Photo by Kathy
Minneopa Park Photo by Kathy |
Nancy Murdock Our original plan was to leave for MN on the 14th of September. But Darrel, who has become an authority on gauging the weather and calendar for optimal travel results, asked us to come a week later. His main concern was the fall color, which he said would get better as the month increased. Although the waterfalls of MN and its neighbors are a major part of Darrel’s entertainment, fall color is also an important interest. On his website, he has a whole section dedicated to “Fall Color in the Midwest.” The journey began with Colleen McKay’s assistance in forming a viable trip plan. We had loads of points for airplane tickets with American Airlines. The only available AA freebie seats from Baltimore to Minneapolis-St. Paul were on a flight out of Reagan National Airport through O’Hare at Chicago, to MSP. Colleen suggested a shuttle to Reagan and volunteered to pick us up on our return trip, when she would be back from her trip of that week. She reminded us to get the shuttle well ahead of flight time, lined out our instructions for getting picked up, and gave us a cost analysis for choosing this plan over driving down and parking for 11 days. What a gal! Starting the Journey We enjoyed our shuttle trip, the only passengers in a van with a friendly, philosophical driver. At the airport, we were able to get wheelchairs and enjoyed the easy shot through Security. Then we settled down for a long wait, which got longer and longer. After an extra hour, we got an announcement that we were delayed because of bad weather, a possible tornado, over Chicago. Interestingly, the TV didn’t seem to have the same weather report. However, a fellow passenger did hear from a relative in Chicago that it was raining very heavily. After another three quarters of an hour, they announced we would be boarding now. Before we could cheer, though, they said we would not be flying yet. They needed to clear out the waiting rooms, so we would board a plane which would be taxied to another area of the airport, where we would wait for better weather in Chicago. I began to wonder if I had brought enough books to get me even to MSP. Sidelined We did eventually get airborne, but we didn’t have enough fuel to carry us to Chicago after our leisurely trip, so we headed for Detroit. They announced that they had run out of water and food for us, since the flight was not supposed to take so long. Eventually, we did get to fly to Chicago, where we exited the plane to Confusion Plus. Since all of the planes going into or out of Chicago had been held up for hours, we were part of a large, leaderless mass trying to find our next step. It was like a movie where the person goes through meaningless, endless meandering, searching for an undefined ending. About an hour and a half later, after many false tries, we got wheelchairs and helpers, who finally found someone who could give us real information. Our bags had already been organized and would arrive at MSP the next day. The airline had us scheduled for a flight in the late morning. Although they took no responsibility for weather and said they would not put us up, they did give us a voucher so we could get a room at a Holiday Inn for $53. We gave up on finding anything to eat. In the whole journey so far, we had eaten nothing but a cup of ice cream at Reagan and a bag of snacks on the plane. But at least we would have a place to sleep, in spite of the lack of rooms in the vicinity of the airport. At midnight we called Darrel to let him know we would not be arriving until the next day. We went outside with our carry-on bags and ran into more trouble. One helper went to find how to get a ride to the motel. Several Holiday Inn shuttles came by, but none for the direction we needed to go. We later found that they had a new van with no lettering, so we had no way to know who they were or where they were going. And they never stopped near enough for us to ask. But the helper did get us a taxi. Thinking we were nearly there, we were surprised to find ourselves being driven through strange areas, praying for safety. We finally turned off the road, went under what looked like a viaduct, and drove along a sort of hidden street. I was gripping Bob’s hand hard, hoping we weren’t going to our doom. But we did end up at the motel. Then we were asked for $56 cab fare, which included a 20% tip the driver had added, we discovered later. The next morning we made up for our skimpy feedings the day before by ordering a huge breakfast - all in time to leave on the free, unnamed shuttle. The trip to MSP was much more sane, and it was a huge relief to find ourselves hugging Darrel and getting introduced to his friend Kathy. Minneopa Falls We were whisked off to Mankato in a comfortable car Darrel (a dedicated truck owner) had rented, to visit with Rickey, Deanna, and the children. Rickey and Deanna had rented a two bedroom motel suite, with enough space for us all to visit. This turned out to be a great idea. After we had a few minutes to meet everyone, we all went to Minneopa State Park, where we got our first view of one of what we think of as Darrel’s waterfalls. Four generations of us tramped around the place. Even with a little rain, it was very clean and pleasant, and a far cry from sitting in an airplane for hours with no food. Tanaya (age 8), Daniel (age 5), and Jack (3) found a room with some nature exhibits and looked carefully at each snakeskin and mouse skull. One-year-old Trinity, in her nice carriage, did her share of making the most of being in a new, outdoor place. She was very interested in the falls and wanted to explore everything. When it got really dark, we went back to the motel to visit. Rickey volunteered to go for dinner, and we suggested a variety of items. I guess he got most of them, as we happily finished the last salad four days later. It was a nice, relaxed chance to get acquainted with Deanna, Tanaya, Daniel, Jack, and Trinity, and to visit with Rickey (other than by phone) for the first time in six years. He has a very nice family, and we really enjoyed each of them. The North Shore of Lake Superior On Sunday Darrel introduced us to the fall colors and waterfalls of the areas that tended to turn color soonest. We took way too many photos, of course! Who can resist an orange tree or a red tree or a yellow tree? Or maybe a combination of several colors. He explained the way the various portions of the landscape turned at different times. He pointed out that in some areas the understory contained a lot of crimson, while the taller trees like maples were sporting golds. We had a lot of fun on our stops. I would see how long I could go without grabbing the crutches. Darrel and Kathy laughed to see the two of us oldsters climb over fences. Kathy got a picture the first time she spotted this. I had to develop a method that worked without getting us caught uncomfortably straddling the fence. It worked better to put one leg over, bend down so the top half of the body was parallel to the ground, easily slip the other leg over, and then straighten up. It worked every time! I’m still not sure why it was so much better. It was invigorating to see Darrel get excited about each falls, since he knew their little idiosyncracies and where best to walk near them for good viewing. We found that some were very shallow falls, making a leisure trip down the way, while others were steep falls with rushing water. It was a good day, and we even enjoyed our lunch stop. We stayed only a little while in each spot, since Darrel and Kathy had planned a full list of special places to share. Bob has the flyers from Jay Cooke State Park and Gooseberry State Park on that day. By the time we got home, it was quite dark and late enough that we were all ready to wind down. |
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Nancy Murdock In a phone call to set up a visit with Jason, Darrel’s older son, he chose to go to the Science Museum, which he recalled enjoying with us many years ago. This time they were offering a much-touted show , “Bodyworks,” that Jason and his fiancée Bevin were eager to see. They picked us up at Darrel’s, and after we all met Bev, hugged, and took pictures of the three generations (and one more on its way), we got into Jason’s car and he started to pull out from the curb. Two young men across the street smiled, signaled, and came running over. They asked Jason if he would like to earn $20 for five minutes of work. Jason hesitated a few seconds, then parked the car and walked across the street as we three cheered him on. It turned out they had a bay window that was just too heavy for the two of them. So Jason got his shoulder under it with them, and it went into position and got locked down. In five minutes or less, he was back at the car, putting the $20 into his wallet. What a great way to start the evening! We found the Science Museum easily and located the Bodyworks exhibit. The museum lent me a wheelchair and took charge of my crutches, so I was set for a very comfortable evening, with the two young ones driving me around to each section of the exhibit. It was a really unusual one, a little gruesome until we got used to it, especially when we learned it was portions of real bodies displayed in strange ways. We learned at the end that people had donated their bodies for this “plastination.” The various systems of the body had been plastinated and were displayed in cutaways so that we could see how they worked. Printed explanations of the systems helped clue us in to what we were seeing. They also had a separate exhibit of some preserved fetuses at various stages, which Bev was particularly interested in. Their daughter Olivia is due in a few months, and Bev liked tracing her development. These exhibits were a gift from a teaching hospital that no longer needed them, and they looked like the ones we had seen in a Chicago museum in the early 50s. It was a very instructive and fascinating evening, with some levity to start it off. We were pleased to note that Jason was a very competent driver who fortunately had a good sense of direction. It was also a joy to see his little family and hear their plans. He owns a house now but hopes to sell this one within two years, and get one with a larger property. If you get a chance to see “Bodyworks” anywhere, we recommend that you seize the opportunity. Just don’t plan to dash through it in fifteen minutes, though! |
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Nancy Murdock Monday and Tuesday of our Minnesota vacation, the focus was on Roy. We were all delighted to see him in good shape and full of energy to see the sights. One day Darrel, who had to work that week, was able to join us for lunch at an excellent Old Country Buffet, where everything I chose for lunch was tasty. And the staff was wonderful to us, even kindly taking our group picture. We spent one of the days with Roy on a merry round of documenting all the schools Roy had attended: Sunny Hollow Elementary, Carl Sandburg Junior High School (now Carl Sandburg Middle School), Cooper High School, and Armstrong High School. We also found the two houses where we had lived (1920 Zealand Ave. in Golden Valley, and 8733 30th Ave. N. in New Hope). Everything looked very different with all the trees grown so tall, new paint jobs in different colors, etc. Actually, nothing looked the same, and we had to search hard for the way to the high schools. There are now houses where open space was the norm in the 60s, and new roads have been built and old roads rerouted. Roy also found the McDonald’s in Golden Valley where he had his first paid job, and the New Hope site of his first job in the steel industry. He is now the Purchasing Manager for Lozier Corp., whose headquarters are in Omaha, NB. During our jaunts, he had to conduct some business about a delivery of steel from Japan that had not arrived as expected. We also toured the center of Minneapolis, and ate dinner one evening at an upscale restaurant suggested by the owner of a coffee shop where we had stopped one afternoon. For the other evening, Bob and I were particularly pleased that Roy wanted to go to the Minneapolis Museum of Art. Since he was short of time, needing to eat dinner with his mother-in-law at her assisted living place, we asked what he was particularly interested in. We were very pleased when he chose Impressionism. I gave him a very brief tour of the various paintings, describing the artists’ specialties, etc. I really enjoyed visiting some of my favorites from the years I studied art history at the University of MN. We were very glad for the time to talk with Roy about his job and his leisure activities. He is very high on the list of international chess players on an Internet site. He is also an avid golfer. And he has recently been given a clean bill of health by his doctor. So now Mom and Dad can rest easy about our oldest son and sit back to remember those fun times not only on this trip but also in the past. Click here for our photojournal of Roy’s tour of the Twin Cities. |
Lighthouse Photo by Kathy
Bond Falls |
Nancy Murdock It was my turn to rent a car for the second trip, so I shared in the driving also. I didn’t have to worry about going wrong, because Kathy was the designated navigator for both trips. Darrel and Kathy have a clear idea of whose strengths are the best for each task, and they are pros at touring the state parks. The intervening week had given the South Shore area time to catch up to our first route in color displays. More photos, of course! What also interested us was seeing the remains of former big industries, such as iron mining and lumber. There were carefully stacked tree trunks in neat arrays, and rusting barges for transporting the iron ore. There is now only a small remnant of the actual businesses that previously drove the economy in that region. The one spot I didn’t want to miss was that great icon, the lighthouse up by Duluth. I finally got to see it in the real, not just in photos. Of course, my photos were not equal to those we had from Darrel and Kathy. I can now see the reason for buying better photographic equipment. The waterfalls on this trip tended, as I recall, to be even bigger than the earlier ones. We got to see some great views! But I may be rearranging them in my memory, since we saw so many great places in all. This second trip was special in another way. It covered two days and three states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. It seemed strange to be in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Until this vacation, to the best of our knowledge, we had never been in Michigan! But on this vacation we first landed in Detroit to refuel the airplane on our way to Chicago, and then traveled around at ground level for Day Two of our South Shore trip. The natives were truly kind and helpful. I had foolishly left my spare camera battery at home, and when I asked about one in a large supermarket, a clerk led me to an arrangement of various camera batteries and even looked through them with me. She seemed truly sorry that they were out of the one I needed. However, as we were driving along later, Kathy said to Darrel, “There might be some at the store that has everything! Why don’t you go back and stop there?” Lo and behold, she was right on the money! It was just a little place, not near anything else, that catered to tourists. I saw plenty of soft drinks and candy bars as I went in. But the man found me a battery that did the trick! In fact, I even put it in the camera inside the store, to be sure it would work and I wouldn’t need to choose another one. I made sure he knew I would pay anyway. At this point, price was no object. I had been without camera capability for more than half a day and was a prime example of why this little store was able to stay in business. I thanked God for both the store owners and Kathy. We stayed at a motel Darrel and Kathy had enjoyed on some of their trips. The room was very large and had pretty much everything we needed. They said it was a lot better than the tent they used on their first forays. Bob and I were assured it was also near a good place for a very filling, tasty breakfast. And it was in Ironwood, a place that had some significance for us, but Bob is writing that story! That night, Bob and I hauled out the Scrabble game, although we couldn’t convince our tripmates to join us. We believe in squeezing everything that’s fun into a good trip. By the time we got back to St. Paul after our second day, we had even more waterfalls and other treasures in our bag of memories, including the beautiful Lake of the Clouds. Darrel says that place is not really remarkable when it’s all green, but it was gorgeous with all the trees in fall array. It was a long ride home, unmarred by problems. Darrel drove the route as if he commuted daily. But I was very glad we didn’t have to return the car until the following day. Darrel had made sure we took advantage of a special that weekend. I’m not sure how he managed to stay awake at work on Monday, after driving almost all of the way back. As for me, I will never forget the trip into the upper reaches of the center of this country. Having specialized stops in mind made it even more fun than the annual quilt shop tour in Maryland and Virginia on Veterans Day weekend. November 13: After all the excitement expressed above regarding the Split Rock Lighthouse as the much-admired icon on the South Shore, Darrel kindly let me know that it is on the North Shore!! So Bob suggested that it is part of the "ETC." in the title. Next time I will try taking a bigger notebook and actually writing things down as they occur. |
Fredrickson Gallery photo |
Bob Murdock When we visited with Darrel at the end of September 2006, I was delighted to learn that we would be traveling into Michigan and staying overnight in Ironwood, gateway to the Upper Peninsula. That's the home of Bob Fredrickson, a Univac co-worker in the 1970s. We have been exchanging Christmas cards ever since. Kathy wasted no time in finding Bob's phone number in an Internet directory, and after we arrived at our Ironwood motel I gave him a call. He was pleased to hear from me, and he suggested that we have breakfast together at a local restaurant. (Turns out that Darrel and Kathy had dined there too!) Bob knows the motel owner and probably everybody else in town. He met Nancy and me at the motel and drove us to the restaurant in his pick-up truck. I first met Bob when I was a programming supervisor in Univac's military systems division in the Twin Cities, and hired him and a few other good people into our group. Among other things, we dealt with the earliest table-top monitors, and I remember Bob predicting that in due time, everybody would have a computer at home. Bob worked with us for a few years until he got a calling to prepare for the ministry! While studying at the Divinity school, he returned to Univac part time, working with Jim Shrake in the commercial systems division. Later he worked full time again, and got some thankless jobs explaining systems and software to customers, even in Europe. In retirement, Bob does some farming at his Ironwood home near Lake Superior. His specialty is raspberries, and he said that he cleared $2000 last year. Maybe not this year though, judging by a recent Email message from him: Oct. 27 message from Bob Fredrickson: You came during our good weather. We had cold/snowy weather after you left. Ironwood has about 6 inches of snow and it looks like it will stay until spring. I was glad to see you. I've thought about you but never expected to see you again. I'm so glad you made contact with me. I hope you had a good trip, and next time you're here you'll have to come out to the lake. I had fall raspberries that were just getting ready for picking but we got snow and freezing weather - that took care of the fall raspberries for this year. Otherwise it is quiet here - just deer, rabbit, bears, and wolves running around. The only ones that give me a problem are the deer; I'm getting tired of feeding them. They have a priority of things they like: blueberries, raspberries, squash, and pumpkins are high on their list. Unfortunately, I grow all of the above. Have a good week. |
in Williamsburg |
Nancy Murdock After a great time in MN with Darrel’s family and Roy, we had five days to put away the clothing and souvenirs from one trip and pack for the next one. I always prefer to go by car, because I can pack a lot more fun stuff. Also, it’s not quite as agonizing to decide between the different weights of clothing when we can just slide one more item into the car anyway. And we can carry a real pillow for the one not driving, and a full box of tissues, not just what will fit in my purse. I had to eliminate my planned trip to Pennsylvania on the 8th because of limitations on my left leg, but that only gave us more hours to pack. So I found all my fabric dyes, oil paintsticks, sewing projects, and boxes of salt, along with my dozen or so books to enjoy along the way. When we got to Williamsburg, I was slightly horrified to realize all that we had packed, but then we did use nearly everything at least once. In fact, we had three games with us, and we used them each exactly once. We elected to pack the car in the morning, since we were slow to get some things done the night before. Unfortunately, it rained all that day. We may have had some relief from time to time, but the main memory is very wet. Once we got going, we managed to travel until we saw a Bob Evans Restaurant for our first stop. Then we made a quick stop in Bowling Green for gas and the restroom. Bob recalls a few nervous moments when he was driving from I 96 south onto I 295, the Richmond Bypass. The rain was coming down in torrents, and he had to move over four lanes to the left. Just when he thought he was safely in the leftmost lane, a car scooted by on the left of him! As we neared Williamsburg, we found traffic at almost a stop on I 64, about 15 miles after we had stopped at a rest area to change drivers. Crawling along, we speculated whether it was an accident or a police search. It looked so safe and serene there, but we could see police lights flashing in the rain. I moved into the left lane, which seemed to have fewer cars, just in time to see the cause of our slowdown. A very large tree had given up on battling the rain and soggy ground, and had fallen right straight across the road to the middle line. It was the talk of the day in Williamsburg. Everyone we spoke with knew of it, and they assured us the radio had said no one was hurt. We were going to Sunterra Powhatan Plantation, which was new to us. Unfortunately, we landed in the dark of a stormy night and had problems finding even the registration area. After we got our address, keys, and map, we went around and around, trying to match things up with the reality of the terrain. We finally realized that the roads were like divided boulevards with a hedge of bushes to separate them, and the house number we had been given was invisible. Although we did find the place, the plastic key wouldn’t work on the doors. After going back to the reception area by following another driver who was kind enough to go out of his way to help us, we did get into the house, tired enough to grab only what we needed for the night. The rest could stay in the car until daylight. We liked the house, but we didn’t find the best feature that day. There was a very good-sized jacuzzi in a separate room attached to the back of the house. It was private to us, and the two of us, but especially Bob, spent many happy times making the most of that unexpected perk. |
Revilock-Frost |
Nancy Murdock In Williamsburg this time, we made sure to visit our favorite places: a Vietnamese restaurant specializing in vegetarian meals, Mama Steve’s for a great breakfast of pancakes for me and omelette for Bob, and Hancock Fabrics for some more white muslin to dye. We also took in the Pottery Shops, and Bob shopped Prime Outlets, one of his most important destinations. This time he concentrated on buying a fleece jacket at L.L. Bean. We attempted to start the week with a trip to Colonial Williamsburg, for which we had unexpired badges that would let us in for free through mid-November. But after winging our way around the parking lot, we realized that we couldn’t begin to find a space from which I could get to the tram. So we settled for going to Merchants Square, where we once again found two good history books at William and Mary College Bookstore/Barnes and Noble. Last year I bought “Buffalo Soldiers” and “Flags of Our Fathers,” the best history book I’ve ever read. After we had selected our books, we went upstairs for lunch. We had planned to do more after lunch but ended up going “home” to take a nap. That was the end of our trek to Colonial Williamsburg for this year. We were fortunate to get in touch with Rosalind Revilock Frost. Derek was in Portland, Oregon, after recent trips to Japan, China, Florida, and Maine, his company’s home base. He spends so much time in Oregon that they have purchased a condo there. They also still have the house in Maine, as well as the bed and breakfast in Williamsburg, which they have now put on the market. First we asked to see her quilts, which she designs and makes for sale, gifts, or home. She had some really interesting ones. Her current ones are somewhat influenced by both Nancy Crow’s quilts and the Gee’s Bend quilts that have been displayed in museums and on U.S. postal stamps. She likes to incorporate Indian and Japanese fabrics, along with solid colors and other U.S. fabrics. We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant she recommended, Maurizio’s, where we enjoyed perhaps the best Italian food we’ve ever had. We will definitely put this one on our must-do list for our next trip to Williamsburg. Rosalind gave us a great update on the whole family, who are all doing interesting things. Son Alexis, who is studying for his Master’s Degree in cartooning, was soon to be at a major show in Baltimore. Daughter Jeremy Ruth is now choreographing as well as dancing and teaching ballet. Rosalind is active with the Shakespeare Festival. They produce two Shakespeare plays and one other play each year. Pam’s daughter has started Community College in Maine. Stephanie’s son Matt is now married (to Canaan) and has a young stepson, Turin. Matt is in the Marine Old Guard and has been seen escorting important people through the White House, etc., to where they will be interviewed on TV. Her daughter Chelsea works at a bank and has bought a house. We had an excellent time in Williamsburg. I was able to do two batches of fabric dyeing. Some were planned for our quilt guild’s silent auction November 6, with the proceeds going to the church where we meet, so they can use it for helping people through the holidays and winter weather. We made $2400 in 45 minutes! We sold everything from cranberry-raisin pie to incomplete quilts. We are already looking forward to our next trip to Williamsburg. |
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