November 11

The next two days, the business of CCL.  “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”  ~  Carl Sagan . . .

[At the Omni Shoreham, the 800 volunteers are greeted by CCL Executive Director, Mark Reynolds . . . ]

[When local chapters meet on a monthly basis, Mr. Reynolds hosts programs that each chapter joins by computer hook up . . . ]

[Then other members of CCL staff addressed the assembled masses . . . ]

[Possibly including Lady Gaga?]

[Brett Cease joined us at the regional CCL conference in Bemidji earlier this year . . . ]

[The Super enjoying lunch at the Omni . . . ]

[Selfie at the Omni . . . ]

[For the afternoon sessions, small groups assigned to individual congressmen and senators met to determine the roles of each member . . . ]

[The hardest part was to find your group because the individual meetings were held in “the lobby” . . . ]

[We broke away in mid-afternoon for a nosh and a beverage with the Howells at a restaurant across the street . . . ]

[Then back to the Omni for late afternoon programming . . . ]

[Jeanne and Ken found their meeting . . . ]

[And our last meeting with the group that would visit Congressman Collin Peterson’s office . . . ]

November 12

On our way to the first of four congressional meetings.  The four of us from Alex were only all together for our last meeting at Congressman Peterson’s office . . . 

[From the Capitol South metro stop, I’m on the way across the capitol grounds to the Senate office buildings on the north side of the capitol.  I had the earliest meeting, with Senator Kevin Cramer (R), North Dakota, in the Russell Building.  To do so, I passed by the Library of Congress . . . ]

[Then the Capitol . . . ]

[Then the DACA demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court . . . ]

[Then the United Methodist Building . . . ]

[Finally to the Senate Office Buildings . . . ]

[A CCLer admiring the art display in the . . . Hart Building.  That’s right!  I went to the wrong building, an accident consistent with my chronological age . . . ]

[I subsequently found the Senator Cramer’s office in the Russell Building.  Photo, l-r:  Glenn Rogers (Bedford, PA), Danielle Hess (Forest Hill, MD), Mindy Ahler (Edina), Micah Chambers (Cramer’s Legislative Director), Brett Cease (Duluth), Sharon Planer (Annandale), (Photographer: Tom Obert, Alexandria) . . . ]

[Then it was on to Senator Amy Klobuchar’s (D), Minnesota, office in the Dirksen Building . . . ]

[OK, this shot was from 13 years ago . . . ]

[Photo, l-r:  Peter Jarka-Sellers (St.Paul), Bobbie Scott (St. Paul), Brian Werner (Klobuchar’s Senior Legislative Assistant), Kawai Washburn (Minneapolis), Sharon Planer (Annandale), Howard White (Northfield), (Photographer: Tom Obert, Alexandria)]

[Then back across to the House Office buildings, past the Supreme Court . . . ]

[OK, I thought she was a movie star, or something . . . ]

[Past the Capitol . . . ]

[To Congressman Tom Emmer’s (R), Minnesota, office in the Cannon Building.  Photo, l-r: Lee Morgan (Annandale), Peter Jarka-Sellers (St. Paul), Sharon Planer (Annandale), Catherine Lenz (Emmer’s Legislative Assistant), Joseph Robertson (Minneapolis), Jeanne and Ken Howell (Alexandria), (Photographer: Tom Obert, Alexandria) . . . ]

[Then to Congressman Collin Peterson’s (D), Minnesota, office in the Rayburn Building.]

[The Super under the Congressman’s congressional district . . . ]

[With his seniority, he has a “room with a view” . . . ]

[Photo, l-r:  Tom Obert (Alexandria), Jeanne and Ken Howell (Alexandria), Sharon Planer (Annandale), Howard White (Northfield), Ruth Obert (Alexandria), Zach Martin (Peterson’s Senior Legislative Assistant)]

[Home on the metro with, l-r:  The Super, Jeanne, and Ken . . . ]

[Then up to the Vantage Point restaurant in our hotel for dinner.  Good night!]

Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.  ~  George Bernard Shaw

Up Next:  D.C.?

November 10

Sunday, a free day to spend sightseeing, to reacquaint ourselves with where we lived for so many years, and to relearn the subway system . . . 

[Our Rosslyn subway stop was just a couple of blocks from our hotel.  We wanted to take a trial run, determine that we could get a one-week pass, and be prepared to show Jeanne and Ken “the ropes” when they arrived.  Here we’re taking the escalator deep into the bowels of the system . . . ]

[We started on the blue line in Rosslyn, transferred to the red line, and here we’re coming out of the system at the Woodley Park/Zoo metro stop . . . ]

[This is the Omni Shoreham Hotel where our CCL training would begin the following day.  We walked about inside this ginormous place to get our bearings.  This was about two blocks from the Woodley Park metro stop . . . ]

[Back on the subway . . . ]

[Taking the red line to Gallery Place . . . ]

[And just around the corner from the Gallery Place metro stop is the National Portrait Gallery . . . ]

[At the end of the block is Capital One Arena where the Washington Capitals play hockey, where the Washington Wizards play basketball, and where the Georgetown Hoyas play basketball . . . ]

[Meanwhile, back at the National Portrait Gallery . . . ]

[Straight down 8th street from the gallery front steps, the Calvary Baptist Church is on the right side . . . ]

[Vaquero, by Luis Jiménez . . . ]

[We’re now inside the gallery . . . ]

[The Super begins the tour . . . ]

[Hall and atrium sculpture and art . . . ]

[If you were a senior college student in Alexandria last semester you will recognize Albert Bierstadt’s “Among the Sierra Nevada, California.” I was so amazed a whole “room” had been dedicated to an individual painting that I had to see it . . . ]

[The Super takes over the room . . . ]

[Then I took over the room . . . ]

[It’s impressive, if not just by the presentation alone . . . ]

[Looking out from Bierstadt room . . . ]

[And this is similar to the photo as presented at senior college . . . ]

[Certainly one of the highlights of wandering through the National Portrait Gallery was running across this bust of John C. Bde Maka Ska . . . ]

[Something to do with nation building and cherry trees . . . ]

[Never pass up a selfie op . . . ]

[I never believed in such a thing, but oil paintings don’t lie!]

[A work of art from France . . . ]

[There’s our Bierstadt from further down the hall . . . ]

[The current occupant’s favorite president . . . ]

[And here’s why . . . ]

[Seen previously herein, also famous as a crosser of the Delaware River . . . ]

[And now a brief history through the presidencies . . . ]

[You will note throughout that some of the explanatory notes herein are not exactly “on the level.”  That’s because when I squat to take a photo, I can lose plumb . . . ]

[The Super posing with a recent president . . . ]

[I have always been a Baldwin fan, and his likeness is portrayed by slightly different sized “bottle caps” . . . ]

[Betty Friedan, author of the “Feminine Mystique” (a mystique I have never been able to solve) . . . ]

[A room of large landscapes (the sitting model is unknown to me) . . . ]

[The “S” in GODS would flicker on and off.  I could never catch it off . . . ]

[Thought this exceedingly cool . . . ]

[“&” . . . ]

[Also exceedingly cool . . . ]

[Girls like horsies . . . ]

[Of interest in our family . . . ]

[Seen his island in Okinawa, seen his sculpture at Indiana University . . . ]

[I remember hearing about Dr. Drew at some level of schooling in Alexandria and was deeply disturbed by it . . . ]

[A recent FLOTUS . . . ]

[Well, Paul Arneson was Mom’s neighbor in Alexandria . . . ]

[Sculptures by Paul Manship . . . ]

[“Bather” by Joseph Renier . . . ]

[The courtyard atrium . . . ]

[There will be further mention of this place at the end of the week . . . ]

[And that evening the Howell’s arrived . . . ]

[We walked up Wilson Boulevard looking for fine dining . . . ]

[This was a relatively new place called “Barley Mac.”  We enjoyed!]

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.  ~  Mark Twain

Up Next:  More D.C.?

November 8

We went back to our old stomping grounds on behalf of the Citizens Climate Lobby.  It was CCL’s semi-annual “visit” to Congress to remind them global climate change is a serious issue and it’s time to do something about it.  With 429 chapters around the U.S. (over 500 worldwide), Alexandria was among the very first local chapters thanks to Jeanne  Johnson.  (Jeanne and Ken Howell would join us from Alex two days later.)  1,600 nationwide volunteers from CCL educate Congress every June; 800 volunteers every November – in one day, in groups of 5 or so, we visit all 535 congressional and senate offices.  The Super & I have been members of CCL for several years now, but this was our first trip to educate Congress. 

[The cab ride from the airport to our hotel passed by the Super’s old office building.  It’s the place with lots of generals and admirals.  The first two days we gave over to sightseeing . . . ]

[Now we’re in our old neighborhood.  I lived in Arlington, Virginia, from 1974 to 2001 and worked in the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.  The Super and I lived in the same condominium from 1987 to 2001 just about a half mile up Lee Highway from our current viewpoint here on the 15th floor of the Rosslyn Holiday Inn.  Upon arrival, we were in a “boil water” situation – a main water main broke the day before we arrived affecting a wide swath of Arlington.  We were on bottled water our first two days . . . ]

[Our view across the Potomac River features the Key Bridge Marriott in the foreground, the bridge is on the right, Georgetown University and the Washington National Cathedral in the background, all above, and Key Bridge on the left and Washington Harbor on the right,  below.  The Key Bridge Marriott and the Rosslyn Holiday Inn were old when we lived here and both will be razed and replaced next year . . . ]

[The connecting elevated roadway across the photo is the Whitehurst Freeway . . . ]

[Key Bridge, connecting Arlington to Georgetown, was relatively traffic free on a Friday afternoon . . . ]

[The spire of Healy Hall on the Georgetown University campus in the foreground; the National Cathedral in the background . . . ]

[This is the view southeast from the Vantage Point restaurant on the 17th floor . . . ]

[The view west to Georgetown . . . ]

[12 Degrees of Kevin and his Bacon: We didn’t know Sue Justice was going to be in D.C.  Her 2nd visit ever since she was a small child.  She was visiting her niece, Erin, who grew up in Villard.  Erin now lives between where the Howells are staying when they come on Sunday and where Ruthie and I lived for 14 years.  Sue and Erin came to join us for happy hour.  Kathleen Hintzen of Victoria Heights in Alexandria was once the liquor manager at Key Bridge Marriott.  Our bar tender has a brother who lives in Hopkins and has visited there and Plymouth several times.  I forgot to get a photo of Sue and Erin, which explains why I have never been able to lose the “cub” part of cub reporter.  The Super staked out seating for Sue’s arrival . . . ]

[More window views from the Vantage Point . . . ]

[The view east and the infamous Watergate Hotel . . . ]

[Closer upper of Watergate . . . ]

[Best estimate – a sunset?]

[Key Bridge at night . . . ]

[This is more like it, a virtual parking lot in both directions . . . ]

November 9

[Our window view in the morning . . . ]

[Time for a morning stroll between Rosslyn and Courthouse (our old neighborhood).  We’re walking uphill on Wilson Boulevard, in our day famous for its stretch of Little Vietnam because of all the Vietnamese restaurants . . . ]

[Looking back down the hill to Rosslyn . . . ]

[More outdoor art . . . ]

[The little malls in our neighborhood have not yet succumbed to the wrecking ball . . . ]

[On Rhode Street, the street adjacent to where we used to live . . . ]

[A post WWII complex, I believe saved for historical purposes (though interior renovations have been turned into condos) . . . ]

[This is obviously new since our era . . . ]

[This was the closest such mall to where we lived (down the hill to the right between the two large background buildings).  Ireland’s Four Courts was there before we left (and Ken and Jean Howell, also from Alex for CCL, dined there one night) . . . ]

[Summers, still there, across the street from our mini-mall . . . ]

[This was our walk home from the Metro every night.  That’s our condominium building, the Astoria, on the left . . . ]

[Our backyard – swimming pool and clubhouse on the left, tennis court on the right . . . ]

[The towering apartments in the background are new.  That corner was occupied by a 2-story dry cleaner.  The views of the city must be spectacular up there . . . ]

[The Super’s condo was a patio unit (fenced) at the far end . . . ]

[The association garden overlooking the Super’s place . . . ]

[The Astoria from street side, fronting Lee Highway . . . ]

[The new apartments with the city views . . . ]

[Looking back down Lee Highway towards Rosslyn, there’s the Homewood Suites where the Howells stayed.  Our hotel was about three blocks further down the hill from the Howells . . . ]

[Key Bridge Marriott from street level . . . ]

[Arlington Gateway Park, constructed when we lived there . . . ]

[Our Holiday Inn from street level . . . ]

[It was quite cold, but the hotel roses were still alive . . . ]

[Still in the morning, sister Gretchen and brother-in-law Mohamed drove over from D.C. and picked us up for a 55-mile drive south on the infamous I-95 to brother Chris’s place in Stafford, Virginia, on the Potomac River.  And here most of us are in Chris’s yard on obviously the river side . . . ]

[Now an over exploitation of family photos . . . ]

[We had not been to D.C. in six years (we had to look it up), and by coincidence at that time Mohamed had just received his United States citizenship after about 30 years of trying (it ain’t easy, folks) . . . ]

[Papa Hemingway?]

[The Super with Chris’s neighbors . . . ]

[His house – it’s for sale!]

[But it’s a raw cold!]

[Modeling a birthday present from his sister . . . ]

[And then we drove back to the city and had dinner at Hops in Alexandria . . . ]

It’s almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington.  ~  Carol Burnett

Up Next:  More D.C.?

November 16

Immediately before the Gopher game Saturday, I went to see another pretty good team play. Our Cardinal girls hockey team, new to class AA (the BIGGEST schools) this year, has started the season 2 – 0 after beating Red Wing on this day, 9 – 0 (and Moorhead earlier in the week, 8 – 1). Granted the Wingers were way overmatched and were playing their 3rd game in 3 days, but both Red Wing and Moorhead have great girl hockey traditions so they were impressive wins.  I stayed to the end because we are so fun to watch with speed throughout the line up.

[The day began, as all Saturday mornings must begin, with a plain old fashion doughnut from Roer’s Family Bakery . . . ]

[I usually try to catch at least half of the JV games prior to the varsity match ups.  It’s nice to walk into the arena and see a score like this . . . ]

[So, a couple shots of the JV in action . . . ]

[And the final score . . . ]

[Then, the post game handshakes.  Good game, good game, nice game, good game . . . ]

[Then the varsity comes out for pre-game warm ups where they skate in circles at high rates of speed . . . ]

[The captains meet with the referees to discuss the niceties of the game.  Our captains are junior Anna Doherty (7), junior Marki Oberg (10), and senior Mayson Toft (14) . . . ]

[This was parents’ afternoon.  The gentleman in the middle looking a bit lost is Ron Rebrovich, former pro at the Alexandria Golf Club . . . ]

[Where’d your dad get that goofy looking cap?]

[Moms and dads . . . ]

[The Rebroviches receive a lovely parting gift from their daughter, sophomore Lauren (15), who scored a goal in the JV game . . . ]

[The long white line . . . ]

[Starting line up introductions:  sophomore goalie Hailee Bailey (35) . . . ]

[Sophomore defense Makenna Aure (17) . . . ]

[I think the current lines and defense pairings are pretty much interchangeable at this time.  There likely will be different “starters” frequently in the early season . . . ]

[Sophomore defense Riley Nyberg (21) . . . ]

[Freshman forward Ella Westlund (19) . . . ]

[Freshman forward Lauren Maras (27) . . . ]

[Sophomore forward Hanley Block (28) . . . ]

[I wonder if Coach Molly Arola was just showing off by starting 4 sophomores and 2 freshmen?  But they can all play!]

[Super Fan Roger Riley returned for yet another year to sing the National Anthem . . . ]

[And away we go, a video from the start of the game . . . ]

[Mayson (14), an offensive defenseman, often makes pilgrimages into the opposition side of the ice . . . ]

[It looks like her 1-on-5 rush just dribbled wide . . . ]

[This is the line of senior Micah Summer (8), sophomore Peyton Boesl (6), and I believe junior Ella Johnston (11) . . . ]

[And on defense junior Ali Castle (22) . . . ]

[Now the line of sophomore Kaci Trosvig (25), junior Marki Oberg (10), and junior Anna Doherty (7) . . . ]

[Then Marki suddenly finds herself all alone . . . ]

[Makenna and Kaci on the attack . . . ]

[Then Lauren, a freshman who scored her first varsity goal in this game and who appears to already be a key player . . . ]

[Mayson chases back after the puck in the defensive zone . . . ]

[Lauren has developed a knack for being in front of the goal . . . ]

[Makenna made a beautiful end to end rush in the game and finished it with a goal . . . ]

[I don’t think this is the goal, but she has the ability to do this often . . . ]

[Ella and Micah trying to score from in front . . . ]

[Kaci’s in on goal here . . . ]

[And here comes Lauren again . . . ]

[Then Hanley in front.  She was terrific as a freshman last year . . . ]

[After the 1st period, the game was never in doubt . . . ]

[This video was taken at the beginning of the 2nd period (Kaci (25), stickhandling in the corner, had a hat trick).  About halfway through, I was visited by an old friend I hadn’t seen for a while.  Martha Williams was a hockey mom back at the beginning of the Super Fans (of girls hockey) – her daughter Abby was the captain of our 2008 state champion- ship team and Abby now has a 5 1/2 month old daughter. Keep the legacy going . . . ]

[That appears to be Ali with the shot . . . ]

[Then I don’t know who takes a whack at it . . . ]

[Mayson’s on the point . . . ]

[This appears to be Kaci with a shot . . . ]

[Mayson and Kaci keeping the puck in the zone . . . ]

[With Micah trailing . . . ]

[Peyton takes a backhander . . . ]

[GOOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!]

[Celebrate!]

[Up close and personal . . . ]

[With Anna . . . ]

[Marki and Anna on the chase . . . ]

[And they have it . . . ]

[Hailee in goal in the background spent most of the game as a spectator . . . ]

[GOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!]

[Hugs all around . . . ]

[After 2 periods, the only issue would be the final score . . . ]

[Across the rink, Cardinal broadcasters on KXRA . . . ]

[DMac and BCun . . . ]

[Makenna . . . ]

[Because of the score differential, the 3rd period was played on running time.  Here Kaci and Marki swoop in again . . . ]

[Makenna stickhandling while Peyton searches for an exit . . . ]

[And Makenna carries into the zone . . . ]

[All the way to the goal . . . ]

[GOOOAAAAALLLLLL!]

[Celebrate!]

[GOOOAAAALLLLL!]

[Mayson with Riley on top . . . ]

[Judging from the alignment, GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!]

[The Cardinal bench . . . ]

[With coach Jeff Doherty and head coach Molly Arola . . . ]

[We’re off to a great start . . . ]

I’ve never lost a game. I just ran out of time.  ~  Michael Jordan

Up Next:  Well, we were in D.C. last week?

November 2

The opening play at Theatre L’Homme Dieu (TLHD) last summer was “Bright Star,” a production by Minnetonka Theater.  It received resounding reviews from all attendees.  The Super and I were on our Norway cruise then (which, of course, I am still blogging) so we missed it.  Minnetonka invited those connected to TLHD down for the opening night of “Chaplin.”  These kids are amazing, again a performance worthy of professional theater.  I present the theater program for those who saw “Bright Star” and may recognize some of the performers . . . 

[I will not bore you with all of the details of the Super and I trying to find our way around in the big city, at night, where we didn’t know where we were going, even with the help of Siri, but we had a very enjoyable meal at Christos, a Greek restaurant in Minnetonka, and thanks again to the Mulders for finding my phone which apparently slipped out of my coat pocket at the play.  But I digress.  We mostly prefer now to not leave the friendly confines of Alexandria – because we always find plenty to do here.  On this night the Concordia (Moorhead) choir came to Alex and performed with the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra strings at the high school’s Performing Arts Center . . . ]

[And on the other side of the high school, Moorhead beat Sartell in volleyball for the section title and right to go to the state tournament.  These are happy Spuds . . . ]

November 3

[The previous day was brother Cam’s 65th birthday.  With the aid now of Medicare he is going to have both knees replaced as soon as possible.  And likely many other body parts as well.  Since both parties were previously engaged on his birthday, we decided we would celebrate together with Sunday breakfast at Hell’s Kitchen.  When the Super and I left our hotel in the morning, Ben Franklin’s choice for our national bird were fattening themselves up for Thanksgiving . . . ]

[Siri guided us out of the complex maze of our hotel area to the interstate leading into downtown Minneapolis . . . ]

[Exit 9A to downtown . . . ]

[To Hennepin Avenue, undergoing yet another attempt at urban renewal . . . ]

[Past the Minneapolis campus of St. Thomas University . . . ]

[Past The News Room restaurant . . . ]

[To our final destination . . . ]

[We didn’t get lost!]

[Hell?]

[And here come Karen and Cam . . . ]

[Hi, Karen!]

[I forgot to photo my Bison Benedict before it became partially engorged.  In the background, Cam ordered the daily special, a veggie omelet . . . ]

[An order of lemon pancakes as dessert for all . . . ]

[I’m so happy to be officially old . . . ]

[A look Karen has to often rightfully deploy . . . ]

[We had a Happy Birthday together . . . ]

[November 3rd was officially Uncle Tom’s birthday, the original Thomas J. Obert . . . ]

[And November 3, 1954 marked the debut of “Godzilla” . . . ]

[Exactly one day after Cam’s birth.  A coincidence?  I think not!]

[I wanted to stay for the afternoon hockey game between our Gopher women (ranked #2) and Wisconsin (ranked #1).  But the weather forecast was for rain in the late afternoon and growing darker by night.  We cannot drive at night in the rain.  So, I missed this . . . ]

[OK, this was on the previous night at “Chaplin.”  A group selfie by Joe (right foreground) of Theatre L’Homme Dieu staff (Joe, Spencer and Sarah on the lower right), Nicole (TLHD executive director, above Joe), and assorted board members and groupies.  Saved this for last as the weekend highlight so it will be featured on the Facebook posting.]

Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.  ~  Laurence J. Peter

Up Next:  Scotland or D.C.

July 2

Orkney Islands, Scotland

From where we left off in Part 1.  If you don’t recall, revisit Part 1 . . . 

[Enroute to the highlight of the Orkneys . . . ]

[First sighting through the bus window – the Ring of Brodgar . . . ]

[The famous Orkney large white bird . . . ]

[So, you didn’t know about the Ring of Brodgar?  Well, me neither!!]

[The Ring of Brodgar (or Brogar, or Ring o’ Brodgar) is a Neolithic henge and stone circle about 6 miles north-east of Stromness on the Mainland, the largest island in Orkney.  It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Heart of Neolithic Orkney.  Most henges do not contain stone circles; Brodgar is a striking exception.  The ring of stones stands on a small isthmus between the Lochs of Stenness and Harray.  These are the northernmost examples of circle henges in Britain.  Unlike similar structures such as Avebury, there are no obvious stones inside the circle, but since the interior of the circle has never been excavated, the possibility remains that wooden structures, for example, may have been present. The site has resisted attempts at scientific dating and the monument’s age remains uncertain.  It is generally thought to have been erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC, and was, therefore, the last of the great Neolithic monuments built on the Ness [contemporary with Stonehenge, though some project Brodgar likely older]. A project called The Ring of Brodgar Excavation 2008 was undertaken in the summer of that year in an attempt to settle the age issue and help answer other questions about a site that remains relatively poorly understood.  The results of the excavation are still preliminary (Wikipedia).]

[A pleasant walk to an amazing isolated place not overrun with tourists?]

[Or we’ll have drones clean up your dogs!]

[Remember, this is early July and we’re dressed for winter.  As they say, it’s the winds!]

[Looking back from whence we came – our bus in the distant parking lot . . . ]

[The stone ring was built in a true circle, almost 104 metres wide. Although it is thought to have originally contained 60 megaliths, this figure is not based on archaeological evidence. Today, only 27 stones remain (okneyjar.com/history/brodgar/).]

[Enclosed by a massive rock-cut ditch, it has two entrance causeways, one to the north-west and the other to the south-east.  These two causeways differ in size – the south-eastern one just over one metre in width, compared to the 3.4m wide north-western causeway (orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/).]

[The Ring of Brodgar was part of an enormous prehistoric ritual complex that incorporated the Stones o’ Stenness, approximately one mile to the south-east, and, probably, the Ring of Bookan to the north-west.  A short distance to the east of the Brodgar ring is the solitary standing stone now known as the Comet Stone.  The area surrounding the Ring of Brodgar, and the entire Ness, is rich with archaeology – including four massive mounds thought to have been created between 2500 BC and 1500 BC (orkneyjar.com/history/brodgar/).

[The woman in the pink hoodie was our guide.  I have no idea what she looks like . . . ]

[The barren isolationism was  . . .  really cool!]

[Now I will just let the pictures tell the story (you’re welcome) . . . ]

[Two fine looking tourists from far away America . . . ]

[Likewise, I’m sure . . . ]

[I suspect the hump was man-made . . . ]

[I suspect the ring of stones was man-made . . . ]

[Saving for excavation?]

[Strictly for the aesthetics . . . ]

[I love the feel of the wind in my hair . . . ]

[Only the Scots would give a path a “rest”?]

[Covering all 360 degrees.  It is a ring, after all . . . ]

[The next 5 photos were thoughtfully submitted by Bill . . . ]

[Back to me and the visitor information booth . . . ]

[A photo of a photo . . . ]

[Fortunately the information booth was able to provide an example of how they change time here . . . ]

[Bovine . . . ]

[Looks like something arable . . . ]

[Stromness . . . ]

[Where we were in relation to Kirkwall . . . ]

[Stromness is the second-most populous town in Orkney.  A long-established seaport, Stromness has a population of approximately 2,190 residents.  The old town is clustered along the characterful and winding main street, flanked by houses and shops built from local stone, with narrow lanes and alleys branching off it.  There is a ferry link from Stromness to Scrabster on the north coast of mainland Scotland (Wikipedia).]

[The Super appears to have tracked down a bakery . . . ]

[The sign says the Stromness City Hall . . . ]

[As I said . . . ]

[Why yes, it does appear to have once been a church . . . ]

[The harbor from a commercial neighborhood . . . ]

[Is still a church . . . ]

[Here’s our famous Mr. Rae again . . . ]

[Stromness harbour was rebuilt in 1893 to the designs of John Barron.   At Stromness Pierhead is a commemorative statue by North Ronaldsay sculptor Ian Scott, unveiled in 2013, of John Rae standing erect, with an inscription describing him as “the discoverer of the final link in the first navigable Northwest Passage” (Wikipedia).]

[Rae in relation to the Stromness Hotel . . . ]

[It’s 2:29 pm . . . ]

[Back on the bus for the trip back to Kirkwall . . . ]

[Sights, if not sounds, along the way . . . ]

[The Super doing something on the bus . . . ]

[A propeller (as opposed to an amateur one) . . . ]

[We are now magically back on the ship . . . ]

[On the sea again . . . ]

[Bidding adieu to Orkney . . . ]

[And Orkney to us . . . ]

[Passing by the atrium on the way to dinner . . . ]

[The view from the dining room . . . ]

[The view in the dining room . . . ]

[Looks like we’ve selected this table . . . ]

[The views after eating . . . ]

[Heading south . . . ]

[Next stop, the Great Britain mainland in Edinburgh, Scotland . . . ]

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.  ~  Fred Allen

Up Next:  Either Edinburgh or Washington, D.C.

July 2

Kirkwall, Orkney Islands, Scotland

Orkney, I knew of.  Orkney, I knew not about.  Orkney, I knew as Scottish Islands, like Shetland.  Orkney, I knew not was rife with photo ops . . . 

[Land Ho!]

[Orkney, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archielago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain.  The largest island, Mainland, is often referred to as “the Mainland”, and has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles.  The largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall (Wikipedia).]

[A form of the name dates to the pre-Roman era.  The islands have been inhabited for at least 8,500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes and then by the Picts.  Orkney was colonised and later annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse.  The Scottish Parliament then absorbed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James III’s bride Margaret of Denmark (Wikipedia).]

[The climate is mild and the soils are extremely fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy.  The significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and the island generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables.  The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive dialect of the Scots language and a rich inheritance of folklore.  Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, and the “Heart of Neolithic Orkney” is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife (Wikipedia).]

[I have reason to suspect this is Helliar Holm lighthouse . . . ]

[Helliar Holm is an uninhabited island off the coast of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands.  It is home to a 42-foot-tall (13 m) lighthouse, which was built in 1893 and automated in 1967.  It is a tidal island that used to be connected to Shapinsay.  It is still possible to walk across from the mainland during very low tides.  The island also has the ruins of a broch, cairn, and chapel (Wikipedia).]

[Suspected to be Balfour Castle . . . ]

[Kirkwall is the largest town of Orkney.  Kirkwall is the administrative centre for Orkney, and is the home of headquarters for Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney.  It is the most populous island settlement in Scotland.  The population was 9,293 in 2011.  The population was predicted to be about 10,000 in 2018.  After extensive work on harbour facilities, the town has become a popular cruise ship stop, with several ships arriving each week in the season.  This has added to the prosperity of the town and allowed a thriving sector of independently owned shops.  Each year now, 140 cruise ships visit Kirkwall and Stromness (Wikipedia).]

[And this would be one of the 140 annual cruise ship visits . . . ]

[But before we go ashore, this is Thom Remington.  You do not know Thom.  We do not know Thom.  But as so often happens, meal discussions with fellow cruisers can lead to a connection.  It turns out that Thom was a high school classmate of my cousin Herb in Wilmington, Delaware.  Now we all know . . . ]

[In Scottish it reads:  “Welcome to Orkney . . . “]

[Ole and the Super appreciate being welcomed . . . ]

[Where we were . . . ]

 

[Ahh, the quaint medieval streets of the Old World . . . ]

[Bill crossed the street for a photo op, staying alert for any passing jousters . . . ]

[The Super spots our destination, St. Magnus Cathedral . . . ]

[Anne photographs St Magnus Cathedral, [which] dominates the skyline of Kirkwall.  It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built for the bishops of Orkney when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney.  It is owned not by the church, but by the burgh of Kirkwall as a result of an act of King James III of Scotland following Orkney’s annexation by the Scottish Crown in 1468.  It has its own dungeon.  Construction began in 1137, and it was added to over the next 300 years.  Before the Reformation, the cathedral was presided over by the Bishop of Orkney, whose seat was in Kirkwall (Wikipedia).]

[Commerce . . . ]

[Not so much commerce . . . ]

[In all our travels, I estimate we’ve been in about a million churches and cathedrals.  While they are all examples of extraordinary architecture, after a while your eyes glaze over.   On one trip the Super exclaimed she did not want to go into another church!  But there was something about this one.  I thought it really cool . . . ]

[The Super signed us in so the ghosts and goblins therein could have followed us home?]

[John Rae is undoubtedly one of Orkney’s greatest unsung heroes.  Although his memorial is prominent in St. Magnus Cathedral, the truth is that, until recently, few Orcadians knew of the man, or his deeds . . . ]

[Dr. John Rae – the unsung arctic hero (orkneyjar.com/history/historicalfigures/johnrae/).]

[Cool stuff in the church . . . ]

[The namesake . . . ]

[Who knew???]

[The Super creating her own memories . . . ]

[Back out in commerce, can you guess?  Yup, a flower shop . . . ]

[Usually I shoot the exterior before the interior.  Whatever . . . ]

[And this is Bishop’s and Earl’s Palaces . . . ]

[The Bishop’s Palace, Kirkwall is a 12th-century palace built at the same time as the adjacent St. Magnus Cathedral.  It housed the cathedral’s first bishop, William the Old of the Norwegian Catholic church who took his authority from the Archbishop of Nidaros (Trondheim).  The ruined structure now looks like a small castle. (Wikipedia).]

[Let’s wander around and take a peek.  Maybe we can figure out what ole William the Old was up to here . . . ]

[Hey, there’s our ship neighbor from Toronto!]

[Not unlike the hallways of our ship . . . ]

[The Super found a storage cellar . . . ]

[If only it had central heating . . . ]

[Well, it was inside . . . ]

[The steward’s room, in the middle of the palace for ease of running the place . . . ]

[The outer courts of Wimbledon?]

[PIG OUT!!]

[The Super went higher than I cared to go . . . ]

[The next seven photos were taken by the Super from her position on high . . . ]

[Nice overviews of Kirkwall . . . ]

[Back to me in the bowels of the palace . . . ]

[Historians have determined that this was the first time the individual words “hanky” and “panky” were used in conjunction with one another . . . ]

[Super, the Explorer . . . ]

[Oh yeah, Bill was a climber too . . . ]

[And the kitchen chimney . . . ]

[Is this the way out?]

[A final look around . . . ]

[Back out on the town, beware the Broad Street Bullies!]

[Tankerness House Gardens . . . ]

[The Orkney Museum tells the story of Orkney from the Stone Age through the Picts and Vikings to the present day.  The Orkney Museum is in Tankerness House, an A-listed building.  The Baikie Library and Drawing Room show how the house looked when it was a family home, which it was for three centuries (https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/the-orkney-museum-p251611).]

[Let’s just stroll through the garden . . . ]

[We would exit that way . . . ]

[Then yield . . . ]

[Walking past the library on the way to . . . ]

[The bus stop for a ride back to the ship.  And hey, there’s Toronto guy again!]

Somebody sent me a British magazine listing the 20 worst dialects ever done in movies.  I was No. 2, with the worst Cockney accent ever done.  No. 1 was Sean Connery, because he uses his Scottish brogue no matter what he’s playing.  ~  Dick Van Dyke                                                                                                                                                                                                         Up Next:  Part 2 in Orkney

July 1

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland

[Continuing our bus tour in Shetland, heading back to Lerwick . . . ]

[Lerwick at 60 degrees north latitude is right up there with the likes of Helsinki, Bergen, and Anchorage.  Its landscape looks “northerly” . . . ]

[These are the moors (a tract of open uncultivated upland; a heath).  Of course, most of what we know about moors came from reading Sherlock Holmes novels.  Now, if you Google moor, you find several pages of a brand name clothing product.  Uff da!]

[Peat is cut for fuel in many parts of Shetland and good days in May and June prompt some people to head for the peat banks.  The first stage is always to remove the grass and heather from the top of the peat bank.  The peat is then sliced off in neat bricks, using a special spade called a tushkar, and is laid to dry on the heather.  After a few days, the slowly-hardening pieces are “raised” into small pyramids to allow more air to reach them.  When it’s properly dry, the peat is bagged and brought home to be stored, to be used in stoves and fires over the following winter (www.shetland.org/60n/blogs/posts/peat-cutters-head-for-the-moors ).]

[Derelict stone building . . . ]

[Yes, I discovered the Loch Ness monster!  The others were all looking on the wrong Scottish island . . . ]

[Derelict stone buildings . . . ]

[As I promised in Part 1, more info about our guide, Laurie.

[She has a master’s degree and is the editor of the Shetland Life.  Prior to taking on the role as editor, I worked for 10 years at the Shetland Museum & Archives as a curatorial assistant. A role that I very much loved for most of the time I was there, and one which I learned a tremendous amount about our island’s heritage and culture in.  Now, I’m able to combine my two passions – Shetland’s rich heritage and writing.  ~  Laurie (www.shetlandwithlaurie.com/)]

[But she probably finds being a tour guide more monetarily satisfying . . . ]

[A recent construction to decarbonize Shetland’s power and double its power capacity (www.insider.co.uk/news/new-plant-double-electricity-capacity-9868643).]

[Hey, there’s our boat!]

[Hey, there’s the inter-island ferry . . . ]

[Well, thank you very much Scottish folks . . . ]

[Cancer research in a castle?]

[Bank of Scotland (I remembered that from sheer memory) . . . ]

[Historical Old Town . . . ]

[A beautiful day for a stroll through history . . . ]

[And back to the icebreakers . . . ]

[You just never know who you’re going to run into where . . . ]

[The waterfront stroll . . . ]

[The Queens Hotel, one of the few old stone buildings for which I could find a name.]

[Arriving to pillage?]

[Maybe they had advance reservations . . . ]

[Then up the hill in the Old Town area . . . ]

[At the corner of Knab Road and Annsbrae Place . . . ]

[The Open Door Cafe – we did not test the premise . . . ]

[The Scottish Episcopal Church welcomed us . . . ]

[OK, how ’bout next week Tuesday?]

[I’m going to guess a guest house . . . ]

[I’m going to guess Bill . . . ]

[Shetland library . . . ]

[Town Hall clock tower . . . ]

[At the top of Old Town . . . ]

[Bill on the steps back down to the harbor level . . . ]

[Shops, a Super favorite wherever . . . ]

[Gotta love it . . . ]

[Construction of Fort Charlotte began – though was not completed – in 1665, during the Second Dutch War. It was rebuilt more than a century later, during the War of American Independence, but the newer fort never saw military action.  Today, the fort is presented much as it would have looked in the 1780s (https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/fort-charlotte/).]

[And back on harbor row . . . ]

[The next seven photos are duly credited to the Super . . . ]

[I think this was a chance venture down an alley . . . ]

[And the Episcopal Church again . . . ]

[Another guest house?]

[And why not here?]

[Some kind of artsy from the Super . . . ]

[Thank you, Shetland!]

[The final touristy shot in Shetland . . . ]

[Waiting for the bus to take us to the ship . . . ]

[Once back on board, this is Yan Yan.  She remembered us from the Panama Canal cruise (same ship, remember?) . . . ]

[For the life of me, I can’t figure out why I didn’t remember her?]

[Fine dining at Manfredi’s that night . . . ]

[Something brown amongst greenery . . . ]

[And the server bones your fish for you . . . ]

[A little apres dinner sightseeing with Ole . . . ]

[The same tug that greeted us here in the morning?]

[The Bressay Lighthouse ahead . . . ]

[The beautiful island of Bressay, just off the east coast of mainland Shetland.  Passing the ‘Bressa Light’ is the start and finishing post for any journey to or from Shetland by sea, and is a welcome landmark for locals and visitors alike.  The nineteenth century lighthouse provides a tranquil and peaceful retreat with open views across the sea.  Perfect for a family holiday, or enjoying a getaway with friends, the opportunity to stay in one of Shetland’s most famous landmarks is not to be missed (https://www.shetlandlighthouse.com/bressay-lighthouse).]

[A tanker and our tug . . . ]

[Ole, in the foreground, checking out the lighthouse . . . ]

[Back in the room, saying good-bye to Shetland with Ole . . . ]

[Say good-bye to Shetland, Ole!]

[A beautiful sail away to Orkney . . . ]

The Glasgow accent was so strong you could have built a bridge with it and known it would outlast the civilization that spawned it.  ~  Val McDermid

Up Next:  Cardinal football or Orkney . . .

July 1

Lerwick, Shetland Islands, Scotland

[After two weeks in Norway, it was time to visit the United Kingdom to see if we could straighten out the Brexit mess . . . ]

[Our first sighting of civilization in the United Kingdom . . . ]

[Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated in the Northern Atlantic, between Great Britain, the Faroe Islands, and Norway.  The islands lie some 80 km (50 mi) to the northeast of Orkney, 170 km (110 mi) from the Scottish mainland and 300 km (190 mi) west of Norway.  The total area is 1,466 km² (566 sq mi), and the population totalled 23,210 in 2011.  The islands comprise the Shetland constituency of the Scottish Parliament.  The local authority, Shetland Islands Council, is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The islands’ administrative centre and only burgh is Lerwick, which has been the capital of Shetland since taking over from Scalloway in 1708.  The largest island, known as “Mainland”, has an area of 967 km² (373 sq mi), making it the third-largestScottish Island and the fifth-largest of the Bristish Isles.  There are an additional 15 inhabited islands.  The archipelago has an oceanic climate, a complex geology, a rugged coastline and many low, rolling hills.  Humans have lived in Shetland since the Mesolithic period. The early hostoric period was dominated by Scandinavian influences, especially from Norway.  The islands became part of Scotland in the 15th century.  Fishing continues to be an important aspect of the economy up to the present day.  The discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s significantly boosted Shetland’s economy, employment and public sector revenues (Wikipedia).]

[And the Shetlanders are coming out to greet us . . . ]

[Those are the Shetlands in the upper right.  The next cluster to the SW before hitting the Scottish mainland are the Orkney Islands, our next stop . . . ]

[The Shetlands . . . ]

[Our destination was Lerwick . . . ]

[Looks like a fine crop of something golden or yellowish – possible guess would be bere (a six-row barley)?]

[We’re ashore now.  The ferries between the Shetlands and Orkney . . . ]

[The Toll Clock Shopping Center (I don’t know how I knew that?) . . . ]

[Brage Viking supply ships are capable of operations in harsh environment offshore regions, as well as Arctic/Sub-Arctic operations . . . ]

[Lerwick is the main town and port of the Shetland Islands.  Shetland’s only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010.  It is both the most northerly and easterly town in Scotland.  One of the UK’s coastal weather stations is situated there.  Evidence of human settlement in the Lerwick area dates back 3,000 years, centred on the Broch of Clickimin, which was constructed in the first century BCE. The first settlement to be known as Lerwick was founded in the 17th century as a herring and white fish seaport to trade with the Dutch fishing fleet.  Significant buildings in Lerwick include Fort Charlotte, Lerwick Town Hall, the Bod of Gremista, Shetland Museum and Archives and Clickimin Broch.  Because of the historic nature of the area, some scenes from BBC’s Shetland were filmed in Lerwick (Wikipedia).]

[On our bus tour, first sighting of the town hall . . . ]

[Lerwick Town Hall is located in central Lerwick.  It was completed in 1884 during a period of expansion in Lerwick due to the wealth the herring industry brought.  It is protected as a Category A listed building.  It was situated at the highest point of Lerwick available facing west to the new town with its back to the old town, lanes and harbour (Wikipedia).]

[Old town . . . ]

[To the hinterlands (Mainland), traveling straight across to the west coast from Lerwick . . . ]

[To the scenic overlook of Scalloway and Scalloway Castle . . . ]

[Our tour guide (the redhead) will be featured more in Part 2 . . . ]

[Everything you ever wanted to know about Scalloway . . . ]

[The Super captures a master craftsman at work . . . ]

[My parting shot here . . . ]

[A rather balmy 53 degrees . . . ]

[Horsies!!]

[But the wind and moisture gave the 53 degrees a bit of a chill . . . ]

[“Shetland ponies date back to the Bronze Age,” said Carol Fuller, owner of Carol’s Ponies.  “At one time, there were more than 10,000 Shetland ponies here. Then there were 5,000. Now there are only about 1,000 in Shetland.”  Carol has 20 mares, six stallions and two geldings, including an adorable nine-week-old baby who didn’t stray far from his mother. A Shetland pony gestation period is 11 months (https://allthingscruise.com/viking-sky-cruise-12-shetland-ponies-are-small-but-strong-and-sturdy/).]

[Pound-for-pound, the strongest of the horse family.  These little tanks can pull twice their body weight . . . ]

[A nostril shot?]

[No, horsie, it’s not an edible . . . ]

[The Super is a girl.  Girls like horsies.  Shetland ponies are litte horsies.  Ergo, the Super likes Shetland ponies.  The following are all her up close and personal pony shots . . . ]

[Heading back to town . . . ]

[Tingwall Kirk cemetery . . . ]

[Your basic Shetland landscape . . . ]

[The Vikings are coming?]

[Model train yard . . . ]

[The ubiquitous treeless Shetland landscape, a result of clearing wood for fuel and sheep grazing.  We’ll continue in Lerwick in Part 2 . . . ]

I have a difficult time doing an Irish accent; even now, it kind of fades slowly into Scottish.  ~  Robin Williams

Up Next:  Part 2?

Rita (“Reetz”) Simon was born on New Year’s Eve in Terre Haute, Indiana; her sister Ruthie (“The Supervisor”) was born on New Year’s Day two years and one day later.  Together they are internationally renowned as “The Biddies.”  Reetz lives in Nashville, Indiana, and has visited us here in Vacationland USA several times over the years.  But it had been some time since her last visit (I could look it up but that requires research) and her first since we moved into our “new” home 16 months ago . . . 

October 13, Sunday

[We drove down to Terminal 2 in Minneapolis to gather Reetz a litte before noon.  Due to the vicissitudes of modern air travel, she traveled from Indianapolis to Kansas City to Minneapolis, not exactly a direct route.  We stopped at the previously-Emma Krumbie restaurant in St. Michael for lunch on the way home.  Reetz was subjected to a throng of Vikings fans, in uniform, “tailgating” there . . . ]

[Shortly after arriving home, it apparently was time to eat again . . . ]

[Then nap time, all now too tired for Sunday night book club . . . ]

[And that pretty much closes out the first day’s activities . . . ]

Monday

[Reetz timed it right, arriving for a stretch of fine weather.  We began the following morning by trespassing in private property for the three following photos of beautiful Lake Darling . . . ]

[Then to enjoy both the weather and the color, a check of autumn at Theatre L’Homme Dieu . . . ]

[It was quite lovely . . . ]

[Then I dropped The Biddies at the Runestone Museum while I ran a couple of errands.  Forgetting it was a national holiday, not all of the errands were completed . . . ]

[So, first a brief movie at the museum . . . ]

[Then, a portrait of a typical Norwegian family tailgating before a Vikings game . . . ]

[They certainly look Scandinavian.  The artist, btw, is Myron Sahlberg.  Myron works from his home studio on Lake Victoria in Alexandria, Minnesota. During his 20 year career as an illustrator for twenty different book and magazine publishers. Other clients included university sports programs and advertising accounts. During this same time he was invited to teach in the Communication Art and Design department at the Alexandria Technical and Community College. He taught over a thousand students in drawing, painting and illustration classes (www.myronsahlberg.com/) . . . ]

[This is the Kensington Runestone, the namesake for the museum.  The Runestone proves the Vikings arrived in the New World 130 years before Columbus, yet still thousands of years after the indigenous peoples.  The holiday on this day, btw, was Indigenous Peoples Day.  How appropriate . . . ]

[The Biddies Romancing the Stone . . . ]

[This was Reetz’s first visit to the museum . . . ]

[So, a thorough perusal was required . . . ]

[The footsteps lead to the back door and Fort Alexandria . . . ]

[But first more artifacts and stuff . . . ]

[I snuck out the back door to enjoy the weather.  There’s Big Ole on the right to align your settings . . . ]

[Fort Alexandria, et al . . . ]

[Some of these buildings experienced roof damage from the heavy snows of the previous winter . . . ]

[And going back in to check on the sisters . . . ]

[Fort Alexandria in its heyday . . . ]

[Applicable in many facilities . . . ]

[Meanwhile, Reetz discovered a bear . . . ]

[And the only defense against a bear is a Viking shield . . . ]

[Let’s go in there . . . ]

[Where the Viking ship resides.  Viking ships were marine vessels of unique structure.  The boat-types were quite varied, depending on what the ship was intended for, but they were generally characterized as being slender and flexible boats, with symmetrical ends with true keel.  They were clinker built, which is the overlapping of planks riveted together.  Viking ships were not just used for their military prowess but for long-distance trade and exploration.  In the literature, Viking ships are usually seen divided into two broad categories: merchant ships and warships.  These categories are overlapping; some kinds of merchant ships, built for transporting cargo specifically, could also be used as warships.  The majority of Viking ships were designed for sailing rivers, fjords and coastal waters, while a few types, such as the knarr, could navigate the open sea and even the ocean.  The Viking ships ranged from the Baltic Sea too far from the Scandinavian homelands, to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Newfoundland, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and Africa (Wikipedia).]

[Come on, it’s in here . . . ]

[Apologies to Al (we grew up in the same neighborhood) for the crappy photo . . . ]

[Al may have caught the musky in a boat like this . . . ]

[We wanna go for a ride . . . ]

[The way out.  The Supervisor had to shovel the ramp leading out of the museum to the fort.  The ramp is on the northside of the museum and still had some icy residue from the previous week’s snow . . . ]

Tuesday

[The Biddies toured our association property in the morning . . . ]

[Yo, Reetz!]

[Otherwise it was a quiet day.  We had hoped to take Reetz to senior college, but class was cancelled because the teacher was sick . . . ]

Wednesday

[Reetz had been to Bug-A-Boo Bay, of course.  So we wanted to take her to Lure Lakebar, the next generation restaurant on the site . . . ]

[Earlier in the day, I had dropped Reetz for water aerobics at Grand Arbor.  I found it a lovely place to read the entire newspaper while she did so . . . ]

[With our repast came the musical stylings of Robb Justice . . . ]

[If you’re keeping score at home, Robb is indeed the cousin of Danielle Strayer, nee Justice.  Danielle (seated, far left), as you’ll recall from you readings, was the goalie for the Cardinal state champs in 2008 and now plays for the New Zealand national team . . . ]

[We did indeed seat ourselves and also left all on our own . . . ]

Thursday

[I had a community education movie planning meeting in the morning.  I’m sure The Biddies shopped – Ron’s Warehouse is always a requirement during Reetz visits.  Then we went to senior college in the afternoon where Professor Susannah Ottaway of Carleton College gave a timely and informative presentation on the history of Ireland as it relates to Brexit.  The following photos are not from that class but were taken by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) the previous week.  MPR did a story on our senior college which attracts professors from all over the state for our twice weekly classes of 225 “students.”]

[Can you find the Supervisor and me in this photo?  After class we always go out to dinner.  We took Reetz to the Great Hunan for Chinese food because Alex does not have an Irish pub . . . ]

Friday

[In the morning, the Supervisor had a voting judge meeting, and I had a Theatre L’Homme Dieu (TLHD) board meeting.  Rather than leaving Reetz alone and unchaperoned, I brought her to my meeting at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum.  The idea being she could peruse the museum while she waited for the Supervisor to pick her up and do whatever it is when they take off together . . . ]

[But this was also an opportunity for Reetz to have a quick visit with Nicole Mulder, the executive director of TLHD.  This is another one of those 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon things.  Nicole’s son George is a student at Indiana University, in theater in fact.  Reetz (as is the Super) is an IU alum and lives 18 miles from the campus.  So when it was time for George to enroll (from Eden Prairie, Minnesota), we hooked up the Mulders with Reetz and they stayed with her while George was going through orientation.  Anyway, when the Super came to pick up Reetz, she came into our meeting looking for her.  Rita was still somewhere in the museum.  The meeting room has three entry doors, one from the outside and two from inside the museum.  In a bit of a keystone cop episode, whenever a Biddie came into the meeting room we told her the other Biddie had just gone out another door.  They came and went through our meeting a couple of times to the delight (chagrin?) of the board members.  I can’t remember what we did the rest of the day . . . ]

Saturday

[It was Oktoberfest at Carlos Creek Winery.  It was a beautiful day so it attracted millions of people . . . ]

[The Biddies naturally revelled in the excitement . . . ]

[With wine in hand, they made for the music venue . . . ]

[To see and listen to the Salty Dogs:  Annie, Greg, Erik, and Tom . . . ]

[There was also a big screen TV so we were simultaneously able to watch our undefeated Minnesota Gophers . . . ]

[Photo featuring Tom Mulder.  If the name sounds familiar it’s because he’s a grandpa of the previously mentioned George . . . ]

[Bob (further defined a couple photos down) in full Oktoberfest regalia . . . ]

[So, you’d like to buy a vowel?]

[That answer is . . . incorrect!]

[Bob, further defined as Annie’s regular and recurring dance partner . . . ]

[Since the excitement never ends in Vacationland USA, that night we all went to the theater.  Jami and Danny even came to town just for the performance.  No, it wasn’t Hello Dolly (the Super and I saw that last week) but keep scrolling down . . . ]

[In the theater . . . ]

[The promotional photo (not mine) but you might recognize the backdrop from Fort Alexandria . . . ]

[Here you go, the latest in a series of such from Paulette Friday, Alexandria’s storyteller.]

[Yes, you’ll likely recognize that Annie and Greg had just performed at the winery, and Paulette and Deb were in the audience there . . . ]

[The show was terrific – looking forward to the next one . . . ]

Sunday

[Nicole brought roses to the TLHD boarding meeting.  By this morning one was thriving under the Super’s tutelage . . . ]

[A Carlos Creek port bottle made a lovely vase . . . ]

[It was a beautiful morning over Lake H2Obert for Reetz’s final day . . . ]

[See the crow?]

[While Reetz was on her circuitous route back to Indiana, the Super joined AAUW colleagues at the History Theatre in St. Paul (photo courtesy Bonnie Schnell).  And thus endth another week of total excitment with The Biddies.]

[“The Biddies” are my idols!]

A sister will always notice her sister’s first gray hairs with glee.  ~  Allison M. Lee

Up Next:  Norway, hoping to finish before the end of the year . . .