We are still here!!!

I missed a month on this blog. Where did it go? I do know we were working and getting ready to leave Fl.

We left Florida when it was warm and sunny. Very beautiful and not too warm yet.

We are now in Minnesota by way of Tallahassee, Biloxi, Baton Rouge, Vicksburg, Joplin and Des Moines.

Tallahassee is the capitol of Florida. They have refurbished the old capitol and it is truly a place to see. The new capitol sits behind the old capitol and looks like any other office building as you can see by this picture. We were able to go to the top floor, which is all windows for viewing, and watch a a storm approach and go through.

We don’t like to drive all that much each day so we try to pick towns where there is something to see or something to do.

In Biloxi, Mississippi we visited the visitor’s center. The new 24,000 square-foot center cost $11 million dollars to build. It bears a striking resemblance to the Dantzler House, a two-story city-owned structure that stood on the site until Aug. 29, 2005, when it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Right in front of the visitor center is the Biloxi lighthouse built in 1848. It is said to be the most photographed landmark on the Mississippi Gulf. It did survive the hurricane. You can’t come to Biloxi and miss it because it sits in the middle of U.S. Highway 90.

Baton Rouge is the capitol of Louisiana. We visited the capitol there and marveled at the 13 steps, out front, each one with the name of one of the 13 original states. Minnesota was among them.

In Vicksburg we saw the famous river murals and also toured the Vicksburg National Military Park. The battlefield at Vicksburg is in an excellent state of preservation. It includes1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles of reconstructed trenches and earthworks, a 16 mile tour road, antebellum home, 144 emplaced cannon, restored Union gunboat-USS Cairo, and the Vicksburg National Cemetery. Needless to say you could spend a lot of time there.

L to R - Bricelyn 3, Sophia 7, Grandma, Aubrey 5, Grandpa

Our arrival back in Minnesota started right out with dance recitals. All three of our youngest granddaughters, Sophia, Aubrey and Bricelyn, are in dance. It is so much fun to see them improve each year and to see the older girls we have watched for years do so well.

Julia & Helena

Julia's B day

Dan's family has been busy also. We get pictures of them snow skiing, at the sea, hiking, Julia and Ana's birthday celebration, barbecuing and taking walks. We only wish we could be there with them. Helena is 18 and graduating from high school. She will be going to college in the fall. They are planning a trip to Minnesota sometime later this summer. We are anxious to see them.

Since we arrived back in Minnesota we have visited with family (had a 3 granddaughter sleepover), visited friends, dentists, doctors (all just regular things we have to do).