Saturday morning found us on the road, north to visit Kevin's Mom and Step-dad. We decided to follow the GPS instead of the way we have been going for the last 24+ years to see if it could shorten our route. We got off at the same exit, but it had us continue on for several miles before it had us turn off. Along the way we stopped at 2 very large perpetual sales. I bought two little things at the first one. It was nicely organized in a barn with a sign that said "now accepting consignments-80/20". That's pretty cheap compared to where we live and it's 60/40 or 70/30.
The next one we stopped at covered the entire yard. There were at least 25 long tables, lots of chairs, and about 30 boxes full of stuff all set out for you to dig through. Most things were not priced, but what was priced was higher than if you were to buy it in the store! Plus...everything was wet, like it sits outside all the time. There were blankets and towels and shirts that were nasty wet, and with the humidity we were having-who knew what kind of bugs and germs were growing in there!
The next stop was at the Mio Flea Market. I haven't been there since the year I was pregnant with Eric when I went with my grandma. It has grown quite a bit and it was pretty full. It is all under cover and a good portion is enclosed with walls. Kevin found a nifty cell phone holder for his belt, leather, magnetic closure and only $6!
It was a good thing we stopped, because our GPS chose that moment to go blank. I think the cord must have jostled out of it a bit and it just ran down the battery, because I plugged it back in and jiggled it around a bit and left it while we shopped and when I came out, it started again.
Once we were back on the road, I made my first turn, but wasn't paying attention and turned too early for the second turn-so it "recalculated" and sent us down a dirt road. Which turned into another dirt road called Muskrat Lake Rd. After a little while, the road came to 4 corners. Left and right was Nancy Brown Rd. To the left it looked like a normal dirt road, to the right it was a two track. Straight ahead was the continuance of Muskrat Lake Rd, but it also was a 2 track. Since the GPS said we only had 2 tenths of a mile to go, I decided to continue on.
It started out ok, but pretty soon, the trees got closer and closer the the tracks and the sand and grass got higher and higher in the middle, and the sand got deeper in the tracks. We were afraid we'd get stuck way out in the middle of no where. We got through and got to the county road, amidst lots of laughter from me and lots of grumbling from Kevin. How in the world does the GPS find such a tiny trail and consider it a road?
I guess when you set it at "fastest route possible", it really takes its job seriously!!! It actually took 6 minutes off our route-LOL!
We made it there safe and sound. Since his mom had just had back surgery, we brought up 9 individually packaged and frozen meals for each of them so they wouldn't have to worry about cooking for a while. I can't believe how tickled they were to have the meals! They kept raving about it. I've never really impressed my mother-in-law in the 24+ years that I've known her, so I was actually dreading the worst. Expecting her to refuse my cooking, or have her make comments about how much better of a cook she is than me, or that my meatloaf was dry, etc, etc. I was in no way expecting her to be thrilled with them. She even called her girlfriend at 9:00 at night to say twice "guess what my daughter-in-law did for me".
We made burgers on the grill, homemade mac & cheese and corn on the cob for dinner Saturday, and they kept raving about that too. I think they have been eating cereal for all their meals since Kevin's sister had gone home on Wednesday, and while she was there-she fed them some pre-cooked ribs that she brought up with her-and they had that for the whole 3 days she was there (at least that's what his mom said...she is getting very forgetful-who knows...they could have had a 5 course meal all three of those days, and she might not have remembered it!)
Here are some shots of their lake at sunset and the flowers we got her for Mother's Day.
If you look closely you can barely make out the Pilated woodpecker on the tree. They smeared suet all over the tree trunk to bring them in. They were HUGE!!! I've never seen them so big-it was fun to watch them!
We took a little break and ran into town so she could lie down and take a nap, and we stopped at a couple of antique shops. It is funny that there are two antique shops in this little town. It is a very small town. Ever hear the expression "blink and you'll miss it"? Well, it isn't quite that bad, but maybe two blinks and you'll miss it!
Here are some inside shots of the second place. When they were just starting their business many years ago, they hardly had anything in the store for sale, and some of the stuff sat on the floor in rows-they've come a LONG way since then!
A lot of the booths were set up in really nice displays, most were even color themed.
I didn't buy anything at either place. Both places were VERY high. At the first place, the owner offered to share her salad with us or her tea! Then she asked if we were from around there and Kevin said he was just visiting his mom. She asked who his mom was and he told her and she knew her and knew about her surgery and asked how she was and offered to bring a meal over! That was pretty neat, but we assured her that they were set for a while with meals-especially since I packed the containers so full that they will probably get 2 meals each out of each one!
On the way to the next one we passed this. I just HAD to take a picture-how fun is that!?!? Not only did they re-purpose the sled, they hung it up on posts so it wasn't just sitting on the ground.
We stopped at a little ice cream place and got some ice cream and some very delicious corn on the cob and tomatoes for our burgers (at the adjacent produce stand).
Despite the heat and humidity and no air, it was a nice visit. We had to leave at noon on Sunday to head over to Gaylord to pick Eric up. We met my parents there. On the way we passed this place...not sure why there are mannequins in every window dressed in vintage clothing-but it was interesting to see.
We got to Gaylord wayy earlier than we planned, it was a lot shorter trip that we remembered. So we stopped at a garage sale. Kevin bought an old oil lamp. When he went to pay, the lady asked him if his name was Kevin...then she told him his last name...then she said she used to work with him at U of M when he worked on the 4th floor! How weird is that?!? She actually still works there and lives in Gaylord-she has a 4 hour commute! I had already left for the car, so I didn't hear the details.
Now that Eric is home, the food is vanishing, the dishes are piling up and it's weird getting used to another person (who hasn't been here all summer) roaming around the house-but I wouldn't trade it for the world!!! I'm sooo GLAD he's finally home! He made enough money this summer for a super down-payment on his first car!!!
Adam starts his new job tonight at the Alzheimer's facility...I'll be praying that everything goes smoothly for him!
How was your weekend?? Find any good treasures? Take any trips?
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