North Country 2011--Day 29

Some relaxing, some laundry and a chance for Joanne to see old friends.

Not much happening in the Minneapolis area for us so far. We have kind of settled in for the few days we'll be here at Dakotah Meadows. Yesterday was mostly for housekeeping things that need to be taken care of when out on the road for extended periods. A little maintenance on the coach and then it was off to do laundry. The campground has a coin operated laundry but it was being used all morning by folks that got in ahead of us. So, we took off looking for a laundry. After the wash was done we stopped at a local Dairy Queen for a late lunch and then back to the coach for the evening. Not a very exciting day but got the necessary things taken care of.

Today was a bit different, at least for Joanne. She spent most of the day visiting with old friends from her days when she lived in and attended school in Duluth. First, her friend Marcia, picked her up just before noon to go to lunch. Afterward they came back to the coach and enjoyed the beautiful weather to sit out in the lawn chairs catching up on old times. (Marcia came to Oklahoma in 1988 to serve as Jo's Matron of Honor when we got married.) I used this time to make a trip to Best Buy to pick up some stuff to clean up our computer screens.

Later in the day two other friends, Sharon and Merridy, picked her up to go to dinner. Both of these ladies grew up in the same neighborhood as Jo in Duluth. They went down the street to the Little Six Casino to eat in their restaurant. (These casinos are owned and operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community, a part of the Cheyenne Sioux Tribe.) While they were out I wandered over to the bigger Mystic Lake Casino to grab a sandwich and try my luck a little. Didn't have much luck at finding food or on the casino floor. Due to a big outdoor concert by Stevie Nicks the casinos and restaurants were swamped with people. Finally was able to get into the food court and get a burger and returned to the coach after a couple of hours. Jo and her friends must have been having a good time visiting since they did not return until after I was back. Needless to say, a good day all in all.