There’s no place like home

(Val) My family has spent the last five days on the road, taking a little “vacation” of sorts. Of course, according to a former co-worker of mine, a trip is when you take the kids along, and a vacation is when you leave them at home! So in other words, we just got back from a mighty long trip!

About three years ago, our school district instituted a fall break, which is much like a spring break in that the kids get a week off from school, only it happens when the weather is changing over to the cool side and the leaves are starting to turn. For someone like me, who loves fall, it’s the perfect time of year to hit the road and visit new places.

Most (aka: normal) people would think, “Ah, fall break, let’s head to where it’s warm and soak up enough sun to get us through the winter.” Well, as you’ve probably figured out by now, our family is anything but normal. Did we head to the sunny south for this gift of time? No way! We did the exact opposite and headed due north, to the great state of Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes.

For the record, we all agreed to this, so I have no one to blame, and also for the record, we all had a good time. We (ok, my husband) drove over 1,200 miles and spent part of two days in the biggest shopping mall in the country, The Mall of America, adding a few dollars to the tax base of the local economy. The shopping was fun, and the mall was certainly impressive, but I have one thing to say about the first three days of our trip: Minnesota weather stinks! For three days we saw nothing but clouds, snow flurries and winds from 30-40 miles per hour. Ick.

The temperature did nothing but drop from the time we left home until the time we arrived, plus we drove through snow showers after we crossed the state line into Minnesota. It was a very long drive, and we did the trip up in one day. It took us 11 and a half hours with an hour stop for lunch at a microbrewery in Cedar Rapids. (Yum!)

Along the way, we passed towns with names that I see on a very regular basis because of the news and results they send in to WhoWon. Iowa towns like Donnellson, Vinton, Burlington and Cedar Rapids. We spent our first three nights in a hotel just down the street from Raceway Park in Shakopee, MN, drove by Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, MN and spent our last night just blocks away from Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, IA. From the looks of it, everything was closed down for the winter, which was a darned rotten shame. I’ve been known to plan vacations around race schedules. Heck, I arranged our trip to Disney World so that we could squeeze in a race at East Bay several years back. It must be in my genes because my Dad did it when we were kids and still does it today!

So the Mall of America was ok, but since I’m not a huge fan of malls, I could have seen all I wanted to see in about half the time. However, because my son is still a huge fan of Lego, and they have a Lego store in the mall, we spent an inordinate amount of time there. Ah well, it’s cheaper than a trip to Europe where they actually make the things!

No, my favorite part of the trip was not the Mall, but instead, it was Saturday, when we traveled south and east to Red Wing, Minnesota. I have long been a fan of antiques and anything country, and I am fortunate enough to have in my possession one of the older crocks made by the Red Wing Pottery Company.

This was the one and only day when the weather cooperated. The temperature went up to almost 50, the sun came out and the wind finally died down. We stopped at a store just outside of town that sold the pottery, and I took advantage of their “seconds,” which we dug through until we found some we liked. It was one of the times when I really appreciate the fact that my husband works in quality assurance! He’s a great inspector and has an eye for flaws that would have gotten past me with no problem.

After my buying binge at Red Wing, we drove across a bridge and into Hager, Wisconsin for lunch at the Harbor Bar, after it was recommended to us by one of the locals. It turned out to be one of the best meals we had on the entire vacation.

Once we finished lunch and stopped for a few photos, it was time to put some miles behind us. Our goal was Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which we made in time to check in, unload and watch most of the Cards game. And what a game it was! It was great to see the birds do so well, and I hope they continue on the same way in tonight’s battle.

As we drove along the open road Saturday, we were amazed by how beautiful it was. On both sides of the highway, for as far as we could see were fields being harvested. It was quite a site to see and I was once again awed by the hard work that goes into everything we consume. I didn’t grow up on a farm, but I was fortunate enough to visit one often. My Grandparents farmed in northwestern Missouri, and an uncle, as well as a few cousins, still do.

The farmers are the folks who hold this country together with the way they play the odds, fighting weather, the economy and every other kind of obstacle one can imagine, just trying to make a living and keep America fed. Seeing those fields under harvest makes me appreciate all the more what a privilege it is to live in the greatest country on the planet with all the luxuries we have.

Speaking of thankfulness, I’m very grateful we got to take this little trip. It was nice to get away from this computer and all the obligations we deal with on a daily basis, and just spend time together. It was a great break, and I’m sorry it’s over, but I am so glad to have a job to come back to that I really enjoy doing.

There are a couple of things I learned on this trip that I would like to share before I close this post:

First, the songs that were popular when we were teenagers aren’t necessarily songs that I want my own teenagers listening to. Were we that naïve, or did we understand what they were talking about and snicker because we figured our parents didn’t?

Second, there are a LOT of race tracks in Iowa and I think I know why. I think farmers get tired of having to drive slow vehicles like tractors and combines, and they need to get out and let out some steam by going fast!

Finally, the game of Auto Bingo loses a lot of its fast-paced intensity when all you see out your window is thousands of acres of corn. Although, it does make it easy to cover the tractor square.

Oh yeah, only 9,991 lakes to go!