Date of Trip: July 1st – July 8th, 2007
Pharos’ Nest Suite in Lincoln, Nebraska
This trip, we drove Sunday July 1st to Lincoln, Nebraska. Originally, we had planned to camp, so we didn’t make a reservation early enough to stay at the Fairfield Inn as usual. Instead, we had reservations at the Settle Inn. When we arrived at our room, it was immediately obvious that this was a smoking room. We had requested non-smoking. Since they had no non-smoking rooms clean in our configuration, they offered us, Pharos’ Nest, which contained a king sized bed, a black jacuzzi, and Egyptian art and murals everywhere. They hauled in two cots and it was clear this was going to be our favorite hotel stay to date.
Enjoying Grandma and Grandpa in Minnesota
We arrived in Minnesota on Monday July 2nd about 6:30 PM. We ran into more traffic than usual as we drove into the city on a Monday during rush hour when 35 W was under construction. It was a relief to make it home and eat dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. As always, we enjoyed many great meals catching up on the latest news from Minnesota and beyond.
Shopping: IKEA
We spent a day wandering around the IKEA store near Mall of America. Before leaving we bought two chairs, a few pieces for our walls, and a package of cinnamon rolls. Shopping and eating dinner together was our anniversary treat together this year.
Wedding Anniversary: July 4th
We were married in Grandma’s and Grandpa’s backyard 15 years ago this July 4th. After the wedding, our dinner was held at the White Bear Country Inn in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. So on the evening of July 4th, we packed up and headed to White Bear Lake Beach to watch the fireworks. The fireworks were shot off of some water craft which blew its whistle after the show.
Tour of Lakes: Our Swimming Vacation
With the exception of the first evening of our arrival, we swam every day of the vacation. Our swims included two hotel pools, three lakes, and one river. On Tuesday, we collected snails and chased fish at Snail Lake Beach before a thunderstorm moved in that afternoon. On Wednesday, we ran around the pond at Central Park in Roseville. That afternoon, Grandma sat with the kids while they played in Lake Johanna, the beach one block from Grandma’s and Grandpa’s home. On Thursday, we checked out Long Lake Beach which is a beautiful deep water beach with sandy shore, lots of grass for lounging, and a large dock in the swim area to play on. I really enjoyed swimming to the dock with the kids and watching them jump off and play in the lake.
One River Too
Finally, on Friday we loaded up the van with lunch and drove to St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park. This park is currently owned by Washington County, but Control Data Corporation owned it as I was growing up. When my Dad worked for Control Data, we took many family camping trips to this park. I think we were all amazed that it really hadn’t changed much in the last 25 years. It seemed very well kept, the camping areas were very quiet and shady. Hopefully, we will have time to camp there again some year. The dock parking area has expanded. There were about 40 cars, most with boat trailers, parked at the dock. We found a small area of shade for the beach sitters in our group. The rest of us swam in the river making major discoveries in the water such as rocks with seaweed, zebra mussels and interesting shells. It was difficult to coax everyone out of the water at the end of our day on the St. Croix River.
