Family Time

 We've been in the Minneapolis/St Paul area for about five days. We're staying at Dakotah Meadows RV Park in Prior Lake, MN, about 30 miles southwest of the Twin Cities, and about 50 miles southwest of the town of Stillwater, MN, where Donna's brother and sister-in-law live, as well as our niece and her family.

It's 160 miles from La Crosse to the park, but the reward is a great site in a nice park.

The park is on Sioux Nation land, immediately adjacent to Mystic Lake Casino. We met friends Dave and Sue for dinner at the casino the evening we arrived, and found that the food was overpriced and underwhelming. There are two casino facilities in the area, Little Six is just a bit north, but we probably won't visit it. Dave and Sue live about thirty miles away in Hastings, MN, and since we haven't been able to see them in a year or so, we made arrangements to hang for a few days.

The next day, we visited Donna's brother and sister-in-law and their daughter for an afternoon. Getting pizza for dinner from Victoriano's in downtown Stillwater was a treat. Friday, the fourth of June, we went to lunch with Dave and Sue at a wonderful restaurant in Lakeville, MN, called the Barley + Vine. Starting off with fried cheese curds and blueberry ketchup got us to wondering what the ingredients were in the "ketchup", since it was wonderful. The server couldn't tell us, but offered to consult the chef. A short time later, the executive chef arrived at the table to explain that hand mulled blueberries (read smashed), water, sugar, a little vinegar and a few drops of liquid smoke. Awesome!

Friday, June 5th, our nephew and niece-in-law, Chuck and Jill, prepared a full on four course meal for the entire family. They always request a toast upon arrival with a home made concoction of fruit juices, sugar and water.

From left, our son Jeff, who flew in from Seattle, Donna hiding, Aunt Linda and Uncle Bill, niece Jill and nephew Chuck. Let the fun begin! Chuck has a knife and ax throwing setup, and a few rounds were on the schedule, but the 100 degree heat and high humidity forced us indoors for the afternoon!

We started with a charcuterie board with meats, cheeses, fruit and nuts that kept us busy!

Jill served us spaghetti and meatballs with bread and salad in the dining room of her 106 year old home in St Paul.

Mom and Son had a moment before dinner!

Thanks for a great family afternoon, Chuck and Jill!

Our niece Cara and her husband Bruce were unable to attend the family festivities because they're Camp Hosts at William O'Brien State Park 20 minutes or so north of Stillwater, on the St Croix River, the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

We took a nice walk around the park.

Bruce and Car have a cute R-Pod trailer set up in the park with a screened room attached to double the living space. Cara fixed potato salad, beans, hot dogs, brats, and condiments in this small space. Cool! Well not so much....it was in the 90's with a light breeze.

Today, Donna prepped Chipotle Honey Chicken Tacos and we took the meal to CnB's house to share with Uncle Bill and Aunt Linda. CnB joined us (in their own home...). Bill and Linda live in an apartment complex that has strict rules on who can enter or leave. They are not allowed to have family with them, but they are allowed to venture out, which is why we used their daughters house for a safe house. 

After a little trouble opening a bottle, we enjoyed the meal and company!

We got back to our RV Park just at sunset, which is about 9:00 pm this time of year.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our visit with family in the Twin Cities area.