Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Five

Beside reunions and revisiting familiar locales, a major part of this vacation getaway is to do some fishing. This is a family sport that has engaged the Rollins family at this particular lake since the 1950's. And the pleasure the lake gives seems never to disappoint.

Today, Jan, my brother Leonard, my sisters Barbara and Louise and I climbed aboard the pontoon boat kept at the landing to do some serious fishing. We had good luck. In just about 90 minutes we had caught more than a dozen pike and one bass. Contrary to our usual custom, we kept three of the larger pike to provide a supper meal.

Fishing is more than a sport; it can be a communal activity, especially when siblings get together. From catching up on what all the children and grandchildren are doing to discussing the state of American politics, the conversations never cease. The only interruption comes when there is another bite on the lure and all eyes turn to see how large (or small) is the next one to be reeled in.

Tomorrow we return to the lake for a reprise of today's adventures. Will we catch that big one that is said to be lurking in the weeds? I'll keep you posted...

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Four

It seems appropriate that as I get closer to my vacation destination the speed limits on the roads approaching get slower and slower. It seems that all systems are saying "time to slow down".
Today we drove from the 70 mph Interstate through the busy Twin Cities and on northward toward the family lake home where the speed limit is about 50 mph or less. The weather is beautiful which helps make the slowing down much easier to take.


We stopped in the Twin Cities area to have lunch with my daughter at the restaurant at which she works, a place called the Buffalo Tap. It was a great time and good food.
We arrived at the family lake in the afternoon. And it is the same peaceful place I remember. We did some fishing as soon as we could get the pontoon lauched, and found the fish willing to be caught!

In the evening, my two sisters joined us, so that the Rollins siblings are having a great reunion. The conversation is going on as I write, so this entry will be short. Tomorrow -- more fishing, and more relaxing. And I will keep you posted...

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Three

"You can't go home again." In many ways that old saw remains a truism. The house in which I was born and raised is now abandoned. The farm on which it stands still belongs to my brother, sisters and me, but no one is living there. All of us have moved on to other lives and homes.

But visiting the old homestead is a wonderful part of the annual trip. Today we made that pilgrimage and found the place to have the same emotional grip as it always has -- memories of childhood, happy times and ones not so, and a feeling that this little piece of land is a place of belonging.

We also went from there to visit my aunt who will turn 99 in September. She is my father's only sibling and is still plucky and independent. We had a good chat, viewed the pictures of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and went for a short ride to see the Veterans Monument erected by my grand nephew as his Eagle Scout project.

The day was capped with dinner with my brother, his wife, and my nephew, niece and their spouses and children. For a short time, we could celebrate this branch of my extended family. It wasn't celebrated around the old home's dining table as we used to, but it was a sense of being "home" once more.

Tomorrow we head for the family fishing lake for more reunions. And I'll keep you posted...

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day Two

The "call of the open road" is a somewhat trite phrase, yet it does describe one of the appealing aspects of auto travel in these United States. To be able to get in the car, head down the highways in whatever direction one chooses and know there will be something new to be seen is thrilling.

On this second day of this trip we left Austintown, OH a little after 7:45 a.m. and arrived in DeForest, WI a little after 4:15 p.m. Our route took us on the Ohio Turnpike, the Indiana and Illinois Tollroads, and Interstate #90 in Wisconsin. The roads were again not too crowded, the sky was alternately clear blue or scudded with the fleecy fair-weather clouds and our conversation ranged from concern about Hurricane Irene to the deplorable state of the Yankees pitching.

After arriving in DeForest we headed for the Dane County Token Creek Park for a leisurely walk on the nature trail there -- a locale we had discovered on a previous version of the annual pilgimage. With the sunshine on our backs we strolled the little boardwalk to see goldfinches and Monarch butterflies amid the wildflowers.

I'm wondering what will happen to this call of the open road when our oil supplies run out. Long-range travel in electric vehicles might become an impossiblity given the shorter life of batteries. Or maybe someone will find another source of energy for internal combustion motors and extended-range batteries. Maybe the Holiday Inn Expresses will provide outlets for overnight battery charging while you enjoy their hospitality.

Meanwhile, I'm glad to be able to answer the call of the open road. Tomorrow we arrive in Minnesota to begin the next phase of this adventure. I'll keep you posted...

Minnesota Trip 2011 - Day One

What a beautiful country is our United States, and traveling by car is just the best way to see it! Today Jan and I traveled from the rolling hills of Hunterdon County through the green fields and sun-dappled mountains of Pennsylvania into the slightly industrial zone of Ohio. The day was clear and bright, the highways were not crowded and Hurricane Irene was safely distant.

We're heading to Minnesota for our annual visit to my family's fishing lake and the awesome Minnesota State Fair. Making the trip by car adds four days to the enterprise, but the chance to take in what is the amazing variety of this country at ground level is worth it. Travel by air is okay when longer distances are involved or time is of the essence, but when I can, I like the car.

Key to the ease of travel is the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, so named because it was an idea championed by Dwight Eisenhower during his presidency. He had been impressed by the German Autobahn while serving in World War II and saw the creation of a similar network in the US not only as a means of moving troops rapidly in the event of an invasion, but also as an aid to interstate commerce. And it makes our annual trip so much better!

(I wish our present Congress and administration could envision another bold plan such as the interstate highways that would both create jobs and make this country proud of something again.)

Tomorrow we head through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois before stopping for the night in Wisconsin. More time on the Interstates and more beautiful country to see...

Day Seven - Nuremberg

After sailing overnight, the Viking Legend arrived just outside the city of Nuremberg, Germany. Many people remember Nuremberg as the city in which the Nazi party held annual mass meetings, and where were held the war trials following the end of World War II. On our bus tour, which followed breakfast, we saw the building in which the trials were held. The tour took us to the castle high above Nuremberg, fascinating in itself, but also as a vantage point to see the area which had been mostly destroyed by Allied bombing and almost miraculously rebuilt.


Our guide then led us down from the castle past the house in which the artist Albrect Durer did his work, past St. Sebaldus church, past the city hall to the main market place of the Old Town. There were stalls upon stall selling all manner of fresh vegetables and lebkuchen -- gingerbread -- a local speciality.

After lunch aboard the ship, Jan and I went back to the center of the Old Town on our own, to see the interior of St. Sebaldus church which had been badly damaged by the bombing and rebuilt after the war. It was somber to see what is the waste and suffering of war for all concerned, and to see the hope for peace the church now represents.

We then walked through more of the Old Town and the Pegnitz River which flows through it. We went outside the city walls to the Baroque Garden and returned for a cappuccino at the Nuremberg Starbucks.

Tonight we enjoyed our final dinner and began our good-byes. In the morning we leave early for the Nuremberg airport, from which we fly to Frankfurt and then back to Newark. We look forward to being back home.

Day 6 - Regensburg, Weltenburg Abbey, Kelheim

Our day began with a visit to Regensburg, a medieval town on the Danube which became famous and wealthy because the Romans built a stone bridge there -- the only one between Vienna and points north.  Then, after conquered by Napoleon, it faded into some obscurity, which is why it was not bombed during the Second World War.  So much of the charm of the medieval buildings and narrow alleys is still there to see.

After lunch we headed to the Weltenburg Abbey, a Benedictine community which had renovated its church in the High Baroque style -- much ornamentation and gold plated statues.  The community has its own brewery so we were able to have a sample of the smooth, dark beer.  It was Ascension Day which, in Germany is also Fathers Day, so there were lots of fathers celebrating in the abbey beer garden.

We then boarded a small boat to sail through the narrowest part of the Danube, appropriately called the Danube Gorge.  High cliffs on either side gave a sense of being at the Lorelei on the Rhine river.

The evening meal was the Captain's Farewell dinner.  Though we will still have one more day in Nuremburg, some of the passengers were leaving in the morning.  The dinner is capped off with Baked Alaska for dessert, introduced by as parade of the kitchen staff carrying the Baked Alaska topped with sparklers.  It's fun!  And yes, we dressed up a bit for the dinner.

Tomorrow is the last day of the trip.  We will be in Nuremburg.  So, there is yet more to come...