around the world in 180 days

We’re back in the city where we fell in love. Ah, how sweet.

Our good friend Jen lives out on Park Point now and was kind enough to offer up her living room floor as a place to sleep. She has a balcony and it’s great to sit out there and smell the fresh air rolling off Lake Superior again. We’ve been briged two or three times and, while it’ll always be boring, it was a reminder that we’re once again back in Duluth.

I think it’s going to be strange to leave. We’ve spent the better part of our adult lives here and this is the first time we’ve been in town without a place of our own in 8 years. For Anna’s family, it’s the first time since 1995 they haven’t had someone living in Duluth. It’s a great city and I love the location, the stores, the crazy roads, the music scene and the people. I don’t want to live in the cities.
But we have to. I’m going to get a fabulous job, maybe as a sports reporter in Farmington or Stillwater (working on apps for both). Anna’s going to get her Masters of Social Work and in the meantime, we’ll enjoy the culture, the music and the restuarants. It’ll be nice to be so close to so many friends and family, but it’ll never be Duluth. So it goes.

We’ll visit often. I didn’t get a chance to see the Questex people this time, so we’ll be up again soon so I can talk with the ladies in the classified dept. and show off some of our photos. I’m still working on upgrading the DVD slideshow, but I need the photo CDs we sent home with Patty and Paul’s shipment. We should get it soon, maybe this weekend, but I don’t want to download every photo from prior to Malaysia off flikr, as it would take forever.

Anywho, not much to say, I guess. BWCAW trip is coming up next weekend, which I am looking forward to. It’s been great to come back in the summer and get to do all these summer things, like barbeques, picnics, camping trips and the State Fair.

It’s great to see all of you!

They’ve been a bit slow in coming, and I suspect there aren’t many checking back regularly, but I thought it was time to make good on my word.

Minnesota has been good to us, as usual. The weather’s been nice, if a mite hot, and we’ve made a tour of most of the state, visiting family and friends and in general avoiding as much of the reality that we can feel setting in. Last Monday, we went to Rochester and spent some time with my family. Anna and I practiced our Thai cooking skills, making some very spicy green curry and some not so spicy cashew chicken. They both turned out very well. Justin joined us for dinner and we saw his (and Andrea’s) new home afterwards. Very nice. We should all be so fortunate.

On Thursday, we drove to Grand Rapids and spent an evening on Trout Lake with JD, Joe, Beth, Maddie and Donovan. The weather was beautiful. It was nice to be in the woods again and nice to wet a line, although we need to remember to pick up fishing licenses before we go again. We didn’t catch anything, so I didn’t feel too guilty, but it’s still something we need to take care of.

The rest of the weekend we spent in Cass Lake, visiting with Anna’s family. It was a great weekend. Friday night, Mike cooked us walleye and wild rice, a real MN dinner if there ever was one, and the next day, we had a picnic out at Norway Beach. That night, Mary cooked a fine meal and we continued visiting with friends and relatives. All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend.

Now we’re in Shoreview, staying at my Grandparent’s apartment while they’re at Mille Lacs for the summer. It was very nice of them to let us stay here, as it gives us a chance to get jobs and find an apartment without worrying so much about money.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped make this trip possible for us. It’s been the experience of a lifetime, something we’ll think back on fondly for the rest of our lives, and so many of you have been extremely generous with your time, your knowledge, your homes and many other things. Without such wonderful family and friends, such an ambitious trip would have been impossible. I’d list everyone here, but I’d just forget someone and you all know who you are and how you’ve helped. Besides, a thank you is best delivered in person, not writing.

I’m going to keep writing here as I look for jobs and as Anna starts looking for school, but the traveling is mostly over and life is going to slip back into the same routine it was in before. I don’t think the stories will be as interesting, but I like to write and this keeps me fresh. Talk to you again soon!

details to follow . . .

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