We Visit Aunt Valene and Appley Farms

We had an uneventful trip from Las Vegas to Minneapolis. In fact, we were lucky enough to have an empty seat between us on the flight from Phoenix to MSP. Johanna, and Nichol, picked us up at the airport, and we drove straight to St. Cloud, about 90 minutes west on I94. After a lovely dinner of French dip sandwiches and some conversation, Bubby and I went to bed.

We rose early, packed overnight bags, and jumped into our chariot, Larry and Johanna's new Hyundai Santa Fe, and headed for Akron, IA. It was about a 5.5 hour drive, through fields of corn and soy beans, all ready to harvest. We arrived at Aunt Valene's house without any difficulty, thanks to our trusty companion, Tom Tom.



We were lucky enough to have lunch there with Cindy and her son Derek. It was grand to see them both.



Here is the object of our quest. A very agile and generally chipper Aunt Valene. We enjoyed visiting with her very much. Bubby was in heaven.



After lunch, and Derek's return to his college dormitory (he is playing organized basketball for a small four year college in the area), we got to witness an amazing transformation. Cindy shed her work clothes, donned her riding togs, and mounted up for the eight mile bike-ride home.



About an hour later, we rejoined her, this time to enjoy the hospitality of Appley Farms, which is just over the South Dakota border (that's right, we were in three states that day!). Even though Akron, IA, and Appley Farms are only separated by eight miles, there is a state line in there somewhere.

Here are Cindy and Bubby with Max, Cindy's Boston. Max really liked Bubb, can you guess whether his feelings were reciprocated?



Of course it is harvest time at Appley Farms, so Dan was really busy. However, just before dinner (a delicious affair that included some amazing chicken wings) we got a tour of the farm, that included an opportunity for Bubb to crawl into the combine. Dan was a tired, but very kind host to show us around.



We did get a chance at some photos of Dan and Cindy. They are trying to adjust to empty nesting, since Brian is married and in graduate school, Lauren is attending the University of Minnesota, and Derek is playing BBall. I think it is an easier adjustment for Dan than it is for Cindy.



We spent a restful night at Auntie Valene's, enjoyed a lovely breakfast of fresh scones and juice, and were on the road back to St. Cloud, MN, by 9:00 AM.

It was so great to see Valene doing well. We doubly enjoyed reconnecting with Cindy and meeting Dan for the first time.

We needed to be back in St. Cloud by 3:00 PM, because we had tickets for dinner and a lively play back in Minneapolis. We saw "I do, I do", and got home about midnight.

This trip has been a whirlwind, so far, but we are really enjoying ourselves. That is the primary reason it has taken so long for our first posting.

Buboppy