Our 2010 Auto Trip; Part II, Days 4, 5, & 6

Corn Capital of the World; 28 June 2010 --

General Introduction: First, Grumpy wants to assure all readers that the Grand Mother and he have not been on any wild binge, or wrecked in some nondescript ditch along the way! No, instead we experienced our first violent Midwest electrical storm late Saturday afternoon after we arrived here in this beautifully-green part of Minnesota. Immediately after arriving, we spent several hours visiting Margaret at her apartment. When it came time for the evening meal, the Grand Mother and Grumpy left for our motel at (where else?) the Sheep Shedde! Upon getting to our room and turning on the laptop to begin the reporting of our trip thus far, Grumpy discovered that the INTERNET was unavailable! The electrical storm had knocked out this vital link in communicating our adventures. Since the next day was Sunday, the INTERNET remained unavailable at Margaret's apartment as well as at the Sheep Shedde until sometime late Monday afternoon (Day 6).

Day 4: Today, Saturday, was a short travel day, involving about 200 miles from Moorhead MN down to Olivia. We arrived at Margaret's at about 1100, in time to have lunch with her. We were happy to note that she was able to walk (with the steadying support of a wheeled walker) from her room to the dining area. Naturally, a few sisterly hugs were in order when the two "girls" saw each other after a separation of about two years.

Day 5: After an early breakfast at our motel, the Grand Mother and Grumpy attended a church service at Emden Christian Reformed Church, where we met three families with the common ancestral name of Groen (Roger, Harold and ??). The service included congregational singing of long familiar tunes, such as Shine Jeus Shine. Although the liturgy was not formal, like the Anglican or Lutheran services with which we were both familiar, but the Biblical foundation was there in both the readings and the sermon. And the services were held in English, although it was apparent that most of the members were of Swedish descent.

 

After church services, we went back to Margaret's apartment and spent the rest of the day visiting and taking more photographs, as well as showing off photos of our Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.

Day 6: Today being Monday, Grumpy was looking forward to finally being able to access the INTERNET so he could post to his BLOG! Alas, several tries at Margaret's apartment revealed that it was still not available.

But the sisterly visiting was not hindered in the least! Meanwhile, Grumpy persevered with occasional cat naps and exploring the facility where Margaret lived -- he "discovered" all of the men's restrooms!!

For lunch, the Grand Mother and Grumpy drove back to Olivia to eat at the Chatterbox Cafe -- Garrison Keillor fans will recollect the stories about the Chatterbox, with the Norwegian bachelor farmers sitting around drinking coffee and chewing "snoose" -- Grumpy is here to let you all know that nothing has changed!

After many tearful and lingering "goodbyes", we returned to the Sheep Shedde for a good night's sleep before venturing forth early the next morning for Day 7 of our 2010 travels.

Watch this space for the next chapter in the travels and travails of the Grand Mother and her post-juvenile delinquent escort, Grumpy.