Off the grid...

My temporary living arrangement means that there are several weekends that I do not get a chance to get back to Milwaukee. This has allowed some exploring around Minneapolis and Northern Wisconsin. This past weekend, another opportunity presented itself, and I was able to travel to The Lake Chippewa Flowage in Couderay, WI. A good friend called me this past Thursday evening and invited me to come up to his cabin for the weekend for his son's bachelor party. At 157 miles away, it was a tad past my 10 mile radius, but, one needs to make exceptions every now and then.

Despite living in Wisconsin for the past 15 years, I have really never been "Up North" before. This location was as secluded as I can recall ever travelling to in recent memory. Minimal cell phone coverage, no internet, no real smartphone coverage and no cable television. Just a beautiful setting, great friends, outstanding weather and The Chippewa Lake Flowage (Lake Chippewa Flowage).

Home for the weekend

Besides beer pong and keg stands, we had a great day on the water on Saturday. We even took the opportunity to complete the Alaskan Pipeline...

The Chippewa Flowage is beautiful. The weather could not have been better for boating and cooking out. We saw quite a bit of wildlife that us city folks only see in magazines, nature shows or zoos. We were up close and personal with several Bald Eagles, Blue Herons, Loons and yes, a Black Bear. I am not sure who was more afraid of whom. But, this little guy was parked in a a tree not 40 feet from our campfire for quite a while. He eventually came down and went back into the woods, but, we saw him 3-4 times over the course of the weekend.

This Bald Eagle flew out from his nest and plucked a fish out of the water, then stopped on a nearby tree branch to enjoy his breakfast.

Finally, a great big thank you to my host for the weekend, Tom Malloy. He was the host with the most and open fire cooking master. I doubt I will have a brat or a hamburger as good anytime soon!

 It was a pleasure and an honor to be invited to the Malloy bachelor weekend! I look forward to returning and showing Noreen this beautiful area of northern Wisconsin.

By the time Sunday morning came around, I was exhausted and made an early exit for home. Plenty of laundry awaited me upon my return as well as the USA - Portugal World Cup match. I cannot believe the USA came within 15 seconds of advancing to the next round! Well, now we await what happens in the USA - Germany match later this week. Meanwhile, the count down continues, 6 weeks till we close on our new home in Eden Prairie...

Commencement...

As defined by Merriam-Webster:

com·mence·ment

 noun \kə-ˈmen(t)s-mənt\

: the time when something begins

: a ceremony during which degrees or diplomas are given to students who have graduated from a school or college

This is a summer of commencements. My youngest daughter, Carmen, has now graduated from Franklin High School. She meets both of the above definitions. A diploma was granted and in the fall she will start, or commence, a new chapter in her life at The University of St. Thomas. The rest of our family will begin, or commence, our new lives as residents of Minnesota. This will officially start somewhere in the second week of August when we finally move into our new house.

Congratulations Carmen
Final graduate of Franklin High School

Now that the house is taken care of, knock wood it passes all inspections and we have a successful closing, it's the little things that will remind us that a new chapter is upon us. One of the first things I did when I moved here in May was to travel to the Minnesota DMV to obtain my drivers license. It was a lot like most every other DMV I have ever been in, expect with more rules. They would not accept my Wisconsin drivers license as a form of identification. So, I had to go back with my passport and my Social Security card. Try remembering where yours is! You see, I needed 2 forms of ID with my middle spelled out. after taking the written test, I bought the cheat sheets online, I passed all requirements and was granted a Minnesota Drivers License. Only problem was, it comes in the mail 2-3 weeks later. I felt like a 16 year old driving around on a paper learners permit. But, finally it arrived and I am official...

Official Minnesotan

Later this week I need to get a haircut, so, the hunt for a new hair salon begins. I am pretty sure I don't want to go to Sport Clips, Fantastic Sam's, Great Clips etc... If I like my haircut, maybe I will post a photo. A quick scan of Google shows many choices, all within a ten mile radius...

Center of the Circle...

After searching far and wide, near and far and generally all over Eden Prairie, we found a home and have an accepted offer pending inspection! Hopefully that will go as planned and after July 31st, we will have a new permanent address in Eden Prairie.

It is a little bigger that I wanted, but, that means plenty of room for visitors from our previous homes in Chicago & Milwaukee. It feels like we are just living our lives along I-94. The location is very convenient to work and keeps Noreen close to all the action in Eden Prairie.

Much to the dismay of my oldest two children, my youngest daughter, Carmen, has dibs on what ever bedroom she wants. My money is on her taking the basement bedroom. I will probably have to install an alarm on the sliding glass door downstairs to make sure I can keep track of her comings and goings!

This will also now give me an opportunity to put my theory to the test. According the map below, most everything, including work, will be accessible within a 15 mile circle, with almost everything else within 10 miles (15 Mile Radius ).

So, now it begins in earnest. Planning the move, packing the Franklin house and unpacking the new one. It all seems a bit disorienting, but, when the moving truck leaves after dropping off all our stuff and the unpacking is finished. The dishes will be in a similar location. Our furniture will lend familiarity to our new surroundings, and the junk will still be in the junk drawer.

So, if you have a free weekend, or find yourself in the Minneapolis area, stop by for a beer or two. There are extra rooms if you drink too much and pretty much anything you need is less than 10 miles away.

We'll leave the light on for ya...

Maybe this time...

A productive and eventful weekend! My wife and oldest daughter drove up from Milwaukee on Friday for a visit and some house hunting. I have looked at over 50 homes and my wife has made three trips and has seen over 20. I can look at as many homes as I like, but, the reality is that if Noreen does not approve, NO SALE! Hopefully, this was the weekend we find the one.

My good friends, Clay & Lucy, from Northern Wisconsin, also came up for a visit. They recently went through this same process, so, they came along with us on our house hunting Saturday morning / afternoon. Saturday we saw 14 homes and took the evening to digest all that information. We decided to go back early Sunday morning and take a second look at our two top choices.

House hunting makes you tired and hungry. Tired can be fixed with a nap. Hungry means finding a great new restaurant to try. After a quick internet search and advice from our local Minneapolis experts, Jeff & Gina, we went to Broder's Pasta Bar in Minneapolis (Broder's Pasta Bar).

Dinner was GREAT, highly recommended! We will make a note of this restaurant and return again. We bought some Italian deserts and the Broder's Deli across the street (Broder's Italian Deli), and had dessert and coffee / after dinner drinks hosted by Jeff & Gina. Many thanks to them for opening up their home to us after dinner. It was a great evening with good friends and family!

Good friends and family!

We saw our two top homes from the Saturday home choices again on Sunday morning. Both were of similar size, price, neighborhood, and both had pools. This allowed a head to head comparison. After much discussion, we decided to place a bid on this home...

Could this be the one?

The bidding process will take a couple of days. When the outcome is known, I will let you know. Wish us luck! I, for one, am fairly tired of looking at homes, and would like a place to hang my hat. That way, I can start drawing my 10 mile radius...