Genie and I left Beaver Lake Monday morning, October 3, in our HHR Chevrolet on a SKI vacation. (Destination- the Green Mountains about Huntington, Vermont.) For those of you wondering, you don’t have to be skiers to go on a Spending Kids Inheritance (SKI) vacation.
Our first night (Monday) we stayed at Bad River Lodge, Odanah, Wisconsin. It is a First Nation facility with a motel, casino, IGA grocery store, Cenex gas station and post office. The next morning was a great morning for Genie. She got a big hug from an elder of two nations, me, a Norwegian elder, and Norm, a First Nation elder.
Norm is our age, also a Navy veteran, one great guy that we have known for several years. I keep telling him there should be a minority person on his tribal council and being an old Norwegian of a minority in the U. S., I would qualify. No luck so far!
Our second night, we stayed at the Comfort Inn, Sault Saint Marie, Michigan. We stopped for lunch at Mt. Shasta, Michigamme, Michigan where a movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Lee Remick was filmed fifty plus years ago. (I can’t remember the title.)
The third night, we stayed at Valois Motel and Restaurant (right on the river bordering Quebec) in Mattawa, Ontario, Canada. We crossed into the U. S. at Cornwall, New York, paying $3.25. (The fee was $3 to get into Canada.)
We stayed at the Days Inn of Colchester, Vermont one night and then began our house and critter sitting the next day for Dan and Laurie while they were gone. They came back Tuesday, October 18 from birding in Trinidad. We enjoyed 1372 miles of full fall colors.
We moved back into the Days Inn of Colchester, leaving there Monday, October 24 for our 1372 mile drive back to Albert Lea. (Our Beaver Lake cabin water was shut off October 15.) Employees Melissa, Korina, Missy, Kaitlyn, Laurie, Anita and James most certainly would be welcome in Minnesota as they all had the qualification of “Minnesota Nice.”
We enjoyed our week of eating, goofing off, eating, site seeing, eating, their house selling, eating and eating with Dan and Laurie after their return from Trinidad.
While house-critter sitting, we did many things:
We attended the Community Church in Huntington. How many of you can say “We attended a church service with Superman in full costume, cape and all?” We can, as he was there one Sunday.
We met Trish (Genie’s cousin also originally of the Juhl clan of Clear Lake, Iowa) and her hubby Rene’ of West Springfield, Mass. in Lebanon for a late Sunday lunch and renewing their good old days. (Lebanon is a city in New Hampshire.)
A must in Burlington, we strolled each side of Church Street. (A big church is at one end.) I hiked, crawled to the top of Camel’s Hump, a two and a half mile each way endurance climb. It only took six hours round trip, beginning just outside of Huntington.
In the town of Huntington is a one of a kind business named Beaudry’s Store with everything from gas to groceries to questionable local stories. They advertise as “Best Under the Hump.”
The following was told to me by a resident of Rounds Road (where Dan and Laurie live):
“My name is Buddy, I am almost 49. My life has not been the most enjoyable. I suffered some very tough times until I took my current position of adult nanny. (Taking care of adults.) Gail and Dean are the adults. Gail and Dean both received prayer shawls from the knitters of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church of Albert Lea, MN. Gail had heart problems and Dean had cancer. I did the best I could, but Gail passed away in September of 2010. Dean, with my help, has been receiving very good reports on his check-ups.”
Readers, I feel I must clarify the above true story. Buddy is a good-sized yeller dog, almost seven (49 human) years old. Buddy, thanks for sharing your story with readers of this column.
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 36th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God.