Trip Report

I wanted to share some pictures of my great visit with Mom and my trip to Michigan.

Mom and I (plus Gabbie!) started out from Minneapolis Monday early afternoon and after several stops (gas, food, bathroom, first aid), we did a little sightseeing. We stopped to check out the scenic overlook of Duluth. It was chilly! But the views were quite nice.

Throughout the week, Gabbie was very attentive. She kept an eye on Mom's every move, especially while she was sitting at the kitchen table when the likelihood of crumbs falling to the floor was greatest.

We brought some flowers from Bachman's in Minnesota back to Baraga for planting in the garden that is out in front of Mom's apartment.

I wasn't much help because I was flat out with a really bad cold. Mom finally convinced me to go to the tribe's health clinic to get some anti-biotics.

Below is a picture of the front of the tribe's senior apartment building. There is quite a cast of characters living in the building. The residents have a community room where they play dice or cards in the evenings or they meet in the lobby to visit just about every day and sometimes more than once a day. And just this past Sunday they had a potluck bar-b-q out in the back yard of the building.

When standing outside by the garden you have a pretty nice view and can see Keweenaw Bay.

Here is a picture of Ginny Ann (our cousin and good friend who works in the building helping residents) on the left, and Mom, and Mrs. Velmer (right).

One night Carl came over to visit. He whipped up a batch of Pannukakku (sounds like: pahn-ew kahk-ew), an eggy, buttery oven pancake. You usually have this in the morning with a sprinkling of blueberries and raspberries or fruit preserves. Since Carl likes to bake desserts, we have it in the evenings too! Here's a shot of Carl serving up the Pannukakku after it came out of the oven.

A close up of the Pannukakku.

Mmmm ...

In addition to eating great, we sat and relaxed alot. And we saw quite a few birds visit the bird feeder outside in front of the apartment.

Before hitting the road to go back to Minneapolis, I snapped photos of Mom on the chair with Gabbie. And notice the new hair! I told Mom she looks like Jamie Lee Curtis with her new hair ... it really looks great.

We left Baraga and made great time on the trip. During our one stop in Ashland, Gabbie was having a good time rolling around in the grass!

Until she got distracted by another dog ...

Back in Minneapolis we just chilled out on Saturday night. On the way to the airport on Sunday we left early and took a ride around the lakes. Nearby Lake of the Isles is the house from the Mary Tyler Moore show. It is gorgeous!

Then we cruised on to the airport and had a smooth and comfortable flight home.