It’s raining in Minnesota

Oh My Lord! Look what I found!

Oh joy!👏😄 MOD of course, was thrilled. Beyond words (NOT).

Hmmmmm

Fun fact – an inch of rain, depending on the climatic conditions, produces a foot of snow.

MOD is so wisdomatic.

He imparted this little known-to-me fact as we travelled towards Bayport, Minnesota, on our first day of rain in the USA.

Cross over the Red River which runs through Fargo and you have moved from North Dakota to Minnesota. Red River is one of the only rivers in the States which flows north and actually ends in Lake Winnipeg in Canada.

We started today in a cruddy motel. Naturally I wrote a nice review in Trip Advisor. Something along the lines of ‘don’t let them give you the room with the great view of the parking lot, it’s right above the all night disco. Might also pay to check if their sheets have been changed and if there is hot water available’. Kindness is my middle name.

Sigh…..obviously I’m becoming spoilt, although it was $45 more than the awesome casino motel we stayed in at Elko.

Yesterday, amid maybe a tear or two, (from me, I love those guys) we left MOD’s stepmum Sylvia and Kelly and headed towards Battle Lake. Location of MOD’s mum’s growing up and where her mother, Grandma Ethel, lived until she passed at nearly 105. Longevity on your side MOD.

We stopped in Battle Lake for a lovely visit and meal with Lou, partner of MOD’s Uncle Kent, and paid our respects to MOD’s mother at her gravesite. It’s heartwarming to connect with family, present or departed, even if they aren’t mine. I have loved every minute.

The suburban streets in the states we have been to so far are exactly as you see in the movies. The houses have no fences dividing them at the front, just an expanse of front lawn and between each house there is about 15 feet of space.

Battle Lake is no different. It’s a gorgeous little town located on the western edge of West Battle Lake in the central Minnesota’s lakes country, currently home to many holiday makers. The lake was named to commemorate an 18th century battle between the Ojibwe and Sioux Indians.

Minnesota itself is a really nice state, lots of pretty little towns with flower baskets in the main streets, gorgeous buildings, beautiful houses and stretched out front lawns. Like this one…

Springfield, Minnesota, MOD’s birth place, and the home he lived in for his first two years.

Down this neck of the woods, they have had rain for the last four days and it shows in the never ending fields of corn. Water everywhere. A farmer’s life is a tough gig.

In Sleepy Eye, there he was. The real Linus from my fave childhood cartoon, Peanuts. Charles Schulz and Linus Maurer (who was born in Sleepy Eye), were good friends. Schulz named Linus after him.