This road trip was a path to a very important family event. My niece’s wedding! I began my road trip two months before the big day so I had plenty of time to spend with family and friends. Arizona to Wisconsin and Minnesota is a route I have taken numerous times. Almost each time I have taken a new route. This trip I was anxious to arrive in Minneapolis because my son and daughter-in-law relocated to this area. After a short visit to see them and then to meet my new grand niece, Adeline, I continued on to eastern Wisconsin.
My two months pre-wedding time was absolutely filled with family and friends. It certainly filled my heart with joy! The best way to describe all of this is photos. So let’s begin!
 |
| Yep, getting close to DairyLand! |
 |
| Exploring near my son's new home in Edina, Minnesota. |
Sweet Adeline-my grand niece! Congratulations to my niece and nephew!
You may remember their wedding in the summer of 2018 because it was one of my blog posts.
My grand nephews and niece!
Grandma, mother and baby Adeline!
I also met another new family member-Callie! She belongs to my niece and her fiance. She's a puppy and still growing!
My Goddaughter, Jessica, and her sweet kids!
My brothers and I with our aunt. She's a young 90ish!
My aunt Fran and I in her beautiful yard.
Thanks to my cousin in Sheboygan for a beautiful breakfast. What? No group photo?
City Bakery in Sheboygan-enough said!
Friends since childhood and always have a good time catching up!
Farm Aid 2019 Alpine Valley, Wisconsin
Attended with my oldest brother. I am so glad he asked me-we had the best time.
Rained the entire day and the music was absolutely amazing!
Visiting more family-an aunt and uncle on their beautiful farm. Bonus visit with my Idaho cousins and my aunt and uncle's nephew and niece.
Do they ever cooperate for photos-no!
Fall in Wisconsin really cannot be beat. Below you will see some of the reasons why fall is enjoyed by so many people. Apple orchards, family reunions, meat raffles, long bike rides, and the list goes on and on!
A mural being painted in Stockbridge, Wisconsin depicting the town's history. My sister-in-law's ancestors are included.
Dheinsville and Oktoberfest-always a good place for a Dhein Reunion.
My aunt and a lot of Dhein cousins!
My brothers and I at Oktoberfest in Dheinsville (Germantown), Wisconsin.
Meeting friends for a meat raffle! So much fun and all for a charitable cause.
Lunch at a cheese factory including locally brewed soda.
A visit to a market and then creating brunch using the produce. The best part was visiting with my Washington cousin!
Lessons in fire building, more lessons in fire building, and yet I was only successful once!
My brothers, sister-in-laws and me.
My nephew and niece are living in Oregon and generously offered me their cabin. It's beautiful!
Two points if you can tell where I am sitting. Oh yeah, nothing like riding to the bike trailhead in a lawn chair in the back of my brother's VW van.
This is my kind of biker group!
Two Rivers, Wisconsin. Went to see Lake Michigan shore and the highlight of the day was speaking to owner of this sign. Beer topic can start a lot of conversations! It was a pleasure speaking to him and learning local history. (Yes, he has had beer left at his door-twice!)
This is pretty accurate-sometimes emergencies arise!
My Goddaughter (and niece) and nephew.
Fall carnival with my Goddaughter's three boys.
Sometimes Thanksgiving dinner is made at the end of November and sometimes it is May or February or in this case - October. My son and daughter-in-law hosted our family. In the photo above we're rolling out my mother's dinner roll recipe.
It was a cold weekend but a walk after dinner is always fun.
Spending time with my aunt (photo below) was a highlight of my trip. She was showing me how she practices the harmonica every morning. Scroll down to see a gem of a photo we uncovered while reminiscing! Her and my uncle certainly looked like movie stars!
Visiting coffee shops are one of the ways I meet locals and experience the local culture. Meet them where they like to hang out!
This shop is called Glam Gal-very cool decor.
Their specialty - extreme donuts.
This one had a sweet potato filling and it was delicious!
My Goddaughter and a little coffee.
Little Chute, Wisconsin
A working wind mill. The tour was fascinating and workmanship unbelievable.
The big day is getting closer and we are all very excited for my niece's wedding. The wedding will be in Loretto, Minnesota at a YMCA camp. Many of us are staying in the group bunkhouse. My nieces and nephew will be arriving from Oregon soon. So, off I go on a short road trip from eastern Wisconsin to the Minneapolis area. This time I took a different route and drove through central Wisconsin. A beautiful, fall drive that seemed like the convergence of all things Wisconsin. There were cheese factories, pastures, farm stands, local taverns, community churches and many small towns. In Wisconsin's agricultural areas not only the brand and age of tractor is of importance but also a legacy. I observed many properties proudly displaying an antique or no longer used tractor in their front yard.
Now, that's a huge claim!
Many Amish families in the area.
mmmmm.........
 Look closely at the background and you will see why I stopped in this town. No, not or the meat raffle! |
A river to cross and I'll be back in Minnesota.
During the week before the wedding I was fortunate to stay in a guest apartment in the same building as my son and daughter-in-law. It was spacious and on the tenth floor. Beautiful views of the fall foliage.
Pie tasting-a wedding task that was very tasty! It was so fun helping my niece taste pies from a local cafe. This one was (and I mean was) strawberry-rhubarb. One of my all time favorite pies!
A few more local site seeing spots during the week and it will be wedding day!
Coffee shops are a favorite while I'm traveling and so are local music venues. My search landed me at a local bar on a Sunday morning for breakfast with live blues music!
Around the corner was another favorite of mine-a farmers' market. I guess you're getting the idea-I do enjoy a lot of things-really I enjoy most everything!
On to the sculpture at the Walker Art Museum.
Leaving the sculpture garden I walked to the mural of Bob Dylan.
Along the way I spotted this reader in a very relaxing spot!
Exploring the area was a lot of fun for me. One rainy day my daughter-in-law suggested the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia). Discovering online they had an Art and Book discussion I decided to join the tour. This museum has free admission! What a great community asset.
Learn more: https://new.artsmia.org/
The Art and Book tour is designed to connect art pieces with a book. The docent chooses the pieces and discusses how they relate to the book. It is a popular monthly event at the Mia.
The cafe in the museum is called Agra-Culture.
The fall colors are so beautiful ... few more photos.
Fall seems to be closing the book on summer. Temperatures are falling almost as fast as the leaves fall from the trees. Everyone is soaking up every bit of sunshine before winter makes an entrance.
This sums up my road trip. I now have a son, daughter-in-law, two nieces and their husbands (well by Saturday afternoon-husband) living in Minnesota. Another niece and nephew living just across the Wisconsin border. Time spent in both of these beautiful states made for a great visit.
Next stop.....wedding day!
"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."
~Albert Camus
No comments:
Post a Comment