Catching up

After nearly 2 weeks of busy-ness, the time has come to catch up with this blog.

 

When we last posted here, we had been setting up at Dakota County’s Lebanon Hills campground.  We had a busy 4 days there, complete with 3 granddaughters staying with us for a couple of nights, as well as both of our sons camping nearby.  David brought his trailer and Brett and Jen stayed in their tent.  It was like a mini family reunion campout.  David also brought LaJoy and her 2 kids and a great time was had by all.  We learned that a 40 foot motorhome is large enough to feed 11 for breakfast.

As the weekend wound down, we moved to the street in front of Brett’s house for a series of grandparent activities: one soccer practice and one choral concert.  Mid-week we moved the motorhome to the cabin where, thankfully, we had an uneventful setup – unlike last year!  During a short 3-day stay there, we got the cabin opened up, the sauna stove painted, and the pine needles raked up.

 

The winter was milder this past year (compared to the year before) with less snow.  As a result, the water level has been low, but is now rising due to spring rains.

 

We also got to Duluth for a belated Mother’s Day lunch with Joyce and completed a few things on her “to do” list.  Then we returned to Elk River for more grandparent duties: a 3-game hockey tournament and a belated birthday party for Anna.  Yet to come during the next few days are another birthday dinner (Pam), another music concert (Sophia), a soccer game (Olivia) and a few medical appointments (us). 

By mid-week we will get back to the cabin just in time for the long Memorial Day weekend.

We sure have been busy with a lot of coming and going.

Back in Minnesota

After a 2-day drive from Conway AR to Forest City IA, plus a quick trip to Minneapolis and back the next day (almost 1,000 miles in 3 days), we had plenty of time to rest up at the Winnebago factory.  The quick trip to Minneapolis was to support Sophia at the state competition of History Days for middle and high schools from all over the state.  We picked up Valentina so we got to see all the granddaughters.

 

The Winnebago factory service group handled a couple of minor warranty issues to our satisfaction on Monday and took care of another new issue on Tuesday.  We had a pleasant time at “Camp Winnebago” meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones.  After a late sleep-in on Wednesday, we waited for the morning fog to lift, then had a short day to Lebanon Hills Campground, a Dakota County park, in Apple Valley MN. 

 

We plan to be here for the rest of the week and into the weekend, with guests.  Brett will be bringing his girls here for a couple of days, and David will join us for Saturday with his trailer.  We plan to help him restring a day/night shade.

 

Back to the NorthCountry

While our week at Conway Arkansas was brief (only 3 working days), it was also quite physical.  As we mentioned in the prior post, a tornado came through here last year and did a lot of damage.  The county disaster program, working with Habitat for Humanity and many volunteer organizations will be working here for a long time.  We’ve learned that some volunteers know what they are doing and some others should have stayed home.   

Half of our crew spent most of this week removing and replacing drywall joint compound (mud) that was very poorly applied at one house.  Here is Paige, after doing some re-work:

 

The rest of our crew installed drywall at a new house nearby:

  

While working there, we met the future resident and her family one day, and we were interviewed by one of the local TV stations on another day.  Here is a picture of the TV screen.  Danny is holding a sheet of drywall with Bob (whom you can’t see) at the other end:

 

Since our granddaughter, Sophia, is competing in the State finals of a history competition, we got permission to leave a day early.  We joked that we did 4-days worth of work in the three days we were there.  This is our last Nomads project until the Fall.  We’re looking forward to life at the cabin for the summer and our own little “Nomads” projects up there.

Thursday had us driving through scenic northern Arkansas (through Harrison) and into Missouri (through Branson and Springfield) stopping for the night in Kansas City.  Friday’s drive was not quite as far, to Winnebago’s plant in Forest City Iowa.  We have an appointment for a little warranty work to be done next week.  Saturday we will be with all the granddaughters at the University of Minnesota for Sophia’s presentation. - - - -    

              Lots of driving in only 3 days, but worth it to see those girls!!