Yoop Yoop

    For the first time this trip I sensed Matty's sadness. We were driving through North Dakota
and he was chomping at the bit to express his opinion that ND is much more interesting geographically and otherwise than it is given credit for. The only other being in the car was me. Terrifically cute and companionable, but hardly a great conversationalist. I detected a glint of a tear in his eyes, but in my opinion he has been listening to too far many country western stations.
    A good way to take you out of yourself is to spend three days in a household with three kids whose average age is under 54 months. So we went to Duluth to visit a family of five people and one shih tzu, named Stella. When we arrived Stella tried to intimidate me with a bit of barking and nipping. I gave her the deer treatment and simply stated at her. Eventually she realized how ridiculous she was acting and we happily ignored each other for the rest of the visit. It is quite a life raising the three little ones and I consider the parents both the luckiest and unluckiest folks on the planet.
     Duluth is interesting. We stayed on the North Shore, a lot like the North Shore Matty grew up in north of Chicago. Well-to-do, on a Great Lake, good school system. One difference: you can buy a nice four bedroom house for 350 grand. I liked the city. The downtown is much downtrodden, but seems on a gradual upswing. I did not see much in the way of art galleries that some cities glom on to, but I did see a definite interest and investment in theater. I hope it pays off. Our host took Matty out on a mountain bike ride- not his strong suit. But after the first hundred yards in which he both rode off the trail and bashed his handlebars against a tree he says he did okay.
    Tonight we are camping within the city limits of Marquette, Michigan. No blight on the downtown here. It is beyond quaint. Not only is there a three day blues festival this weekend, there is also a marathon.
    My paws are getting sore, so time to wrap this up. We will spend two nights here. The weather is perfect. A yooper is someone from UP- Upper Peninsula, Michigan. We will arrive in Toronto between 6 and 7 pm on Monday.
Precious

Comments

  1. Hello Precious,

    Thanks for your wonderful blog entries. I am looking forward to seeing you when you are in Virginia. I was in the UP (Sault Ste. Marie) a couple weeks ago visiting my nephew and his fiancee. Garth and Cathy would enjoy hosting you. Sandhill cranes are living in the fields around their home. you might also enjoy a cruise through the Soo Locks. So many things to do.
    love,
    Rita

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  2. Where is the picture? You look quite adorable in the last entry. Is anyone getting closer to enlightenment? I hope you were well behaved around the rug rats.

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