National Pi Day and Taking Flight Day 61

Spent most of the last two days packing up to leave. And trying to explain to DJ that I really don't live here and I am going to disappear today. I am all ready to leave this morning. The Peter, Paul, and Mary song keeps running thru my mind.

• "All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go
• I'm standin' here outside your door
• I hate to wake you up to say goodbye."

Yesterday I finally got around to painting the top shelf Brent made for his two bookcases by cutting a 12 inch piece of lumber to make a large spanning topshelf. Very clever. He picked it up and put it outside. I sanded and primed the wood yesterday. Woke up this morning and filled in a few small holes with caulk. I think I can paint one side this morning before I have to leave.

But, most importantly, we celebrated National Pi Day (3.14.16 - right?) with a whole take-out fresh strawberry pie from Strawn's. Nummm! Best tasting math joke I ever ate.

The big morning, I tried to say goodbye to DJ, but he sort of hid from me. At first I thought he did not understand what I was trying to tell him about leaving, but now I think he did understand and wasn't sure what to do with that information. I did get to kiss Logan goodbye, but he was blissfully ignorant of my departure plans. I finished packing up last minute items in the car, went to the bank (she said my bank computers were down but I suspect her of laziness), hooked up the camper, and hit the road - in this case I-49. I pretty much drove straight thru - stopping twice for 10 minute naps, and twice for gas and a potty break. Then I had to pull over in Baton Rouge to figure out how to pick up I-12. Got to Slidell by 6 pm, dropped the camper, and headed to New Orleans. I had trouble finding the exit for Esplanade, and then there was construction and Esplanade was closed in the French Quarter. Then I had trouble finding the hotel's car park.

Finally got settled in. Total Great National Retirement Tour trip miles on the car = 6,500 miles.

Week 4 in Shreveport - What is a Cubit?

I took the family to Strawn's for breakfast on Sunday. It is THE place to be on Sunday mornings. The staff is so efficient and friendly, the food is well-prepared, and well-portioned. I had a ham steak breakfast. DJ had a Mickey Mouse pancake that he insisted on eating with no syrup. Logan had one egg and sausage, which he gobbled up. Or at least the parts that he did not end up wearing. Brent and I also had their famous fresh strawberry pie for dessert.

I thought I picked up a virus on my computer. I took it into the computer repair shop close to LSU to fix it. They said that I didn't have a virus, but I would have if I had called the phone number that the virus was trying to convince me was to Microsoft. I packed up all my brochures, maps, and extra post cards and mailed them to Mary Murphy, who agreed to hang onto them for me for a month. Thanks Mary! Also mailed the Medjool dates to the Thunes and Ellsworths. I felt the need to simplify my freight in the car. Also got my hair cut at Avalon Hair Salon. I think Elizabeth did a great job.

But the big news this week was the rain, the floods, the tree down in the yard, all schools including pre-school and LSU called off for the week, and spending 4 dark, rainy days inside with the boys and Autumn - and Brent until he had to go to work in the evenings. We had 5.5 inches of rain just on Tuesday alone, and a total of 15 inches of rain between Tuesday and Sunday - which is how long it rained. Although the sun did come out for long periods on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Three people died in Shreveport in the resulting floods. We did not experience flooding in the part of Shreveport where Brent's family lives. Autumn and I tried to get some take-out food, but all the restaurants we called were closed. Had to get take-out from Buffalo Wild Wings. Somehow the restaurant that Brent works at was the only one that was open during the brunt of the storm. And it was packed! The good news is that I finally got that green Chimayo chile soup made. Turned out pretty good, but was spicier than I remember.

When the storm sort of weakened on Thursday, Autumn and I were able to get some take-out crawfish delicacies from Shane's. Because it was hard to get out of the apartment, I finally made reservations for Charleston, Pigeon Forge, and Nashville. I got tired of staying inside and took the boys to Bossier Boardwalk Mall to do some shopping on Saturday while Brent and Autumn attended a funeral. The boys and I had fun at the Mall. We started at Bass Pro Shop where I needed some quick-drying pants and a day pack. We spent some time with the giant aquarium, played with the fish locators, played in the hollow tree, bought Grandma some pants, a day pack, and a compass for my car. Then we took the trolley, which scared DJ a little. We took Logan's overly big shoes back to Nike (they apparently do not make wide infant shoes, only wide youth shoes). We walked over to Chocolate Crocodile where DJ picked out pink marshmallow frosted oreo cookies for him and his brother. We started walking back to the car, but got distracted by a kid ride area. DJ rode on two cartoon-themed vehicles, but Logan wanted none of it.

Saturday night Brent, Autumn and I went downtown for dinner and some live music. First we went to Blind Tiger for a Cajun dinner. (According to their menu, a blind tiger is the same thing that we call a blind pig in Minnesota.) I had some pecan-encrusted Cajun catfish - delish - and they had a Cajun combo plate. I bought a T-shirt - I have been wanting a T-shirt from Shreveport, but it isn't much of a tourist town. Then we headed to the Noble Savage for drinks, cigars, and live music. It was a good band (although they did get started late). We shared funny stories and had a good time.

Week Three in Shreveport (and Houston)

I did make a stop in Houston on the Great National Retirement Tour after all. Brent and I spent most of the day on Sunday driving to Houston because his son had a court date on Monday. We had a long time in the car to talk about his and Autumn's plan to move to Minnesota next summer. We stopped in Lufkin for his lunch at about 4 pm. We planned to pick up the older kids for dinner about 7 pm, but ran into a freeway accident (apparently with injuries because there was an ambulance) near Conroe, Texas that delayed us for about an hour. We picked up the kids about 8 pm and took them to Willie's for dinner. We had some laughs and some decent food. br>
Brent and I stayed at the Spring Hill Suites hotel in Rosenberg that night. Really liked the hotel. Our room was spacious with a living room and a large desk, two separate bathrooms, and a large closet. The mattress was very comfy and so were the pillows - I am kind of a pillow nazi. We were deep into our computers until almost midnight. On Monday morning, he had breakfast at the hotel and then headed over to the Fort Bend County Courthouse at 9 am sharp.

It was fascinating to watch the people who worked there in that one little courtroom in Richmond, Texas. There was a bailiff whose job seemed to be to make sure all the men had their shirt tails tucked in and that NO ONE was using a cell phone for ANY purpose. There were three other women who ran around with a lot of papers and files and seemed to keep extremely busy, not sure doing what. There were several (4 to be exact) well-dressed men and women who were sitting at the tables facing the judge. At first I thought they were the prosecutors, but it turned out later that they were all defense attorneys, and they all seemed to have the goal of continuing their clients' cases to some future date. Then the prosecutor walked in pulling a dolly with a box full of files. Everyone just descended on her and kept her busier than a one-armed

paper hanger. Some conversa-tions she would have right there in the middle of the courtroom and some she would step outside for. The judge didn't actually show up until about 10:30. The defense lawyers immediately started asking to approach the bench for very quiet conversa-tions that all ended up with that lawyer's client being given a new date to return to court. Brent's son's lawyer did not ask to approach the bench, but somehow one of those three very busy employees came back with a form for the mother to fill out promising to return to court on March 14th. In fact, every one in that courtroom prior to us leaving had their case continued to March 14th. This was the 3rd or 4th time my grandson's case had been continued, which is starting to negatively affect his grades in school. I enjoyed watching how that particular courtroom operated; don't know if that is how all of them work, but I suspect so.

Brent and I took an unintentional tour of downtown Houston, and then got on the road for the 5 hour trip back to Shreveport. Again, we talked of many things - packages and sealing wax, cabbages and kings. We talked about the places Brent wants to show Autumn and the boys when they move to Minnesota - canoeing down the Saint Croix River, Duluth, Bemidji, New London, snow, lakes without alligators, etc. We talked about my farm and the value on hanging onto land for its steady, dependable income in perpetuity vs. selling out for a large sum of money right away that will be gone in a dozen years. "Never sell land - it's the only thing they are not making more of" has always been the Lindgren family mantra. We talked about my construction plans to prepare for them moving into my house next year. We got back to Shreveport at 6 pm and had dinner at Walk-On - a Creole/sports bar & grill. I had bayou shrimp and crawfish pasta that was fabulous and washed it down with Reasonably Corrupt beer, a local craft beer that I really like.

I got an eye exam and bought new eyeglasses on Tuesday (remember I sat on my eyeglasses and broke them on Saturday); picked them up on Wednesday. I also got an oil and filter change for my trusty Subaru on Tuesday. It came with a "free" car wash at the lube and oil place that cost me $4. Only in Louisiana do you have to pay $4 for a free car wash. DJ was sick again, so he came home from school early on Tuesday and was still home sleeping on Wednesday. Autumn made a really good avocado, tomato, and mozzarella salad which we had with "clean out the frig" left-overs for dinner. Then the two of us had a really good talk about my family and my farm. Oh, and Hillary won Super Tuesday really big, picking up 596 delegates compared to Sanders' 276. She is now 42% of the way to the Democratic nomination for President. Yay!

Thursday I traveled over to Bossier again to Bayou Outdoor Supercenter to buy a part that flew off my camper somewhere in Texas. Unlike the dealership where I bought the camper in Minneapolis, Bayou is actually a Palomino dealer. It was painless and the part fit perfectly when I got it back home. Celebrating small successes here. I went with Brent to meet DJ's bus after preschool twice this week; he is so super excited every single day that someone comes to meet his bus! Thursday was Brent's short day at work, so we went out to Silver Star near the race track for pit BBQ dinner. I had a combo platter: smoked turkey, pulled pork, and beef brisket. Nummm!

This week Logan decided that I am a playmate He gives me this little bright eyed kind of winking look that suggests that the two of us are in some kind of playtime conspiracy. And DJ revived later this week. This is the first time that both of them have been healthy at once since I got here. We played a lot! On Friday, the kids and I took the stroller and

went for a walk around the neighborhood. So much to see: 2 dogs, a lot of birds, blooming flowers, some Easter eggs attached to a mail box, and a swivel chair sitting on the boulevard. A kid paradise! One evening Brent, Autumn and I watched movies on TV and talked about: (a) funny things Southerners say that Minnesotans don't, (b) funny things that Minnesotans say that Southerners don't, and (c) how Brent and Grant used to have fart wars in the house.

Saturday I worked on downloading even more videos and putting them on YouTube so I could erase another 75MB from my camera's memory. I am still occasionally losing photos that I know I took. Then toward dusk I was trying to get Democratic presidential primary results for Super Saturday and picked up a virus that may have wiped my computer. I shut it down. We went to Tokyo to celebrate Autumn's birthday. She was joined by 12 of her family & friends and we all had a great time and some great Hibachi. DJ made friends with a cute blonde. At the end of the night he said goodbye and her name just as sharp and clear as a bell. I guess love will do that to a guy! I babysat (which consisted of putting the tired baby to sleep with a bottle, and falling asleep with DJ on the couch). A good week!

Week Two in Shreveport

Monday I spent the day at home with the boys who were both sick overnight. Daddy went to school, so Grandma played nanny again. Another day at home with Logan on Wednesday. He was coughing aggressively last night, but he was just a little ball of energy for me at home today. I taught him how to make raspberries and how to lay peek-a-boo, which he will do sporadically. I think he has finally accepted me. In the afternoon, Daddy put on Disney World 2011 vacation movies, and we talked about going back there with DJ and Logan in about 8 years.

I started looking for a campground in Pigeon Forge near the Smoky Mountains National Park. Think I found one. I watched a National Park Service movie about the Great Smoky Mountains. The Appalachian Trail runs the entire length of the park from north to south. I am going to try to take on a 7.7 mile stretch of it when I go there in April. Did some research on their shuttle service.

Tuesday was the third of gray, dreary skies during the day and overnight rain. This is my first stop that has NOT been in the high desert. I had gotten used to the sun. When DJ came home he was a little whiney, so Daddy lounged on the couch with DJ and two of his Ninja turtles.

Thursday was Grandparents' Day at DJ's preschool. They were having a program for Black History Month that started at 9:30 am. His class was not present. The program was clever and cute. They did an homage to Black music thru the decades: Chubbie Checker, James Brown, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Beyonce - ending with the Whip and Nae-Nae which was a real crowd favorite. I bought a lunch ticket and headed to DJ's classroom. I walked with him to his music class. He took my hand so he could show me the way. It was so cute. After music class, we went to lunch. We had fried chicken legs, cornbread, rice and gravy, boiled cabbage, and an orange. Because I did not have a car seat with me, I left to go shopping. When I got back home, I walked with Daddy to where the bus drops DJ off. He is always so excited to see Daddy. The bus driver once told Brent that he makes DJ's day every day when he comes to pick him up from the bus. Later that evening, the kids were in high spirits; seems like they are over their colds. DJ caught his cloth football 10 times. We took a photo and sent it to Daddy who, of course, was very proud. Autumn and I had goat-cheese stuffed peppers and Panera bread crustini for dinner. Really nummy.

Heavy shopping week this week: Tuesday, Thursday, and then on Friday we went to the Bossier Boardwalk Mall to do some shoe shopping. Brent needs some new shoes, and our little fat foot baby needs some wide shoes. I bought shoes for the whole family - except Brent. And we got some white chocolate/raspberry cheesecake to go. DJ was so captivated by the water fountain and the related water fall. The water fountain was timed to jump and splash to the music playing over loudspeakers at the Mall. Later we went to Superior Grill for margaritas and crawfish quesadilla appetizers. Brent grilled dinner at home.

Saturday, I put the camper up to do some repairs (remember that fender I ran over on the way to Carlsbad?). I glued and nailed the cabinet side back in place. It had been stapled on - and not with good carpenter staples either. Laundered the towels and pillow shams, and stored a couple of clothes hangers in the camper. I took a photo of the missing panel on the side (still have no idea how that happened) and found a Palomino dealer in Shreveport. That evening, I followed the South Carolina primary (I'm with Her; she won with 75% of the vote) and babysat for the kids since Daddy was working and Mommy went to a birthday party.

Week One in Shreveport

This has been a mostly uneventful week in Shreveport. The kids have been sick, more so on Monday and getting better as the week progressed. I did some nanny duties on Monday and Tuesday. Gave Brent, Autumn, DJ, and Logan most of the gifts I brought with me. T-shirts for all four of them, dried red chiles from Hatch, New Mexico for Autumn, 5 shot glasses for Brent (he has a collection), a Panda bear for Logan, a pop-up picture book for DJ, turquoise earrings from Santa Fe for Autumn.

I filed a claim with my insurance company for the hit and run damage to my car that happened Sunday night in the parking lot here at Brent's apartment complex. Think I will wait with repairs until I return to Saint Paul. Brent agrees.

I got all caught up on my blog - finally. Even with all the photos. I also took advantage of the opportunity Autumn provided to have a desktop computer to download a lot of video footage from my camera. I made movies in Photo Gallery and then uploaded them all to YouTube. I finally downloaded the movie of the New Ulm Glockenspiel from last September's camping trip with "the girls." That was a trip because I kept messing it up in Photo Gallery and had to start over 5 times. Once I had the audio set at double time in one of the three segments and we sounded like chipmunks. How does that even happen? However, all this work allowed me to delete the original videos from my camera, freeing up almost 1,000 MB of memory. I have been noticing for a while that not all my photos are "taking" in the camera. I suspect that I am running short on memory. So, this is a big help. I also deleted excess photos this week.

Only went shopping twice this week. Aren't you proud of me? I had to make a trip to Lowe's to get supplies to fix the cabinet in the camper that got damaged when I ran over something on the highway on the way to Carlsbad. Also got some paint supplies to help Brent paint an addition he made to their living room shelves, and a plumbing snake. They needed a plumbing snake.

Autumn and I took the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings (where Daddy works) for family night on Tuesday. DJ was excited because they had a balloon artist making balloon toys for the kids. DJ got Blue from Blue's Clues.

Brent, Autumn and I celebrated National Wine Day on Thursday by staying home, watching movies, and having some wine. Brent and Autumn did a staycation night on Saturday to celebrate Valentine's Day and - of course - Chinese New Year. They had dinner at Copeland's and stayed at a hotel. So, I played nanny again for the boys. They were both very good. After dinner, which DJ did not eat - again - we watched Monsters Inc and Kung Fu Panda over and over and over again. Then we all had a battle with plastic coat hangers. Logan decided that Mommy needed him to wash the carpet with a dry wash cloth, but face planted and dropped off to sleep in the middle of it at 7 pm. DJ also decided to put on his PJ's and watch Monsters Inc in my bedroom. He drifted off the sleep about 9:30 and was snoring like a truck driver. Photo below is of my funny little Valentines.

Sunday evening we all went out to the newly opened Grub Burger on East 70th Street. The burgers were juicy and delicious, and I loved the adult milk shake. They also had my favorite local beer - Reasonably Corrupt - so I had a glass of that too. Logan ate everything that wasn't nailed down. His appetite is back! And we took lots of adorable family photos, one of which is provided here for your viewing pleasure.

Home in Shreveport

First full day (Monday)in Shreveport and I didn't do anything. Nothing at all. Well, nothing but have fun with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. Now that I have arrived at my son's house, I will just be posting up once a week rather than every day. Because in this paradise of domestic tranquility, every day is pretty much the same, and I am loving every minute of it.

Day 31 - Driving Thru Central and East Texas

Leaving San Antonio today (Sunday). Packed up the car, and then took the camper down. I thought it went pretty well and I got out of there by 10 minutes to 10 am. However, I forgot to put the roof vent down, drove away without my wood blocks, and left my money pouch inside. At the gas station, I lifted the camper just enough to get my arm inside and retrieve the money pouch. But then I forgot to take the wench took out or to lock the side door.

I did not notice this until I was 5 miles away from Wildlife Ranch, and I had promised Dejah a zebra T-shirt. So, I went to Wildlife Ranch, took the wench tool out (it was hanging by a thread), put it in the side door and locked it. Then I bought Dejah a zebra T-shirt, a zebra fedora for me, and a zebra shot glass for Brent. Also stopped to get a peak at the new giraffes.



THEN was on the road to Shreveport. I did notice somewhere north of Waco that the roof vent was still up, so pulled over at a travel center and got into the camper just far enough to dial the roof vent down. When I stop at a travel center or a rest stop, I have to go where the truckers go. I am sure this causes some amusement among the truckers, but I can't fit me and the camper into the little spaces they give for cars to park at those places, and besides the managements insist that campers and RVs have to park with the trucks.

I ran into a traffic jam in Austin on I-35 - at 2 pm - on Sunday. I-35 from San Antonio to about 30 miles north of Austin is one giant suburban strip mall. And then that starts back up again between Waco and Dallas. Stopped at this giant strip mall somewhere in Texas to have a steak and baked sweet potato at Logan's Roadhouse (a family joke). Only took I-35 to I-20, so missed most of the Dallas traffic (they have one 24-hour traffic jam every day). Got lost again where I-20 meets Bert Kouns, but made it to Brent's house just after 9 pm. We put the camper in the back lot after Brent gave me a piece of wood just the perfect size to rest the tongue pole on. Then they fed me fiery apple pork tenderloin and green beans. Nummm. Someone hit my car overnight in the parking lot (hit and run), just when I felt that I had made it safely to a familiar place. It caused some damage to my practically new car.

The car is registering 5,300 miles so far on this trip, and turned over to 30,000 miles total lifetime mileage somewhere just this side of Dallas. You may have noticed that I did not take the route thru Houston and Lafayette that is shown on the map, but rather the route thru Austin and Dallas, which is also shown on the map. Day 31 was long and tiring, but I arrived safe and sound - my car not so much.