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.
Yes, this 1970s restaurant with the disco ball in the background with a group of red hat ladies society meeting under it, is Warren Buffet's favorite restaurant. Pictures of him are in excess in the entry. It provided a lot of laughter while we were there. It was the most bizarre meal I've ever eaten. It have like six courses, but was food that TOTALLY did not go together. For instance, first a salad, then spaghetti...which they called something else, then a boiled vegetable, then the entree (steak, of course. You can't so to Omaha and not eat steak). I listened to other people order and I think I was the only person on that side of the restaurant that wanted a medium well. Everyone was ordering rare, medium rare. Ick. 
And Maggie Moo's for dessert. I did get the low fat stuff and it wasn't nearly as good. 
A couple of shots from Iowa and the Teletubbies hill. These wind turbines were everywhere!!!
A-ha! There's another sign anyway. This mall had all of the usual stores, chains, but the difference was the it really had ALL of them in one place. Sometimes more than just one. And it was crowded like you wouldn't believe.
I was most surprised to walk through and find this:
What is it, you ask? Why, it's an amusement park in the middle of the mall. That's right! It was ENORMOUS. 
Here's a closer look:
Whew! We finally made it.
I had to scold Mark for vandalizing the property and then putting his name under it. LOL No, really he didn't do that. But we thought it was funny that his name was written under the window. Therefore, he was obligated to stand beside it while I photographed him.
But of course we wanted to get that beautiful classic shot of the lighthouse from the bottom of the cliff, on the lake shore. So we walked down a long path.
For a great picture of this:
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.
Mark and I with our nephew Matthew:
Posts
