Thursday, July 30, 2009

Two Harbors Lighthouse, Part I

We had a nice surprise. Another couple we met and had breakfast with at the bed and breakfast lived not too far from the area we were in. When they found out we were lighthouse lovers, they told us about two lighthouses that were on the way to Split Rock lighthouse. They are called "Two Harbors Lighthouses".

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Olcott House Bed and Breakfast, Duluth, Minnesota

Mark did all of the planning for the trip, only asking me here and there about some choices. He did a marvelous job with lodging choices. In Duluth we stayed Friday and Saturday nights at a bed and breakfast called the Olcott House. It was absolutely beautiful. It is ranked one of the top ten bed and breakfasts in America by Coastal Magazine. Mark chose the best suite (in my opinion), the East Wing Suite. Here is the very grand staircase that really doesn't capture all of it's beauty.Every afternoon around 5 p.m. wine and cheese (which also included other great finger foods) was served. It came in pretty handy the night we could only get a reservation for 8:30 pm!!This is only half of the living room.We actually had to use the fireplace. In July!!Entrance to the bathroom.And the lovely bedroom. This was by far the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. I woke up Saturday morning looking forward to sleeping in that bed again that night! I should have checked to see what kind of mattress it was.
We would highly recommend this place and would stay again if ever we go back to Duluth.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Fargo North Dakota and Detroit Lakes

What a great trip we had to the midwest. But it was a MESS to get there. Mark flew up a couple of days before me on business and then I was supposed to fly to meet him in Omaha. Well, I got out of Raleigh on time, only to fly into Memphis where I was going to make my connection and there was bad weather. I really think that my plane got struck by lightning during our descent too. I got there and my flight to Omaha had been cancelled. Great. So, I proceeded where they told me that the next available flight to Omaha was at 3 p.m. So, I went to the gate to verify that's where I was supposed to be. I was being routed through Houston, TX first. The ticket agent told me that my flight to Houston had been delayed and that I would not make my connection to Omaha there. So, she put me on a flight to Minneapolis and then to Fargo, North Dakota. She even bumped me to first class! That was very nice. But I would have much rather never have been delayed. I flew on four different planes to four different cities that day. I was tired and irritable by that evening. Just ask Mark! But after some sleep and a great meal at a 1920s themed Italian restaurant, I was good as new! This photo was at a train station in Fargo, North Dakota.Below is the Red River in Fargo, ND. Remember how it made the news with all of the flooding earlier this year? Here's some neat trivia: it's the only river in North America that flows north!!Then we headed to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. There were some very neat downtown shops. We ate lunch at an old timey diner that had a real soda fountain.Here's a gift shop that we got some postcards at that made an old boat into a centerpiece in the shop and the check out counter. Cool, huh?
We have so many photos that we're breaking each stopping point along the trip up into a different post.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Jenkins Family Reunion

Mark and I were fortunate enough to attend his family's first reunion---first cousins he'd never even met!! It was at his cousin's house in Nashville and it also served as a surprise 83rd birthday party for his Aunt Martha.
Here we are waiting for the guest of honor to arrive:SURPRISE!! And she was very surprised!Mark's mom (her sister in law) hadn't seen her in several years.Mark and I with our nephew Matthew:Matthew, Leslie and Mark's mom:Mark's mom and his sister, Leeanne:Mark and I with his Aunt Martha:

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Dinner Party

Recently Mark and I hosted the Dinner Club party at our home. It was a big success. We served Lasagna, Chicken Marsala and Wild Mushroom Risotto. Sides and desserts are brought by the others attending. We had 14 attend and it lasted from 6:30 until nearly 11 p.m. Really, it was uneventful (in the sense that nothing bad happened) and everyone had a blast! I had mentioned that I had a topsy turvey outside and a few ladies mentioned that they'd like to see it. So we all headed outside and then someone said "Is it okay if your cat eats that piece of bread on the ground that somebody dropped?" It occurred to me at that time that I had forgotten to feed Sprinkles. Oops. All in all, we had a great time and are really enjoying the get togethers.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Ain't he cute?

Our neighbors, Mitch and Katie along with their baby Simon, came for dinner recently. We have a lot of fun with them and share a lot of similar interests. Their baby is just so cute and well behave

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Goodbye, Old White

Recently we got rid of the car that had been through it all with us from the day we met: Old White.
Old White was 17 years old. Old enough to have applied for a driver's license and driven itself. Mark did replace it with something much newer and more reliable. We ended up donating the car to a not for profit place that takes in cats. I actually CRIED for a few minutes when the man came and hauled it away.