Everywhere you look...this is the scene.
My spot in the MN Airstream Park in Clear Lake, MN.
Dave enjoying playing his piano...old hymns from the Baptist Hymnal are his favorites.
Gardens in St. Cloud, MN
Hydrangeas...Vannie said she remembered blue and pink ones next to her
house in Bernice...Nice
John and Ann...new friends that have a camper in the park. They are from Texas,
so I think our paths will cross again.
The ultimate popover! This was one piece before Vannie broke it apart.
An old friend...The Mississippi River.
Pearl River Church Festival
Vannie had hoped for a winning number during the cake walk...no such luck.
No wins in Bingo either!
Cooking right next to the corn field!
My wheels
are still. My body is quite. I’m resting
and recouping at the Minnesota Airstream Park in Clear Lake, MN. It is about 30 minutes from St. Cloud. We came here to spend a week, but that week
has gone into two weeks. It is so pleasant…quite,
cool, shady, and just airstreams. Yep…I’m lovin’ meeting new folks…the Internationals,
the Sovereigns, the Classics, the Flying Clouds. Just plain fun!
The park is
arranged in circles. There is circle A, B, C, and D. Each circle has a commons area in the middle
for get-togethers. There is a swimming
pool, laundry, and clubhouse…and if you stay long enough, you can rent a garden
plot and grow your own veggies. Each
airstream spot has a screen room. Some
people own here and some, like us, rent by the day or longer. One thing I was surprised about is the
mosquitoes. Vannie says she thinks that
they are worse than the mosquitoes in Louisiana. I know that is hard to believe, but it’s
true. I’m sure glad they can’t get their
little stingers in me. I’m so tired of
seeing V and D itchin’ and scratchin’ and swattin’ and slappin’. The
maintenance guy sprays twice a week to try to keep them in check.
Vannie and
Dave will hardly admit it, but they are enjoying the down time, too. They have been so darn busy for months that
this will recharge their motors. Vannie
has done some sewing, reading, cooking, walking, and talking on the phone. Dave has played his piano, fixed a leak in my
roof, put up a new towel rack in the kitchen, cleaned out his sock drawer,
finished his book, took naps, and took naps, and took naps. Vannie even got out the Skip-Bo cards. Dave is really not a card player, but he has
actually played several games just to satisfy Vannie. The TV reception is not too good here, so I’m
thinking Vannie might pull out the Rumi-Cube next. Dave might go screaming down the road if that
happens.
One day last
week, D and V left me here talking to my neighbors, and they headed out to St.
Cloud to visit some gardens…the Munsinger & Clemens Gardens. John and Ann Joyner from Texas, who have a
place in the airstream park, invited D and V to go with them. The Clemens gardens include a rose garden, a
rest area garden, a formal garden, a perennial garden, and a treillage garden. Just down the hill from these gardens are the
Munsinger Gardens. They include paths,
ponds, fountains, plants…all nestled along the banks of the Mississippi
River. We had lunch afterwards in a
restaurant overlooking the river. The
restaurant featured a huge roll called a popover. Vannie said it was larapin.
Sunday D and
V were off to the races (not literally).
I thought they were supposed to be resting. Oh well…I am not moving from this place until
next Monday. They can go and go and go
and wear themselves out…but I am going to be rested when it’s time to leave. Dave had read in the paper about the Pearl
Lake Festival in, where else, Pearl Lake.
It was sponsored by the Holy Cross Catholic Church of Pearl Lake. The first activity on the list for Sunday was
“polka mass with Laverne and the Starlites.”
Well…you can see why they were off to the races. Dave could hardly wait to experience
this. Vannie said it was out in the
middle of a bunch of corn fields. They
arrived just in time for the mass. It
was outside under a tent, and Laverne and the Starlites were on stage. Dave said it was better than he could have
imagined…a polka mass…just never know what you are going to fine in this good
ole US of A. On the lunch menu was
grilled pork chops with fresh sweet corn or hamburgers and beer. There was bingo, BB gun shoot, silent
auction, country store and cake walk. I
think this is the kinds of events that V and D like best. They talked way into the night about the
people they saw, the songs they sang, the salsa they bought, the food they ate,
and the cake they wanted (but didn’t win).
Resting and
Recouping is not a bad thing…it’s a must!
