North Shore Day One

**Boy, am I behind on blogging.  I started this post on 9/22 and I'm just finishing it now.**

The north shore trip that we had scheduled since last Spring couldn't have come at a better time.  I needed a break from reality and this was it for me.  How I wish I was still there.  Even though we weren't up there that long, I felt like we did a lot and the easiest way to blog about it is to break it up in sections so today I'll talk about day one.

We left our house on Thursday, September 13th at about 8 am and headed to Duluth.  We went to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, hung out and watched a ship depart from Canal Park and walked around the area until the noon hour where we headed up to Two Harbors to stay in our cabin for one night. 

*Lots of pictures ahead!*

We drove around Stoney Point.

We arrived at Bob's Cabins at little after 1 pm.  We checked in, got our keys, unpacked the car and walked out to the shore.  There was a ship passing right by us...the same boat we saw leave Canal Park. 

We had never stayed at Bob's Cabins before but I knew they were old and have always been old.  They are rustic and don't have a TV and was advertised without a microwave even though there was one in the cabin. Our thoughts?  We absolutely loved this place.  It was perfect for people who want to relax and be quiet.  If you are the party crowd, this place is not for you.  We will definitely be coming back. 

Some of the beauty from our cabin/shoreline:

I haven't been to Tom's Logging Camp since I was a kid.  We drive by every year and I always want to stop and for a variety of reasons, we never do.  I was adamant about going there this time.  Nothing has really changed except the store seems so tiny.  When I was a kid, this store was huge.  I bought some sort of cedar jewelry box each year and they still have the same ones there that I remember.  We also went on the small tour around the grounds to see the animals and the museum of old machinery and different logging camp scenes and stories.

We picked up food at Gil's and brought it back to the cabin.  We relaxed listening to music and talking before heading out for the night and going to Two Harbors to watch the Packers/Bears game at the bar.  Afterwards, we had a late night fire on the beach and watched that same ship from Canal Park earlier in the day depart Two Harbors at midnight miles up the shore. 

Whole Living Thoughts- October

October's Whole Living thoughts: 

1. Hey, wheat flour: we love you but you're not the only grain in town. 
2. Like they say, a change is as good as a rest.  Maybe even better.
3. Tree houses are as cool for adults as they are for kids.
4. Saving the planet starts at home. (And might involve a shiny new dishwasher.)
5. In: Masked Trick-or-Treaters.  Out: Masked sugary ingredients.
6. Moms everywhere want to know: Could we be saying "Thank you" more often?
7. "Better late than never" also applies to sunscreen.
8. The Beatles had it right: "Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting."
9. Each meal offers another opportunity to improve our health.  One more reason to love eating.
10. It will all get done. It always does. 

It's the Little Things

Life is really chaotic right now so I haven't had time to blog.  I will be back soon, with substance once things settle down a bit.  For now, I'll just brag that I'm undefeated in my fantasy football league...which means because I'm saying something about it and making it public, I'll lose week 4.

Benefit For My Dad

We're having a benefit for my dad this Saturday.  If you don't already have plans, please come out and join us.  We'll have a lot of silent auctions items up for bid, a bake sale, meat raffle, a full bar and DJ and you'll get fed a chicken dinner.  My dad isn't doing very well so I just hope he can enjoy Saturday, especially since it's also his birthday.

Music and Technology

This has to be one of the most creative videos and ideas I've seen.  It's from the band Arcade Fire and you need to do this.  Follow the instructions for a music video catered to you.  It's brilliant!

Don't touch all the windows that pop up.  Just sit back and enjoy.

*You need to have Google Chrome as a browser in order to do this.  If you don't, you can download it here.  If you're still using Internet Explorer, get in gear and get the best browser!*

http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/

Random Schmandom

I had an incredible long weekend last Thursday through Sunday but to be honest, I don't have a lot of energy to write about it now so you have to settle with this until then.  I've had some neck/back issues and today I stayed home from work because I thought I had the flu.  I still haven't eaten or drank anything today in fear of not keeping it down.  Woe is me.  

95 degrees in September feels way better than 95 degrees in July.  We had over 30 days of 90+ degrees this summer.

A carrot from my lunch at work.  Imagine the possibilities of what it looks like; legs, fingers, legs with butt, etc.  How exciting. 

One of my coworker's brought in their dog to the office.  It's always funny seeing a dog in an atmosphere where it doesn't belong.

Vikings vs. Jaguars Home Opener

Sunday, September 9th was the home opener of the Minnesota Vikings vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Before I talk about tailgating and football, I have to talk about the night before.  I just did a post on a Night at the Races yesterday.  That night, the night before home opener, we got home just before midnight.  M's dad had an hour plus drive ahead of him so we told him to spend the night.  Since we don't really have a guest bedroom set up, he had to sleep on the couch.  By the time I made his couch bed and we settled down and got into bed, it was about 12:30 am and we were tired and it looked grim making it out to our tailgate lot at 8 am.

Just a couple of minutes before 1 am, the most incredibly loud sound started going off.  It was our house alarm system.  In the 5+ years I've lived here, I've never heard it.  We woke up and was confused but our adrenaline was pumping through our bodies.  M went downstairs to turn it off.  You would think it would have scared the crap out of M's dad lying on the couch but it didn't seem like he cared too much. The alarm ended up going off again and M had to turn it off for a total of four times.  M came back upstairs and we were curious as to why the alarm company didn't call like they are supposed to.  After about 5-7 minutes in bed, we see flashlights all around our house and M looks out the window just before hearing a big pound on the door.  Two Ramsey County Sheriffs came over and asked if everything was ok.  M told them yes and they asked to see ID.  Of course this isn't the time not to find your ID, but M couldn't find it.  I ended up finding it in his computer room but not before I had to go down and show my ID as well.  They were very nice and left.

We got back into bed and both the adrenaline was still running high for both of us.  By the time we settled down and finally fell asleep, the phone rang about 30 minutes later.  It was the alarm company asking if everything was ok.  M asked why they didn't call earlier and said that the code that went off for them was a panic code where they don't call because the intruder still may be in the house but just send the cops instead.

So what happened?  M had his keys in the car while we were at the races and they fell into the cooler.  The cooler shorted out the alarm key fob and set the alarm off.  The cops said that we should take the battery out the alarm for at least the night.  Once it dried out, it's been fine ever since.

We woke up late and ended up not getting out to the tailgating lot until 10 am.  We still parked within a few spots of our normal spot.  The weather was beautiful and I didn't need the extra shirt underneath the debut of my Jared Allen jersey that I received for my birthday.  We didn't have any friends that came with us but we did see our buddy Josh in our lot so we hung with him a bit before going inside.

Once inside, the Vikings starting offense was announced and everyone was cheering and once they called Adrian Peterson, the crowd erupted and it was so awesome to see him on the field ready to play for the first time since his Christmas Eve tragedy of tearing his ACL and MCL. I lost it and started tearing up...hard.  It's pretty embarrassing to be wiping tears away from your face at a Vikings game.  (They may make you cry at the end of a lot of games this year though.)

Jordis Unga sang the National Anthem. 

The Vikings were down 23-20 with 20 seconds left.  M wanted to leave, so we did.  By the time we got to the parking lot, we heard loud cheering from inside the dome.  There were people watching the game in the parking lot and they said, "We're going into overtime!"  What?!  Our rookie kicker, Blair Walsh kicked a 55 yard field goal to tie and send the game into overtime. While in OT, the Vikings kicked another field goal.  With the newer OT rules, the Jaguars also had a chance to score and didn't so Vikings win, 26-23.  And we didn't see it.  And Adrian Peterson passed Robert Smith as the all-time rusher in Vikings history.  And we didn't get to see that either.  And I'm over it.  Really, I am.  Ok, maybe not completely over it but I'm getting there.  

We learned our lesson...and we NEVER leave early!  As much as we'd like to sometimes, we endure the pain that is the Vikings and finish the game, for better or worse.  

The Vikings did not sell out the home opener.  This is sad/bad news.  They have sold out every single game since 1998, around 140 consecutive games.  There were so many visible open seats of entire rows throughout the upper level of the dome and it's probably going to get worse for this year.  We'll see.