Chily Expeditions: End of Summer 2014

A few of the places Kirk and I, and/or friends and family have visited while in Pepin were: Slippery's, a nice restaurant on the river in Wabasha, MN; Buena Vista Park in Alma, WI (beautiful view),;The Pickle Factory in Pepin ( a fun restaurant on the river); Stockholm, Wi which is a small touristy town with lots of unique stores; Mt Frontenac golf course near Red Wing, MN; Six String Saloon in Maiden Rock, WI along the river (great pizza); The Golden Frog bar and grill in Fountain City, WI (which for some reason our DIL Nicki knew all about); Seven Hawks Winery behind the Golden Frog (fun wine tasting) and many more places. Most places we rode the motorcycle. A very beautiful, scenic area. On August 8th, Kirk and I took a bike ride to eat at Hanson's Hideout between Fountain City and Arcadia, WI. Better get down the hill before dusk or you might run into the deer. Not a good thing when on a motorcycle. Fortunately we were only hit by a bird, on Kirk's leg. The next day we drove to MN for Ady's 11th birthday weekend. It was a great, fun party ending that night with a trip to the movie theatre to see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Movie (which was actually pretty good). It did bring back memories of taking my own kids to the TMNT movies when they were little. Ben was totally addicted ( I think he is still). On Sunday we all went to the Mall of America to the Nickalodean Universe Indoor Theme Park. What a crazy, fun time with Ben, Kristy, Robyn, Bella, and Isaac (Ady stayed home, not feeling so great). Perfect ending to a perfect weekend. Kirk met Ben and me half way as Ben and kids were driving back home after the birthday weekend. Kirk had only stayed for Ady's party and returned back to Pepin on Saturday to take care of Chuy.
The next weekend we drove over to Bev and Al's in Nashua, IA (Kirk's sister). We went just for the day. Al and Bev took us all for a pontoon ride. Bev's grandson, Brandon was there also. He has grown so much. What a handsome young man.
On August 22nd we took the RV and returned to Chapparal Campground for the annual golf tournament. This years theme was Mardi Gras. Angela (my sister) joined us in her camper, along with Penny Mackey from Monmouth. Angela had been traveling for a couple months from Mesa to visit family and friends in the North. Angela even joined us in the golf outing and finally had fun when she figured out it wasn't a serious game. We even did the Ice Bucket Challenge to benefit ALS.
Labor Day weekend I went to the cities to attend the MN state fair with the girls, while Kirk stayed back at the campground with Chuy. Kirk also went on a long motorcycle ride that Sunday with some campground neighbors. The State Fair was fun. We did a lot of walking, and tried a lot of strange, yummy fair food. One thing I wanted to try, but did not find was the egg coffee. A patient of mine at Pepin Manor had told me about it (apparently its a swedish thing). I had never heard of it. Maybe next time.
Went to Hastings, MN to look at a motorcycle Kirk had seen in the Cycle Trader. We needed something a little bigger than our Honda Shadow as I was really liking to ride with Kirk, but longer trips were just too much for me on a smaller bike. Kirk had found a private owner of a pearl white, 2003 Harley Road King Classic, 100th Anniversary. And that's exactly what we left with that day, along with a women's leather riding jacket (bought from their neighbor, and my first riding jacket. So now i'm a cool biker mama :) ). So how the heck are we gonna travel with a big motorcycle AND a tow truck? We had a lift attached to the back of the motorhome. Works great!
Kirk took the truck the next day to visit his mom in IA for a few days and attend Mason's 2nd birthday party. Still working on getting stuff in the house ready for the auction.
We had Bella for the weekend of 9/13 -9/14 which was perfect. It was Laura Ingalls Wilder Days in Pepin that weekend. The weather was perfect. Bella had a blast. We all had a blast. It ended on Sunday with a parade and Bella getting lots of candy to share with her brother. After the parade, we met Kristy, Robyn, Ady, Isaac, and Nicki in Menominee to drop off kids with Nicki. Isaac had spent the weekend with the girls in the cities.
September 20th was the big Flood Run. This is an annual motorcycle ride that starts in the cities and goes down either side of the river (MN and WI) down to Winona, MN and back to the cities. A little bit of history here: this is a charity run since the original 12 bikers threw sandbags helping in the 1965 floods. It is now a ride where hundreds ride together to raise money for the kids at Gillette children's Hospital. We did not do the Flood Run per say, but did go on a long bike ride that day and ran across many riders. One of our stops was at the Danzinger Vineyard in Alma, WI which has a beautiful view, and wine tasting. We also stopped in Maiden Rock and visited the many vendors there with all their biker paraphernalia. I bought my first bandana which was decorated with Swarovski crystals (adding to my coolness as a biker mama).
The coming week brought Kristy, Robyn, and Ady to the campground. They could only stay till Saturday morning as Robyn had to work. While here, the girls and I went to Bella Villeza Vineyard in Pepin for wine tasting. Then strolled downtown Pepin to a few shops down by the Marina, and maybe some more wine tasting :)
Ben, Nicki, and the kids pulled in with their camper Friday night and stayed till Sunday. We had our first campfire Saturday night at this campground. Of course the kids had to have S'mores. Sunday for lunch, Ben and Nicki took me to Harbor View restaurant down by the Marina in Pepin while Kirk watched the kids. Great food and company. I had a wonderful time. I miss them so much!
The Leaves are starting to change nicely! Fall is here..