My first visit was to “the cities” as they are called here; stopped to see Aunt Mary (my dad's only living sibling and my Godmother). I stopped twice more while I was in the area and we had lunch. The first time I stopped, the very first thing I saw from my car was an albino squirrel playing in her front yard …. Quite a site. I mentioned it to several others after and no one had seen one, so it was indeed a unique sighting.
I also spent several days in Cross Lake with Aunt Carol and Uncle Jerry (my Mother’s youngest brother) and visited with my cousin Cheryl and her husband Tim. It was a very nice visit. I returned for the Thanksgiving holiday. While visiting the first time, I did get to see some Fall color and several deer. In this part of the country, when you see a “deer crossing” sign, you better pay attention.
Aunt Carol and Uncle Jerry, Cheryl and Tim and I went to a dive bar called the Old Milwaukee, which was featured on the TV show Diners, Dives, and Dash.
And then I headed to Iowa. My friend, Jolene Beland offered to let me stay at her house until I found some place to rent. As it turned out, no one wanted to rent an apartment for such a short time, nor could I find a vacation rental that I could afford, so I stayed with Jolene and her husband the entire time. Besides getting to have an extended visit with a friend from California, it gave me time to explore the state of Iowa, a beginning glimpse in to my new life!
