Summer is over. Soon we will be heading south. I took most of the summer off from my blog, so here are a few highlights.

The summer started with the usual projects including putting the boats in, and getting the water going (including the pump for the garden).

New projects included a new water filter system for the pole building, new tires for the gator, new ceiling fans in our bedroom and the main room in the cabin.

I did some woodworking projects this summer. The first thing I made was a stand for the miter saw. That helped with a lot of the other projects that included picture frames, a can koozie holder, firewood holder for the sauna, and cabinet doors for John.

We did not see a lot of live music this summer. We saw Drew Peterson at Portage Brewing, Forge North at the Hackensack Pavilion (we hung out with Kevin, Emily, Bob & Lisa), and Charley Wagner at Portage Brewing.

I already posted about our bike ride to Hackensack and back.

We got to spend some time with our friends Paula & Ro. They stayed at our place one night, we played some trivia and had some meals together.

I went to Mic’s for our annual guy’s weekend, Boot Camp.

We made a trip to Minneapolis at the end of June. We stayed at the Lofton in downtown. Our first night we checked out the new Dangerous Man location, toured Gaby’s new home and went with Gaby to Martina for supper. Really good food. After supper, Karla and I went back downtown. We stopped at O’Donnovan’s and then went to Gluek’s. We had some drinks and listened to a Bill Gleeson & The Greenline. After they were done watching the Twins, Kevin, Emily, Bob & Lisa came over to join us for a drink.

Our second day in Minneapolis started with breakfast at Wood + Paddle. From there we went to the Mia. The special exhibit, Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945, was really impressive. When we were done, we met our friend Lauren at the CC Club for some TouchTunes and beer. Karla and I went back downtown. After a drink at Kieran’s we walked to Target Field. We had a suite thanks to Walker. We enjoyed the Twins/Rockies game with family and friends. After the game there was one more stop at the Lofton lobby bar before going to bed.

The last day in Minneapolis we had breakfast in the lobby, said goodbye to Lauren & Walker and other family and headed back north. On the way we stopped at Jack Pine Brewing in Baxter to use a gift certificate I had won last summer. We had some tasty beer and pizza.

I had a work trip to Chicago at beginning of August. It was a lot of travel for a few meetings, but it was good that I went. I also got to visit Crushed By Giants Brewing and The Ledge Skydeck at the Willis Tower.

Karla and I went to the The Boulders for her birthday dinner.

Karla and I threw a party for our 20th Anniversary. We made burritos and hosted people in our pole building. I rolled close to 50 burritos. Despite a short downpour of rain, the party turned out well. It was great to see a lot of friends and family.

Our friend Ben stuck around after the party and we got to spend some time with him.

Karla and I went to the Walker Bay Theater for a performance of “On Golden Pond”.

At the end of August, we made a trip to Wisconsin. On our way we stopped at Lake Superior Brewing for lunch. We stayed at the Super 8 in Hayward. It is not very nice and we will not be staying there again. We had a good time hanging out with Kathy and visiting Darlene at Aspen Acres.
Our first night Kathy, Karla and I had a tasty dinner at the Social Kitchen. Then we walked to The Lot where they had live music. There was some guest singers that were pretty good but overall it wasn’t too exciting.

Our second day in Wisconsin started with breakfast at the Hayward Family Restaurant. Then Karla and I went on a hike on the hospital trails. It was a nice hike for about 2.6 miles. Later we went shopping downtown with Kathy and Ben. That evening Ben grilled steaks at Kathy’s for supper. Larry, Paul, Don, Tammy and Tish were also there. Unfortunately, Isaac’s flight was canceled and he did not make it for the show he was going to perform at. So we skipped the show and played cards at Kathy’s.

Karla and I took a day trip to Grand Rapids. We started at Rapids Brewing for lunch. We walked around the neighborhood and made an informative stop the Itasca Historical Society. Then we went to watch The Odyssey at the local movie theater. It was great to see it on a big screen. We made one more stop at the Tied Bar for a drink and discussion of the movie.

Labor Day weekend we checked out a couple of the Arts off 84 stops. We also did a little shopping in Longville and stopped at the new Karma Lounge.

Kathy came to visit Labor Day weekend and we went to some different locations the second day of Arts off 84. We had lunch at the Dam Site Bar & Grill and that evening we played Tripoli back at our place.

The final day of Labor Day weekend Kathy’s friend Julie came and stayed with us. There was a lot of Tripoli and I did pretty good.

During the summer there were lots of pontoon rides and getting together with family and friends. We had a lot of good times at Widow Lake and at Kevin & Emily’s on Woman Lake.

And trivia. We played at least 20 times and came in first 7 times. There were a few second place nights, and some we do not want to talk about.

More pictures here.

Look for an update from the road.