YCGL- Wednesday, June 28, 2023 - Big City Lights (Kind of)

 When I got in the trailer Monday night, I saw that the tray I keep in the sink was full of water, which it wasn't when I got out to go into Ralph's.  I quickly shut off the faucet, but I don't remember seeing a trickle of water.  The water pump was on, so there was positive flow, but I don't know how much.  Sadly, the tank gauges RV's have only indicate the 1/3 levels, and since I had filled up with water in Laramie before I left, I knew I was in the lower 1/3 of the tank, but I don't know how close to the bottom I was.  And since I wouldn't be close to water until St. Cloud on Wednesday, I decided to add water to the fresh water tank.  (I had dumped the gray and black tanks on Thursday, so I knew they wouldn't be a problem.)  So I hooked up the hoses at Ralph's and added a third, more than enough to get to St. Cloud.  

But that put me 15 minutes later than I wanted to leave.  I had set up to meet my cousin Sylvia Viken in Rochester at 10:30 before this happened.  So, I hustled on the country roads to catch up some time because Sylvia had a hair appointment scheduled at 11:00.  I got there at 10:40, which would give us at least 20 minutes.  Sylvia is Don Viken's wife.  Don was Albert and Florence's son and Al was mom's oldest brother.  Sylvia just turned 93 and it living in a nice assisted living complex near the Mayo clinic.  They last time we could remember actually seeing each other was at their apartment in 1960, right before I went into Mayo's with pericarditis at age 10, i.e., 63years ago.  (but I just remembered, she and a friend drove up to Fertile when Sally and I were visiting Bob, but that was right after mom's youngest brother George died in 1993, so we are still looking at 30 or so years.)  And Frankly, she looked really good, is very mobile, seems pretty healthy and was really happy to see me.  And we talked a lot about mom.  She had changed her hair appointment to 11:30, so we had another half hour to talk.  Again, it was fun to see another cousin.

I got to the next Harvest Host in Minneapolis about 2:30.  The White Bear Meadery opened at 4:00 and there was only one car in the parking lot.  Sadly, I didn't take a picture of the interior, but I guess it would hold about 150 people and the long, narrow parking lot would hold 50-60 cars.  The owner/manager(?) drove in while I was backing into one of the spaces and unhooking the truck.  I had been trying to get in touch with Daniel Kyllo, Kathy's next youngest brother.  I thought I  had his number because I talked to him last year, but it wasn't in my contact list.  It must be on my Christmas card list. I drove out to his house about 15 miles away and there was no one home.  I finally decided to call Wilma and get his number.  I called and learned that they were at their cabin in anticipation of the 4th weekend.  Danny built his house by himself.  It is a large two story home built back in the woods.  I'll try and catch him next time.  

I stopped and ate dinner on the way back to the Meadery.  By the time I got there, the parking lot which was empty when I left now had only 4 spaces open.  Someone was having a painting birthday party with about 40 people plus others around the room and it explained the full parking lot.  I was able to snake the pickup between two closely parked cars

The White Bear Meader serves over  20 different flavors of mead.  It isn't possible to get a feel of their meads without tasting, and, since the trailer was about 100 feet from the door, I decided to have a flight of different types of mead.  The picture was taken about 20 minutes after I got the flight, so that doesn't show the original amount.  (Or of the fifth one I ordered for a different taste also.)  This is science folks, A-B testing, A-C testing, ... B-C testing .... D-E testing.  All done in the name of science.  (Only... really..... must have direct comparisons....specifically.)  It took almost 2 hours to get through those.  And they are all between 12-13%.  

Probably the best sleep I've had the whole trip!

(And in to the morning as well 😙)

Wednesday, I only had 75 miles to drive to St. Cloud.  One of Sally's closest (2nd) cousins, Merle Sykora, lives there and I always enjoy spending time with him and his partner Tom.  I was coming in from the east and staying at a campground on the far east side of St. Cloud, over by the airport.  My "RV Safe" gps/routing/campground app directed me through the center of town and through a huge construction area.  It added almost 30 minutes to the trip.  Blah.  

But I got to the campground, got situated and unhitched and off to Merle and Tom's in about 15 minutes.  I first talked about Merle and Tom during my Las Vegas trip in 2022 under Important Happening of the Day.  Tom is 91 and Merle is 86.  Tom was an architect who worked at Taliesin under Frank Lloyd Wright.  Merle taught Fine Art and Weaving at St. Cloud State University.  Merle is Sally's first cousin once removed and was her closest relative other than Sandy.  

They are just a fun couple.  They laugh, they get frustrated, they tell stories, they seem to stay forever young at heart.  Tom is definitely having trouble walking but Merle is right there to help him with whatever he needs.  

We decided to go have walleye at a local bar.  Merle had heard the walleye was marvelous, but they had not been there before.  We all agreed to take a chance.  Merle knew it was next to a funeral home, but was not sure exactly where it was.  We ended up driving through several parking lots but he finally found it.  The bar is recent, holds maybe 170 people and it was bingo night in addition to the walleye.  It was really loud, but we asked if we could be outside on a patio, and it was quiet and a beautiful evening.  The dinner came with a large salad, mixed vegetables, and the walleye on a bed of mixed wild rice.  It was cooked to perfection with a flakey interior and a crisp exterior.   As we drove home, Merle realized that it was much closer than he thought.  I'm sure it will become a standard dinner for them.

When we got back, Merle told me about Lemonade, a Concert and Art Fair held in conjunction with the Saint Cloud State University.  He was especially interested in a piece commissioned by the Saint Cloud Symphony Orchestra.  

The Saint Cloud State website posted this:

"For the past 28 years, the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra has performed during the Lemonade Concert. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Lemonade, a new composition, “On Oak-Crowned Banks,” was commissioned by the orchestra, composed by Michael Halstenson and performed during Thursday’s concert following the Granite City Days opening ceremonies in Ritsche Auditorium as a tribute to St. Cloud State’s University hymn. The new piece was made possible by support from SCSU arts professor emeritus and acclaimed artist Merle Sykora."

Merle was very proud of the piece, very rightfully.  

For desert, Merle made a delicious Rhubarb Pie.  It is well into rhubarb season here.  Hopefully, mine will be when I get home.  

Merle and Tom!