The Biggest Shopping Center in the World

Hi everyone.  Tonight we are in Minneapolis, actually Bloomington, Minnesota.  And all you girls know what is in Bloomington.  The Mall of America is here.

We got here about 4:00 this afternoon, found the Marriott and stopped in the parking lot.  Our GPS lady gave us not only the directions to the Marriott but also the address and phone number.  So I called to see if they had any rooms available under the Friends and Family rate that Richard was so kind to give us certificates for before we left home.

Yes, they have a room so I reserved the room for two nights from the parking lot !!!
We  pulled up front, a very nice man all dressed in red came out to unload our car. We went inside and registered and to the top floor we came.

Now this is the nicest hotel we have stayed at yet, I love Marriott.  And the biggest reason that I like Marriott is that it has THE bed!!  The bed is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in in my entire life.  It's wonderful!

We are almost across the street from the MOA (Mall of America) and plan to go there tomorrow and check it out.  I have been wanting a new pair of shoes so I think that will be on the agenda tomorrow.

Looking at the website tonight, I find the MOA has over 400 stores employing over 12,000 people.  Amazing.  It's on 4 levels and has movie theatres and lots of other entertainment venues.

Note to Pat:  We think we will be going through Lake City on Friday when we leave here.  We will stay somewhere between here and Sioux Falls Friday night and then be in Sioux Falls on Saturday.

Note To Lil:  Thanks so much sweetie for your comments and compliments.  We really appreciate your following us.

Note to Todd:  No more dummy moves today!  Have been very thoughtful about the use of my Flip!

Today when we drove around Fargo a bit before leaving town, we encountered a peaceful protest in front of a Women's Clinic in old town Fargo.  There was a shoulder to shoulder line of approximately 12-14 young people holding signs that said "Pray for the End of Abortion"........The clinic was in the middle of the block and on each corner were 2-3 young people wearing vests that said "Clinic Escorts".  They were there to escort patients past the protesters.

After thinking about it, I asked Wayne to drive back around so I could video the protest.  He drove up to the clinic, stopped, and stared at the protesters.  I held my breath thinking for sure that they would say something and he would  respond, we would BOTH respond and then one or all of the cops who were stationed a safe distance away would be all over us.  I could see them pounding on our car with their signs and everything.  Well, actually we just had a staring contest, no one spoke, and off we drove.

Todd, I almost needed you again!!!  But once again, we got through it without the feel of the cold steel handcuffs on our wrists!

Note to Mom:  Really good to hear your good news today.  Glad your shoulder is healed and all is good.  You needed some good news!

Again today we had a great ride and some beautiful green landscape.  Really great farms, little settlements, and green green hills.  The weather was clear as a bell and nice and warm today.

Note to Todd:  Added to previous comment, today we came upon a traffic stop on the freeway just before getting into Minneapolis.  As we approached, we noticed there were no markings on his car at all.  It was a dark  colored four door sedan looking as normal as any other car on the road.  There were no visible lights or any other marking or object that would make him look like a police car.  However, there were lights coming from several places, still not sure how though.  He was dressed all in brown with those silly looking round brimmed hats.  I grabbed the Flip and tried to get as much as I could as Wayne gasped  "I wish you wouldn't do that"  !   So, contrary to what I said earlier, maybe this was a dummy move on my part!

Bye for now .....I promise I will try to stay out of trouble now!!!

Love to all
Wayne and Colleen

In Fargo, North Dakota......eh yeah

Hi there everyone from Fargo North Dakota.  No blog last night because we took another down day yesterday in Minot.  Today's drive was only about 4 hours to Fargo but we stopped because it looked real stormy and we decided to get a room and just look around Fargo for a while.

We haven't taken any pictures today and since we didn't go out of our room yesterday, none then either.

Fargo is right exactly on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota.  We plan to go into Minnesota tomorrow.

Note to Pat:  We may be going to Lake City tomorrow.  Wayne looked it up and it's about 5 hours from here.  We'll get some pictures for you to see tomorrow night if we get there.

We are way ahead of schedule for Sioux Falls, we aren't due there until Saturday.
Wayne is feeling the magnet pull of seeing Nicole and he wants to keep within a few hours of Sioux Falls.

On our way here today, we stopped in a cute little town called Harvey.  We drove around Harvey for a while and it was really cute.  There was a police officer driving a pick up with the license plate "police" so Wayne asked her where to find a good place to eat.  She gave us a couple choices and away we went.

It was strange seeing such a little town even having a police department but we know they have at least one officer and she was very friendly.

These small little towns in eastern North Dakota are priceless.  Things look like they haven't changed for dozens of years.

There were miles and miles and miles of sunflower fields along the highway today.  I think they were left to go to seed because they looked almost dead but there were miles of them on both sides of the road.

Note to Richard and Lisa:  We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Minot for two nights at $49 each night......THANKS again !!!

Dinner at Applebee's tonight introduced us to the cutest little waitress named RUNEA.....pronounced Re nay  or Rene.   I gave her one of my cards and told her she could have 50% off if she found something she liked on my website.  She was real interested in our trip, where we were going, etc.  Very nice young lady.

We have been travelling on smaller state highways instead of the impersonal interstate freeways.  It is just so much nicer on the smaller roads.  You see so much more and meet such nice people.  It is the preferred way to travel in the Stevenson Family!

Note to Self:  No more riblets at Applebee's, delicious but too hard and messy to eat.

Note to Cameron and Sergio:  We both signed up as followers on your blog and marked it on our favorites.  We are looking forward to your posts!!  We are excited about your trip to NY and DC and hope you have a great great time!!

We are in the central time zone now so we are two hours ahead of home.  

I cannot tell you how much fun we are having.  We are happy to be together each day and seeing new things and meeting new people.  It's an amazing way to take a vacation and I totally recommend it for everyone.  I wish you could all be here with us.  You get such a great view of life in this way.  It's so powerful when you see new things and see how others live.

Update on our License plate game:   We  only need 12 more to have all 50 states.  We still need  Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and West Virginia.  All the rest we've seen.

That's about it for today.  Tomorrow we will be in Minnesota and  will post again tomorrow night.

Love to you all
Wayne and Colleen

BUSTED at the BORDER !!!!!!!

Hello again everyone!  I'm so happy you are reading our blog.

Today we changed our minds and diverted our route northward to Canada.  We entered the border check and was questioned extensively by the Canadian officer there.  He was real nice, but firm.  He couldn't understand why we were only going to be in Canada for the day or possibly one night.  Anyway, he finally let us  go and off we went.

We went to a town called Weyburn, Saskatchewan.  Well, it was nothing fancy or exciting enough to write home about.  Our experience was less than amazing too.  First, we went to a gas station to fuel up.   Wayne doesn't like to drive on the lower half of the tank.  He considers us empty when we reach 1/2 full!

OK, so the gas is sold by the litre and is quite expensive when you do the math.  It was $3.80/gal today.  We haven't been paying anything over $3.00 since we left home.  They also do not allow self service.  You have to let the attendant pump the gas.  The young man at the station  was amazed that we were from San Francisco and was there in Saskatchewan at his gas station!

He recommended a cafe for lunch and boy are we sorry we went there.  It took us over 30 minutes just to get something to drink.  All in all, it was over an hour before our food arrived.  Yes, they were a bit busy, yes it was Sunday after church, yes we should not be in such a rush but ONE HOUR???

The waitress seemed to have a real attitude and Wayne wondered if they have something against Americans and had figured out we were American.  But I do have to say the food was pretty good, when we finally got it.

Ok, so now we have a dilemma, do we go on up to Regina as the border guard suggested or do we head back down to the good ole USA and in the general direction that we were originally headed?  We decided to come on back down.

So, now we come to why I used the title of Busted at the Border tonight.

As we approach the American portal for getting back in the US, I whipped out my trusty Flip video.  You remember that, right?  The Amazing Flip Video camera?!!

I am merrily getting video of the signs, the buildings and everything leading up to the actual port entrance.  As we are waiting for the Border Guard to come up to our car, he suddenly approaches the driver's side and says, "no photography of any kind here" and TAKES MY FLIP !!!    He took it right out of my hands!

He went in to the little guard shack or whatever you call it and someone else starts pushing buttons and looking at all the video.  (we had 27 clips at the time)
He kept it and kept it and I was sooooo afraid I would never see my little Flip again.

Finally he came back out and asked us/me if I/we knew that it was illegal  to do any photography at any time.  He said Homeland Security does not want anyone photographing what they do.  He was also VERY firm.

After he did all the looking and punching buttons, he finally gave my little friend back to me.  It went immediately into the case and into the cubby hole in the door where I had been keeping it.  He asked Wayne to pop the trunk and when Wayne started to get out of the car, he told him to stay seated!

Wayne says to me, "I wonder if he deleted  everything we had".....my response:  "There is no way I'm touching that puppy right  now, I will wait until we get away from here, if we ever do, and then I'll check.

After a cursory check of  our trunk, I guess he was satisfied that we were not raging terrorists or capable  of any bomb threats and he let us go.

Whew!  That was some excitement that neither of us needed!
Did I know I shouldn't have been filming?  Well of course, after the fact when I thought about it, sure I knew it was wrong.  But at the moment, as a tourist, who all day has been filming signs, buildings, everything, I just kept on doing it until I was BUSTED!

BTW, he deleted not only the clip of the border crossing but also 2-3 of the  clips  immediately prior to that.  Not to  worry, I won't miss them, I'm just glad we got out of there without handcuffs being placed on our wrinkled old wrists!

As we were leaving, I noticed some guys who had been driven into a special area and the border guards were taking rifles  out of their vehicle.  I saw two of them.  I'll bet those poor idiots are still there !!!!!!

We did so enjoy our ride on Highway 2, the Hi Line.  It's quite a place.

This is the typical  view across Montana and NorthDakota on the Hi Line.

I was amazed to see the round bales of hay.  They have some plastic sort of shrink wrapping  around them to hold them.  They look pretty all out in the field.

I have this thing for old old old buildings and barns.  These were in North Dakota along the Hi Line.  Cool, huh?!

Tonight we are safely ensconced (sp?) in the Fairfield Inn/Marriott in Minot North Dakota.  Tomorrow we plan to as far as Fargo.  Then since we are way ahead of schedule for being in Sioux Falls on Saturday, we are planning to swing out east a bit and loop through Minnesota before going on in to Sioux Falls to see Nicole.

Love to all.........more later.
Wayne and Colleen

Goodbye Montana, Hello North Dakota

We are in a new state for both of us.  Neither of us have ever been in North Dakota.  We are in a small town called Williston, ND.  We are in the least expensive motel we have stayed at yet.  No, I think it's the nicest one in town!!  Oh well, we are only here one night.

This Hi Line, highway 2, is a great little road to ride.  There are lots of little towns along the way.  And friends, when I say little, I mean little!!!

We discussed making a left turn and going into Canada but decided we were having too much fun on the Hi Line.

We are just barely over the border of Montana/North Dakota so we have lots of driving to do to get across ND yet.  We plan to go to Fargo, then cut south to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This area is known for agriculture of course, and oil.  Yes, oil.  Who knew?

Lots of road kill for those of you who are interested in such things.  Today we saw more dead critters on the road than I think I've seen in my entire life.  Among the numbers were skunks, oppossum(s?), dogs, cats, deer, porcupines and one that I couldn't figure out.

Everything in eastern Montana was one Indian Reservation or another.  Lots of casinos, large and small.  Last night at the restaurant, we had dinner with cowboys and indians !!  

We are both feeling good and very refreshed after our down time in Havre.  Spending the extra day there made a big difference.

Today was also the first day I did all the driving.  Wayne has been doing most of it but today was my turn!

Tomorrow can't come soon enough, I think Wayne is really anxious to leave the thriving metropolis of Williston, North Dakota and I think I  agree.

More later........

Havre? I didn't even know her ! (insert laugh here)

-Here we are in Havre, Montana.   Our journey across the Hi-Line, otherwise known as Highway 2, has been very interesting.  There is a lot of nothingness out there.  For as far as you could see, just wheat fields and flat lands.

Every three or four miles is another grain elevator.  Some are old, some are new, lots and lots of wheat grown in these parts.

If you like seclusion in your life, the Hi Line is the area you should live near.  We would see homesteads miles away from the nearest sign of civilization.  It makes one wonder what happens in an emergency?  What happens in the case of an extreme dose of boredom?  I guess they adapt.  Personally, I would prefer to know that if I step outside my front door and scream bloody murder that someone will hear me besides the cows!

Don't get me wrong, we love this type of land and driving through it is very entertaining.  We went through a typical town called Chester Montana.

Main  street in Chester Montana, yes, that's the whole thing.  Chester was very small but had a definite personality.  I did a video travelogue through Chester if any of you are interested, let me know and I will send it!  Had lots of  fun doing it.

Indicative of the personality of Montana small  towns is the sign we saw just before coming into the metropolis of Hingham Montana.....I wrote it down so I would get it right here......."596 nice people and 1 old sore head"

I told  Wayne we should walk into a cafe (if they had one) and march right up to the counter and say "ok, I would like to meet the old sore head please"

Trains, now there is a subject.  Wayne was in train heaven along the Hi Line.  We saw a few and got some good pics.  But the real thrill was when we got to Havre (pronounced   Have-er)  and found the Diesel repair facility.  Got some pics.

Note to Jim:  This one is for you

One of the more delightful indian folk lore was noted on the sign in the next picture.  The sign says it far better than I could paraphrase:

Hope everyone can read it.  It's a very nice story.

When we got to Havre, it was early afternoon yesterday (Thursday).  We decided to stop anyway and take root for a while.  We reserved our room at the Best Western Great Northern Inn for two nights.  We chilled for the afternoon then went to a recommended restaurant nearby for dinner.  It was fantastic.  We both had steak and shrimp and it was so good.   I haven't had a more tender piece of steak.

Today we just vegged all day.  It felt so good to just rest and sleep and sleep and rest.  I went out to a grocery store this afternoon and got a few things and we just got back now from having a very nice dinner at the 4B's restaurant.

Tomorrow it's back out on the road again and the balance of the Hi Line.  We plan to ride the Hi Line all the way across Montana and North Dakota to Fargo.  Don't think we will make it all the way to Fargo tomorrow but we will stop when we get tired.  We are several days ahead of schedule for getting into Sioux Falls.

More later........love to you all and thanks for following our adventure!

Glacier National Park 09-16-09

Well just take a look at that boys and girls.  We had another fantastic day!  Glacier National Park is an amazing place.  It has a different feel to it than Yellowstone does, but it is gorgeous.

Today was the first day we had just a slight bump in the day.  First of all, we left our hotel in West Glacier this morning and didn't feel like breakfast right away.  We got into the park and wow, we forgot about eating.  Around 1:00 it got to be that both of us were really getting hungry and there was not an abundance of places to eat!  Finally we came onto a lodge that had a restaurant so we went in.

At that point we would have paid $10 for a package of crackers so it didn't matter that it was probably more expensive than we wanted.  Went in, sat down, and sat and sat and sat.  Looking around, we were one of only 3  tables in the place that had someone sitting at them.  Two waitresses and a hostess along with someone who I didn't know what his job was, was not enough to take care of us I guess.

After being noticeably ignored by the taller of the two waitresses, the other one was clearing a table behind me.  I turned around and said "are you our watress?"  She said she wasn't but that she would send "our server" over right away after I asked her with just a slight edge in my voice if ANYONE was.

The same girl came back a couple minutes later saying now that she was indeed our waitress.  Ok, so here we go, we are both starving, no other choices for someplace to eat so we were just captive to the bad vibes in that place.  I ordered something I have never seen on a menu before.......Elk brat sandwich.  Yes, I ate elk sausage!  It was actually very good.

We both enjoyed our lunch and was happy to be back in the car afterwards.  We had already reserved a room for tonight at a place called Circle R.  They had explained they had nothing less than third floor and no they didn't have an elevator.  They did, however have some "rustic cabins" off site that they could let us have for $89.  Ok fine, we'll take it......uh huh

We get here today, find the motel, check in and the girl at the office gives us directions to drive to our "cabin"......directions?  we need directions?  Off we go.

We got lost, could not find the "rustic cabin" so we stopped a passing deputy sheriff and he says "follow that dump truck, he is going there".........ok, now I know we are in trouble.

We get there, it's in the middle of a construction site, it isn't either rustic OR a cabin!

That is the corner of our "rustic cabin" that you can just see on the left.  gravel road, dirt, dirt, bumpy, gravel, dirt right up to the door.

There she is, our rustic cabin!!!  Right in the middle of a construction site!!!   We unloaded our stuff, sat inside for a few minutes, realized we didn't even feel safe since it was so isolated from the rest of town.  We got in the car, and went searching for a place for dinner.  On the way back into civilization, we saw a cute little motel named "Dancing Bears Inn" and it had a great big "vacancy" sign in the window.  Hello!  We are moving.  Wayne left me at the Dancing Bears to get the room, and went back to the "rustic cabin" to load our stuff back into the car and came back to our new room.  

OK, now I'm ready for a fight.  I'm going to get our money back  from that first place, this is ridiculous.  We marched in, and began to tell them why we weren't staying there.  With no problems, no questions and no resistance, they refunded our money and off we went.  Frustrated!   I was all ready for a fight!

Now we are both really approaching exhaustion so we found a market close by, bought a few things and came back to the room and fixed our own meal.  The new room is $10 cheaper and has wi-fi internet and the other place even wanted to charge us $6/hr for access that we couldn't even get out there in our "rustic cabin"

Oh well, we are fed, movie made of today's video, images downloaded and here we are together again on the blog.  All is right with the world again.

Let us see what we saw today............

Beautiful, huh?

This was found when we pulled off the road and just walked down a little bit and there was the clearest water I have ever seen in nature.  It was in parts about 10 feet deep and you could see clear to the bottom, it was beautiful.

There is/was a fire burning nearby and the sky was a bit hazy from the smoke.  Our pictures do show it.  It was actually beautiful, but a bit smoky in parts.

Guess what we found when we arrived at East Glacier?  Amtrak!!   Can you believe it?  We can actually take Amtrak to this beautiful place.  This is our car in front of the station.  There are only two trains a day so it was closed when we were there.

This is the Amtrak Station from the front.......

OK family and friends, I am pooped and need to chill a bit now.  Hope you all enjoy today's pics and forgive my rant about our little "bumps" in the road that we had today.  

Love you all and see us here tomorrow same place, not sure about same time!!!

The travelers......Wayne and Colleen

Bozeman to Glacier Park

Hi there everyone!
Here we are again.  Today we had a ride from Bozeman Montana to Columbia Falls Montana which is just outside Glacier National Park.  We are excited to get to see the park tomorrow.

The ride today was absolutely beautiful.  The forest we drove through was breathtaking.  Log cabins were everywhere.  Log homes, I should say.  There were a couple businesses that made the log homes.  Very strong, sturdy looking homes.  Lots of them here, people are really into log homes.

We spent all afternoon looking for a needle in that first haystack and finally gave up!!!

I have a thing for old wooden barns and buildings.  This was an exquisite example.  These old buildings really have stories to tell if  they could  only talk.

This is not the best glimpse of Summit Lake, but there were no places to stop the car where the view was best.  

It was a beautiful lake.  Another huge lake we past was Flathead lake but sorry, no pics.  

Ok, this is for you Stoney.....thought you'd like this one!

That's it for tonight, tomorrow we see Glacier National Park.  We will have lots of pics for you then........see ya!

Love to all

Wayne and Colleen