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| One of our picnic places |
It's good to be back home after a fun-fun-fun get-away. While exploring the backroads, nooks and niches of Northwest Iowa and Southwest Minnesota, I baptized us the modern-day Lewis and Clark. We steered our way to the many gorgeous state parks and historical sites over that way, stopping for lakeside picnics and walks on the beaches. Lady Autumn was definitely on her best behavior.
The fuzzy one that goes everywhere with us came down with an ear infection while we were gone, but we were directed to a clinic of 14 veterinarians, where a young pet doctor immediately diagnosed the problem, put ear drops in her ear, and sent a bottle with us. A senior high school student was job shadowing the veterinarian, trying to decide if he should go on to vet school or work on the family farm. I asked him if he would rather work on small animals or large ones, and he said the large farm animals because he's used to them.
I keep a handwritten journal when we travel. I write down just enough to jog my memory to the small details that otherwise like to disappear into oblivion. My trusty notebook then becomes a handy reference for blogging ideas on those mornings when my brain freezes and even coffee won't unthaw it.
Today we're off to a local self-guided artisan tour. Late Friday afternoon we took in one such self-guided art tour in the Spirit Lake area, and one of the jewelry artisans there asked us to pass on a greeting to one of the pottery artisans up here in our home neighborhood. We met some of the nicest people this past week. My husband has a Ph.D. in human friendliness, and it is through his drumming up conversations that we discover some of the neatest things. One evening we stopped at a dock where a guy and gal were fishing. Right off the bat he started a conversation with the guy. It was through their visit that we were alerted to a gold-mine steakhouse out in the middle of nowhere, where we ate our celebratory 43rd anniversary supper. (More on that in another blog.)In the days ahead I will share the highlights, tidbits about special sites and experiences, but for now I just want my followers to know I'm back and ask that you stick with me.
Ta-ta for now.
Today's trivia: Until someone finds another one, "the sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick" is the most difficult tongue twister on record.