Vacation Pictures: Minnesota

The final leg of our trip included antique shopping in Stillwater, MN...a trip to the amusement park at Mall of America, and boating at Centerville Lake.

Beautiful Stillwater, Minnesota. Located on the St. Croix River, Stillwater is said to be the antiques capital of Minnesota. I could kick myself for passing up a red Harlequin 36s bowl that was priced at $18. I guess it didn't seem like a big enough bargain at the time.

At the Mall of America. We're on this ride somewhere.

Q's mom was nice enough to hold on to my suede purse while the rest of us got wet on the log ride. She also took this picture.

Little girls love Lucas.

Lucas and Sidney (Q's cousin's daughter). These two became fast friends.

Sidney and Luke being towed behind the boat at Centerville Lake...

...and Kyle and Q...

They even managed to get me on that thing!

This is a real store at the Minneapolis airport. "Keep walking, boys. We will buy our overpriced snacks and magazines elsewhere."

Vacation Pictures: The Reunion

During our time in Iowa, we got to stay at my cousin, Kris' big, beautiful farmhouse. This place was built in the late 19th century. And several family members have reported supernatural encounters, if you will, in a few of the upstairs rooms.

One nice thing about farm life is that there's always someone to play with...

...and you don't have to worry about your ball going over the fence into the neighbor's yard.

My dad was one of 12 brothers and sisters. Of the 9 surviving, 7 made it to the reunion.

The Blue Crew! My sister, Meredith, my cousin, Karen, and me...having a great hair day, despite the humidity.

We flew into Minneapolis, where Q's mom very graciously loaned us her car for the trip to Iowa. I still owe her a trip to the car wash.

On the way back to Minneapolis, we took a side trip to Niagara Cave in Harmony, MN.

Vacation Pictures: Dorchester, Iowa

We've been back from our trip since Wednesday, but I've been working on paring down the king sized pile of laundry that took over our family room. Also, I needed a vacation from my vacation.

My dad's very large family is from the tiny town of Dorchester, Iowa. Below is the family church--a very simplified example of gothic architecture.

The little house my grandparents moved to after they retired from farming. Some of the best meals I ate as a child came out of its kitchen.

Beautiful downtown Dorchester. The building on the left is the supper club (that's what they call restaurants back there). The place in the middle is the local bar, and the taller building on the right is the post office. I think there's a small store on the far right.

The creek. We played here alot as kids. I remember trying to catch fish with a homemade pole fashioned out of a large twig and a piece of rope. On this visit to the creek, we had to cut through a private yard to get there. The whole time, I thought someone was going emerge from their house and chase us away.

Mark G. is not the only garden pic poster in the blogosphere.

The Pot of Ice:

Reunion photos will be posted tomorrow.