Maple Grove, Minnesota

Nessie2 carried us out of Pequot Lakes on Wednesday, the 27th of June. Our goal was a KOA park in Maple Grove, just a few miles northwest of Minneapolis/St Paul, MN.

This park was not one we chose, rather, it chose us. Due to the screwy schedule switching "homes" over the last few weeks, we weren't able to pin down a site in the Twin Cities area until too late to get close to our family in Stillwater, over on the Wisconsin border. RV parks are a precious commodity around here to begin with, but trying to locate something that would accommodate our size over a holiday week at the last minute was almost impossible. Hence the KOA. The Hoh family has operated this park for over thirty years, and were very willing to find us a site. We did set a record, however: Mrs. Hoh told us that she had never been able to get a motorhome larger than 40' into this site, so our 43' holds the record!

We are here not only to continue our conversation with Nessie2, but to also spend some quality time with friends and family in the area. We've had a great time catching up with Donna's brother, eating at new restaurants, and seeing a bit of the countryside. We had to eat wings at RayJ's:

where Donna had sauce from ear to ear!

We enjoy watching the commercials for the Duluth Trading Company on television, so when we ran across a store, we had to stop in:

We found some great clothes in the store, but most were designed to eliminate a condition common to plumbers, and didn't fit us very well. Well, of course.....none of us are plumbers!

Today, Monday, the 2nd, has been a special day: Our son and grandson flew in from California to spend the holiday week with us all! It has been twenty years or more since they have been here, and we're looking forward to a mini family reunion. Our nephew and niece are hosting what I'm sure will be a spectacular Fourth of July par-tay!

We also enjoyed a long lunch with Dave and Sue, a great couple who live just a bit south of St Paul. We met them in Arizona last year along with their Golden Retriever, Goldie. We had exchanged numbers then, and, thanks to Dave, we were able to hook up while we're here! Ok....more eating....

The next few days will certainly be busy, so I probably won't post for awhile. We expect to leave Minnesota next Sunday on our way to order some furniture for the motorhome in an Amish area of Indiana. The big plan is to slide into Michigan while the furniture is being made and visit with another motorhoming couple and to visit a small cemetery where an old friend is sleeping.

We'll be baaaack!