8/10/15 Family in Minneapolis, Friends in Red Wing and Wedding In Virginia

Melissa and Steve in Red Wing, MN

Moving south to Minneapolis, we have great visits with John's Aunt Joanne and a wonderful family evening at nephew Bryan's house with sister Barb and her kids and grand kids.  A visit to John's high school friend Melissa and Steve in Red Wing, MN was a blast.  They recently moved from NY to this beautiful  huge 1876 Italianate style home.  We walk through the so cute old mid-west 

Frontenac State Park

downtown then drive just outside of town for a picnic at Frontenac State Park overlooking the Mississippi River. Another day we drive down to Winona for some more of John's genealogy and stop at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha on the way back.  Back in Minneapolis we get nitrogen put into the camper tires to help stabilize tire pressure as we head west on long, hot drives.  The truck and camper go in for maintenance while we fly to Virginia for a week of several annual doctor visits and a wedding. 

We are grateful to be able to house sit again for friend Jane. Although the RV feels like home, it is nice to have a house to stretch out in, especially appreciating 2 ply TP and a shower with great pressure. She even left us tomatoes to pick!  Deb had a wonderful visit with pal Marie on her back deck which is adorned with tables and chairs from our old house across the street.  

August 7th and John and Shelbi's wedding is finally here!  Jack flew from San Diego to Raleigh NC last weekend for a college buddy's wedding and drove to Fairfax to be co-best man in this wedding. The wedding of our "other son" as I like to call him, is so fabulously beautiful because these are two special people finally coming together.  You see.... these families are neighbors and long before friends John and Shelbi fell in love, their parents had their marriage predestined. John (Army JAG), Jack (Navy Surface Ship) and Greg (Army Helicopter) were the three amigos in high school, hence the creative co-best men solution.  The sunset reception at the Army-Navy Club in Arlington with the Washington Monument backdrop was spectacular.  Calling themselves the

Best-est Men Greg & Jack and Stevie

"best-est men", Jack and Greg split the toast with Greg doing the intro and Jack telling the story.  The crowd was in stitches as Jack squeals on "little 16 year old Shelbi" who was throwing ping pong balls out her bedroom window at midnight to the three amigos in need of equipment for beer pong. We thoroughly enjoyed spending time with old friends and the families of both of these most beautiful people.  

We finish off the visit with a picnic with Deb's cousin Bruce and Carole at Paradise Springs Winery. Bruce had stored Jack's household goods while he was at OCS and the Navy shipped them this week to Hawaii.  As we get on the plane to Minneapolis, we take a deep breath, gather our mental and physical energies and pray we have enough for another year of adventure and thousands of more miles on the road.