Recent Road Trip + Mentoring a Grandchild + Beer

Road Trip Review

We left for the Twin Cities after Lois got off from school last FRI & made it to Nathan & Laura's by 10:00p. Lois, Nathan & Laura ran a 5K on Saturday morning while I [a.k.a. as Papa] watched Calvin. I pushed him around in his stroller, & we paused to cheer our intrepid trekkers on as they passed by. Nathan was happy, as he finished 1st overall. Lois was happy, since she finished the race. Laura was happy for a plethora of reasons.

Other highlights on SAT & SUN

• A visit to Country Day--Laura's place of work--to pet the animals [Calvin's dept.] & pick up some stuff for Lois.
• A trip to the Children's Museum for Laura, Nathan, Lois & Calvin. [I was a party pooper.]
• Chicken & steak kabobs, which Nathan grilled to perfection on SAT evening.
• Attending worship w/the kids, also on SAT & always a highlight.
• Attending a KC Royals-MN Twins game on SUN & seeing the Royals come from behind twice to win. [We also saw 2 home runs, 1 by each team; a triple off the center field wall that Lorenzo Cain tried to stretch into an inside-the-park home run only to be thrown out at home, {We found out later that he ran through the 3rd base coach's stop sign.} Two very uncharacteristic errors, 1 each by Lorenzo Cain & Alex Gordon, & several defensive gems.
• Supper w/Nathan & Laura on SUN night @ Union 32. * It was such a nice evening that we ate outside.

* And why is it named Union 32? Because there are 32 beers ** on tap, & you choose & pour your own beer into big mugs and/or "flight glasses." You get charged for the total ozs. of beer that you pour. {I think that's what you call them.} My choices were all winners:  Excelsior Big Island, Gull Dam Scotch Ale, Lake Superior for Kayak, & Mankato Leaf Raker.

** Truly a plethora

• Nathan & Laura treated us to dessert @ Cherry Berry after dinner. Did I eat w/restraint? That's for me to know & you to find out.
• Lots of quality time w/the grandson. [Just for the record, Calvin said "Papa" more than "Grandma," probably @ a 3:1 rate.] Among other things I was able to teach the little guy to say "Abracadabra" instead of "please" when he was asked to say the magic word. [Hopefully he'll still remember when we get together @ Thanksgiving.]
• An uneventful trip back to Norfolk unless you count the monster pecan, caramel cinnamon roll that I devoured between Worthington & Sibley.

There Is No Place Like . . . Vermont

From Norfolk Daily News (9/1):  Vermont State Police said a Maine woman & two goals that were riding in her car were unhurt when she crashed after falling asleep while traveling on an interstate to Guilford, VT. Police said the northbound car . . . drifted into the median & hit the beginning of a guardrail. The car got struck on the guardrail, & neither (the driver) nor her goats were injured." COMMENT:  Since the driver, Anne Mayer, was from Raymond, ME, perhaps this item is mislabeled . . . But it's still my blog.