I rolled out of my air BnB early and caught coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Starbucks before I began the 7.5 hour drive home. I decided agains
t making coffee at the BnB; the lady had two shelties that would not leave me alone and I didn't want to make a lot of noise and wake up everyone else in the house.
The only thing I hoped for was to see an eagle or two, so I would know my dad was watching over my last day of travels.He didn't disappoint, I saw six.
Of course, he was also riding shotgun the whole trip in spirit. When he passed, mom had teddy bears made out of some of his old shirts for the girls. Amy, who sadly was too young to really remember dad, did not embrace the teddy bear idea. I decided he would ride along with me. I know he enjoyed that I did some camping and hiking and biking and kayaking. He was such an outdoor guy. We had a few convos along the way, and he refused to sit up straight for most of the ride.
I made my first stop in Rochester, MN because i was finally back in Minnesota and I know they had a nice co-op there for organic food. I had Amy and Noah planning to arrive hot on my heals, and I definitely did not have much food in the house. It was a nice stopping point to stretch my legs and think about going to the Fosters show there with Mom and Eric to shop for greenhouse stuff as well as volleyball tournaments with Amy. Bonus, the co-op had a small liquor store attached so I scored the wine that i was in charge of for Thanksgiving dinner.
Next stop was White Bear Lake to buyout the lease on my car. They loved seeing my Volvo all tricked up a kayak on top and a bike on the back. "That's the way we like our Volvos to look," my sales guy said. Privately, I've wondered if people thought it looked more like a clown car. With that accomplished slightly ahead of rush hour, I was started tooling up north as we say. Before I pulled into my driveway, I had seen another six eagles, including a parent and an immature one.
I got home just as the sun was setting. The cats greeted me; Lucy remained a bit aloof, but Ethel was effusive. I'm not sure they were that thrilled that Buddha came back.
I managed to get the car totally unloaded and the kayak and bike and racks off the car before it was pitch black. Then I had to quick tidy rooms for Amy and Noah. Just like that it was almost like I never left, and I was back in mom mode.
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