A Gorgeous "Hobby Farm" -- airbnb

  

 Whenever we are in Telemark, we go to visit Ron’s aunt in Ladysmith, WI.  She was 101 years old.  But then last week, when we were there, the retirement home was on lock down so we could not visit. Then she got COVID on Monday and passed Saturday night.  Thus, in order to attend the funeral next Saturday, I have changed the next two weeks' schedule totally to stay in MN-WI until the funeral and then will go see Ron’s high school friend in Albert Lea, MN for 2 days and my teacher friend in southern IA, for 2 days and then we'll be in Springfield, IL for the Sept 30 previously reserved  date. We'll be in airbnbs and motels, 2 days each.  We'll be in Springfield until Oct 13, working in the storage unit.

     So we needed all new reservations.  When traveling in the Midwest, often there is not a timeshare to take advantage of so we either need to get a motel or lately  – Airbnb’s are available -- sometimes!  All motels now are (or at least they seem) higher than ever (our son says the travel industry may never recover from the pandemic closures—maybe they eventually will but for now at least, prices are higher than before and you can hardly get any hotel room for less than $100.)

  So, I was searching for a place to stay 1/2 between Grand Forks and Rice Lake. I really wanted a kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator to prepare two days of meals and also to keep Ron’s homemade soup jars frozen. And he’s also stocked up on the yoghurt he needs (Carbmaster) which takes up a lot of room.  Granted these are luxuries but necessities for him if at all possible.
    I searched for an Airbnb but had little luck with the “Entire Place” option. 

     So I looked for a “Private Room” where I could still prepare meals and this apartment came up – and it’s a full apartment!  We'll be here 2 nights.  It’s on 35 acres with gardens, horses, pond, koi, statues, benches, etc.  It’s in Kimball MN just south of St Cloud.

So peaceful.  3 draft horses, 2 miniature horses and one donkey.

                                                                   Pond and waterfall

                                                       Solarium with hand-painted mural

                                                           Kitchen and dining area

Grocery Store Delis for Lunch

There’s nothing like a small Midwest town “community “ 

grocery store!

    We are staying in Kimball MN ( population 780) asked where the grocery store was.  There is none!  Two towns away, 10 miles, is the closet grocery store, Marketplace.  We drove over.  What a great store!!!

    We bought deli chicken and ate it in the van. 

     Similar to the grocery in Fergus Falls (MN) we found yesterday when we were researching for a restaurant for lunch on Tripadvisor and would drive to one by one to find they were closed permanently!  The Market was right nearby so we bought some groceries and deli chicken and ate in the van.

Actually those stores are fun: they have EVERYTHING, like the old general store for the greater community... and no competition. 

    We spoke with a worker today and he said they have several stores and a warehouse that will hold 60 semi trucks of merchandise and it is FULL!  They did not want to run out during the pandemic. 

    Maybe eating in the van will be the standard now!

University of North Dakota Visit

Granddaughter Faith is a freshman at University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, ND (she wanted to be cold.) It’s just across the Minnesota border and a 6-hour drive from Telemark, so we decided to go to visit her before we went south.  We rented an Airbnb which turned out to be very nice – and the host was actually from Everett, WA.  We saw Faith each evening and the highlight was getting to watch the band rehearsal and then go to  Sakura Steak House where her friends work – and she loves Japan.

   

Note her mask - it has a split in it to put the mouthpiece in.  All instruments have masks also.  And spacing far apart.  This is what Andy has to have in his band too.  Required for all school bands now.

It’s such a beautiful campus: so many unique and unusual places.

                                                   Flowers everywhere

                                                     Westmminister chimes every quarter hour

                                                               We all love rocks

We’re Back! – Traveling Again for Six Months!

We began another timeshare six-month trip in August.  On the 25th, we flew to Atlanta to pick up our van there and start on a 6-month trip.  Normally the van just sits for 6 or 7 months in Douglasville, GA, but this time, it was a year and a half. The tires were low (of course) and there seemed a problem with some front end shaking.  Checking at several places recognized that the wheel sensor was faulty, but not an emergency.

   We stayed three nights  at our favorite Wyndham, Fairfield Plantation in Villa Rica in a Tara Garden unit, the free-standing very large cottage unit.  Then we took off for Chattanooga, where son Keenan moved to from Springfield IL in July 2020.

   Their house was built in 1930, but had been totally remodeled just prior to selling it, so it was very lovely.