Return from Vacation

We got back from vacation on Tuesday night, as you probably gathered from the resumption of posts on Wednesday. We spent the 2 weeks visiting our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids in Grand Marais, MN, and our son in Bloomington, MN.

We had a grand time. Ryan, Joel, and I spent 3 days backpacking on the Superior Hiking Trail. Ryan and I did a section of it last year from Lutsen to Grand Marais. This year we started at the west end of the Split Rock loop and hiked to Highway 1, about 34 miles. Well, actually for us it was closer to 35 or 36, since we took a wrong turn in Tettegouche State Park and followed the wrong trail for over a half mile before discovering our error. I won’t say who missed the turn, but I’ve known him all my life : )

This part of the trail is more heavily traveled than the part we did last year, but that is probably because it is closer to Duluth. There are some beautiful Lake Superior overlooks where you can see across the lake to Wisconsin and the Apostle Islands. There are also several beautiful overlooks on inland lakes. Joel took some pictures at Bear Lake which I hope to post once he gets them back (no, I didn’t take a camera; I always forget I have one).

After the backpacking, I got to spoil my 2.5 year old grandson and 7 month old granddaughter. Joshua likes to play “apple basketball” which consists of taking windfall apples (of which there are many) and giving them to you to throw through the hoop. He tries too, with hilarious results. The apples are good for about 2 tosses before they come apart on the concrete.

From there we journeyed to Bloomington. We stayed with some friends of Ryan’s, Kevin and Martha. We had a good time with them, talking, biking, and playing with a variety of musical instruments. Ryan is a part of the Bethany House of Prayer and lives on the Bethany campus. Thursday night he and a few others always gather at the gazebo on campus and have a time of singing and prayer. We got there about 8:30 and stayed until midnight, when the curfew shut them down. Nick managed to break two strings on his guitar, but someone else went back to their room and got another guitar for him. He told us he only breaks strings when he plays with Ryan, due to Ryan’s forceful drumming.

Sunday night we moved a piano for another friend of Ryan’s. I haven’t moved a piano for a while, but we had a four-wheeled dolly and enough people, so it went well. Afterwards, Debbie and I talked for a long time to the mom about living dead to self and alive in Christ Jesus, while the others used the piano to “sing and make melody unto the Lord” in another room. Later they joined us as we continued the theme until the wee hours of the morning.

It was a good vacation, but it is good to be back, too. Now, if I can just get out from under all the backlogged e-mails and blog posts. . .