brother Leonard and me.

Tomorrow, Yellowstone Park!

A Wedding Meditation

Becca and Jake, it is a wonderful and special privilege to share your wedding day with you. I believe that I can speak for all of us to say that we are so glad that you found each other and are sealing that relationship today in this ceremony where we are all witnesses.

The lesson that you chose to have Sarah read [Ecclesiastes 4:9-12] says a lot about how you value each other. “Two are better than one… one will lift up the other.” The writer of Ecclesiastes was something of a pessimist – he is most remembered for writing that all is vanity and chasing the wind – there is nothing new under the sun.” Yet even he was able to see the value of a mutual relationship such as you have – that indeed, two are better than one.

My wish for you today is that you will always value that mutual relationship. The wedding ceremony that we are using has something of an odd construct: I didn’t ask “Do you take this man… do you take this woman…” Instead, I asked “Will you take this man to be your husband… will you take this woman to be your wife”. “Do” can imply a sort of passive, go-with-the-flow attitude; “will” implies a determination from within to value each other in your mutual relationship. That’s the attitude which will go a long way for making a strong marriage.

Becca, in your blog “Longhorn Lucy”, you wrote: “I am excited that I found a great man to marry, and I'm excited to see all of our hard work and planning all put together.” Jake, I would bet that you have a similar feeling about Becca. May it always be so, that your mutual hard work, that your mutual lifting each other up, that your mutual caring for each other, will always prove that “two are better than one.”

Fort Snelling: A 19th Century Frontier Outpost

We spent Friday doing some sight-seeing. Our first stop was the Fort Snelling State Park, which includes the historic fort which stood on the bluff overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The lower-level park has some beautiful walking and biking trails and a modern interpretive center/gift shop/comfort station. From there we hiked up the steep trail to the fort.

Built around 1820 the fort served as peace-keeper, commerce center and Indian affairs monitor. The restored area is well preserved and, when open, features an enthusiastic corps of docents in historical dress, many of whom address visitors in the vernacular of the period. We saw soldiers, officers, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, cooks and one schoolmarm who gave us to know why the fort was important for the settlement of the Northwest Territory. The picture shows Jan atop the round tower overlooking the parade grounds and post buildings.

Later we shifted to the 21st century for lunch at Johnny Rocket's counter at the Mall of America. We even helped the economy a bit in several of the mall stores before heading back to the hotel for a swim. The trip to Red Wing for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner completed a great day.

"Church Basement Ladies 2"

The vacation is in G-force mode. We made the trip from Newark to Minneapolis with minutes to spare as we changed planes in Chicago. The car was ready for us at the Hertz Gold Card desk after only a few minutes delay. Our room was ready at the Hampton Inn in Egan, the Internet connection was working, and we unpacked quickly so we could get on with the rest of the day.

After dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant, we picked up my daughter in Apple Valley and headed for the Plymouth Theatre for the performance of "Church Basement Ladies 2: A Second Helping". This is little theater at its best Minnesota brand of humor -- a series of vignettes in the life of the faithful kitchen crew of a little Minnesota Lutheran church, somewhere near Lake Wobegon for sure. The more you know about Minnesota, the more delicious are the jokes.

Today includes the wedding rehearsal for tomorrow's big day. More to come...

On the road again

Tomorrow morning we launch for our next little vacation which will take us first to St. Paul, MN where I will preside at the wedding of my niece, Rebecca, as she becomes Mrs. Jake Good. This will be the second niece's wedding in as many years, an honor I did not anticipate, but one I thoroughly enjoy.

After the wedding on Saturday, July 11, the following day will be spent catching up with family news -- from my sister, the mother of the bride, my brother, second sister and many of their families' members who will be attending. On Monday, we head for South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, on Tuesday we drive on to Cody, WY, and Wednesday we reach Yellowstone Park. On Friday we fly back to New Jersey.

On this trip I am taking not only the laptop but also my Verizon "MiFi" which is supposed to connect me to the Verizon 3G network wherever such is available. All readers will be the first to know if this works as promised.

More to come...