Simply Norma

This past Labor Day we had family visit from North Dakota which was unexpected yet nice.

My husband’s “side of the family” is the quiet side. They are content with sitting and talking, reading, using their computer or watching deer go by. Even so, I decided to take them to see some places I haven’t been to.

First, we went to brunch at the Lake Elmo Inn. Although my husband and I have been there for dinner, we had not been there for the brunch that everyone seemed to rave about. We were not disappointed as both the food and service were really good. The only problem was that the buffet line starts when you enter the restaurant which is not good when there are a lot of people waiting in line.  Other than that — it was great!

Next we headed to Aamodt’s Apple Farm in Stillwater, Minnesota. When I entered the main building it seemed out of proportion — perhaps because the building is large and the way things are arranged make it seem as though they don’t have enough to fill the building.

We did not pick apples but thought we’d buy some from the bins they had inside. Only problem?  They were more expensive than the ones we get at the local store AND they didn’t look as good either. So, we bought an apple pie instead. The pie was just okay as it was lacking in flavor — I wouldn’t make a special trip to buy another one.

The farm is a nice “place to go” when you have visitors but, for me as a local, not a place I would frequent.

Once back home, a couple family members took naps and the rest of us talked, read and just hung out. A nice lazy afternoon.

In the evening we went to see a movie called “Hope Springs” with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. The plot is about a couple who have been married for awhile, kids are grown and they are now sleeping in different bedrooms as they have gotten to a point in their marriage where they are just going through the motions of a relationship.

The movie was slow going. I mean “really” slow going. At one point the wife decides they want to see a therapist and the husband eventually goes along with it. Perhaps the writers were trying to portray what it’s really like to go to a therapist with awkward moments of silence but it didn’t pan out too well.

Why this is rated PG-13 is beyond me. A few scenes were uncomfortable for me to watch — like when the wife is trying to give oral sex to her husband at a movie theatre. I know that our young people are growing up quickly these days but, really? Do we have to expose them to sexual scenes and innuendoes at thirteen in our movie theatres?

Anyway … I went home disappointed. And I was the one who picked the movie.

During this visit, I was happy to have my nephew volunteer to help with yard work even though it was a tad bit warm outside. He moved part of our wood pile from the back end of our property closer to the house so we are now ready to use our fireplace for the winter.  Yes!!

And the leaves have started falling. Unfortunately, we don’t have the autumn colors in the leaves — yet. My neighbor told me that since we haven’t had much rainfall this year then we probably won’t see too much color.

But I have to sign off now … my next group of visitors will be arriving shortly from Chicago.  My mama and her two sisters.  Now, what to do with three spritely 80 year olds?

Seattle visitors like to “take in” the touristy things in Minnesota so I took my recent guests to the Stone Arch Bridge (a former railroad bridge that crosses the Mississippi River and has a lock and dam) in Minneapolis after we took a walk at the Lake of the Isles.

Getting to the Stone Arch Bridge was a little confusing as there was only one sign and after it pointed you in one direction it didn’t give any more directions to follow.

We did manage to find it but, unfortunately, we parked a couple of blocks away because it didn’t look like there was any parking due to construction that was going on. Since it was such a beautiful day it didn’t much matter.

Once we arrived, a sign pointed us to the visitor center but alas! there was nothing there except an open space that was being used as a “gathering” place for those who wanted to take a tour (which we did not).

With no good directions to follow, we didn’t know whether to go left or right so after heading back to the “entrance” we went to the right and after a little we found the parking lot. Looking at a map we determined that we really wanted to go the opposite direction.  What a bother!

We finally came across a paved path that we followed and after a little ways it brought us to the “locks.”

Walking a little further on the path, we came across the “falls” which were impressive to me with the water gushing down — not quite the Niagara Falls but “good enough.”

There are 21 stone arches here and one can see some of them while driving on the highway. Very picturesque!

It is definitely not the Lake Union locks in Seattle with its fish ladders and occasional sea lion but overall I’m glad we went even though there is much work to do here to attract more visitors.

• First, they really need additional signs so that people can find this place.
• Second, they need to make it wheelchair accessible. I would love to take my future visitors here but a lot of them would have trouble negotiating the area (even without the construction).

To read more information on The Stone Arch Bridge you can click here to read the Wikipedia article.

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Almost two years ago, we were looking at a house that was for sale and beyond the backyard fence was the Belwin Conservancy which purportedly had wild bison.  At the time, we didn’t see any wildlife but I knew that I didn’t want bison living so close to me. I had visions of them going crazy and crashing into our house (not to mention the possibility of the smell that we might get when the wind shifted our way). So — the “Bison” house was passed on.

Recently we took a drive to the Belwin Conservancy to see if bison actually existed. We weren’t disappointed.

The sign to the Belwin Conservancy is clearly marked and you can drive right through the gate

There are two observation decks at the Conservancy.  The first one is a 6 foot accessible deck that has a ramp. You can see bison from this distance.

Once you pass this observation deck there is a path to a second 20 foot deck. While walking to the second deck there were quite a few flies and a whiff of a not-so-pleasant smell. I take it the bison aren’t litter trained. (laughing)

The second deck does not have a ramp so we headed up the stairs to observe the wild bison. And boy were they out today!

It appeared that one seemed to be staring at me. I think we made a “connection.” Perhaps he/she was as curious about me as I was about him, uh, her?

Hmmm … another one looking my way …

They are beautiful creatures.

The area where the bison live has a beautiful marshland and high up in the sky across the blue Minnesota sky you could see a hot air balloon. I wonder what it would be like to go on one of these rides?

The Belwin Conservancy observation decks are located in Afton, Minnesota and are open when bison are present which they say is from June through October. For additional information please go to their website by clicking here.

Recently we had friends visit us from Seattle and I took them for a walk at a highly rated  lake in Minneapolis called Lake of the Isles.  It was a beautiful sunny day when we went.

The neighborhood is in an established part of Minneapolis and the houses are large, stately and very well maintained.  A quick look at real estate in this neighborhood shows that houses cost up to $6 million dollars.  There are some that are in the half million dollar range … either way, too expensive for me.

The lake is connected to Cedar Lake and Lake Calhoun and has 2.86 miles of shoreline.

A beautiful place to take a serene walk.