Sunday, May 29, 2011

Greetings, Blog Buddies!

This is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota
that I mentioned in the last Blog edition.
The whole outer facade of this building is made
with corn. . . the cob, the kernals, colored ears
of corn...all that have been dried and stored just
for the Corn Palace.  The design is changed twice
a year.  It's really amazing. . . and not corny at all!

We arrived here in Elysian, MN on Friday afternoon.
When we opened the front door of Teri & Bob's house,
not only were we greeted by them, but Teri's sister from
Pittsburg was there, their oldest Son, Greg and his
family from Los Angeles were here, as well as their son
Jon, daughter-in-law Jody & granddaughter, Esme, were
here, too.  (They live near here in Waseca, MN).  It really
was fun to ge in on their visits here.

Yesterday we traveled to Minneapolis and to the airport
to get Greg & family and Andrea there on time to catch their

flights home.  We had some time to kill between flight times,

and decided to head over to the Mall of America.  Below are a couple

pictures from the sights we saw within the Mall.

All the gumballs & candies you could ask for!  

This big guy was on display at the LEGO store in the Mall.

(Took this especially for Grandson Andrey & Son Jeff!!)



Believe it or not there's a HUGE ferris wheel

in the middle of the Mall of America!!



Today we joined Teri & Bob at their church, followed by
lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Waseca.  Especially
enjoyable since we had not had any Mexican food in over
2 weeks!  It really "hit the spot" as the saying goes.

Almost forgot...how could I???  Yesterday on the way back from Minneapolis,

Teri & I had to pull off the Interstate as we began hearing the

sirens sounding for Severe Weather Warning.  The rain was

incessant, turned into hail and somewhere out there beyond

where we sat in the Target parking lot waiting for the storm

to pass over, it must have gotten somewhat ugly!  Nothing like

these Minnesota storms to keep us on our toes! What a great

way to get the Adrenaline flowing Ha!

This afternoon, between the four of us we have been catching up on our emails,

watching Indy 500, downloading/uploading pictures, writing a blog, watching

boaters go by on the lake out the front window, eating fresh-baked chocolate chip

cookies and just plain old having a relaxing afternoon!  It's a rare occasion that

any of the 4 of us find time to do all of the above on any given day! 

Pearces and we will be hooking up our trailers on Tuesday or

Wednesday when we will travel to Lanesboro MN to camp

overnight there while Teri & Bob travel on to Chicago to attend

a graduation.  When they return the next day to Lanesboro, we'll

all head west toward the Black Hills and beyond.

Well, that's more than enought for today's Blog.  Hope you find/found this rendition enjoyable. 

Until next time . . . .

D & T

Thursday, May 26th, 2011 - At the laundromat!!

Hello again!

FINALLY figured how to get these blogs sent out to you, so now can get busy and catch you up on our travels.

First of all, several of you have called us sharing your concern for our well-being, in light of the severe storms and tornadoes here in the Mid-West.  We want to assure you that, to date, we have been quite safe and unaffected from the weather systems pounding Oklahoma, Kansas and beyond.  While we have experienced small amounts of rain at times, for the most part God has given us sunshine and blue skies and white clouds under which to travel.  We have had more than our fair share of windy weather, however.  In talking with "locals" where we have traveled, we learned that wind is normal for this part of the country.  Tom didn't remember that part of growing up in Columbus Nebraska!  Kids just play and have fun, don't think about the windy weather, I guess!!

When we last left you in Holbrook, AZ, we were hunkering down for the night and then heading east on Highway 40 to Tijeras, NM, just east of Albuquerque NM.  Once settled in in the camp spot, we drove just a mere few miles to Mike & BJ Zimprich's home there.  Mike and Tom, along with Larry & Jack, are OLD friends from way back when...Mike & Tom beginning in 4th grade and all the way through college graduation at Cal Poly, Pomona in 1966.  Over the years, they all "lost touch" with each other.  Then, last year they all found each other again.

We had a delightful visit with Mike & BJ in their absolutely lovely pueblo-style home.  And, oh my!  The reminiscing that went on was never-ending.  Thank you Mike & BJ for dinner and a  great evening of chatter!

Until yesterday, we have "one-nighted" it in each stop that we have made.  Here, we are staying 2 nights for an extra day of rest.  We've averaged about 250 or so miles each day so far.  

A few highlights include the Pioneer Village in Minded NE (just across the border from Kansas).  While I am not a person who enjoys museums very much, THIS one is a must for any of  you who might travel this direction in the future.  I actually was in awe of the fabulous collections of Americana at this place.  Old cars...close to 300 in pristine condition from the 20's forward.  Old sewing machines, washing machines, refrigerators, irons, oil lamps, ladies' dresses, airplanes, fire trucks, you name it!  The collections are housed in 26 different buildings.  There's an old schoolhouse completely furnished, general store, church, etc.  Needless to say this was time well-spent for both of us.


On thru Waco NE overnight.  Visited the place of Tom's birth and first 8 years...Columbus NE.  Visited with a long long long-time friend of Sis Nancy's from her high school days there.  2 nights ago we hotelled it in Yankton SD, and here we are in Mitchell overlooking Lake Mitchell from our campsight.

As I write, we are at the laundromat giving our clothes a fresh outlook on their lives!!  Later, we'll visit the Corn Palace (look it up on the internet for more info.) and this afternoon relaxation.


Tomorrow we will reach our destination after about a 200 mile or so drive to Elysian MN where Teri & Bob say they are anxiously awaiting our arrival.

So, there ends this edition of the T&D Travels saga.  Take care.

DAY 2 IN ARIZONA

Well, here we are settled in Holbrook Arizona campground for the night. 

We spent last night in Bullhead City Arizona where we spent a great evening visiting Tom's sister, Pat,  & Bill and our niece, Sally, was there too.  We had more fun reminiscing about old times in the Swanson family.

We left there at 8:30 this morning and had a most adventurous 260 miles, or so, trip here today.  The storm that came through at home last weekend played cat & mouse with us all the way here today.  Rain, rain, wind, wind, wind, wind and more wind.  About 10 miles west of Williams (where you turn off for Grand Canyon) we watched the rain turn into fresh snow.  We stopped there for lunch and trekked about 1 1/2 blocks to cafe from where we could find a parking space long enough for our rig.

We just walked to a little store about 5 minutes from here and got winded and rained on all the way back...our umbrellas turned inside out from the strong winds.

So now, we're ready to pour the wine and feed our bodies and hunker down for the night.  Until next time . . .