alexandriacardinals

(* A/K/A Cleanup)

[The booted fence on the west side of Highway 29 between Glenwood and Alex . . . ]

[After a beautiful weather trip, we were racing to get home before the storm . . . ]

[Population 13,000+, depending on which side of town you come in from . . . ]

[As we head up Broadway, with a threatening sky to the north, I am reminded in this photo that our insect friends often commit mass suicide at this time of year by hurtling themselves into onrushing windshields.  We had to make many gas station visits along the way, not for gas, but to sandblast bug detritus from our means of forward vision . . . ]

[When we drove up our driveway we thought our flower beds were teeming with Monarchs . . . ]

[But . . .  Conditions for the Painted Lady butterfly have been favorable this summer—so advantageous that they’ve proliferated on the northern prairies.  The Painted Lady, which the casual observer can mistake for a Monarch butterfly, is not native to the northern Plains, but migrates here from southern locations.  In an ordinary year, one generation of Painted Ladies flits from plant to plant during the butterfly’s short lifespan, lasting from two weeks to a month. But this year, conditions have been ideal and two generations of Painted Ladies have flourished.  “They’ve been able to build up their population exponentially,” said Alex Knudson, an entomologist at North Dakota State University.  “Population explosions” in Mexico, for instance, can produce migrations to the northern United States.  As caterpillars, Painted Ladies feed on plants including thistle or soybeans. As adults, they like to eat a variety of plants, including asters, sage and sunflowers.  “Most butterflies are kind of incidental pollinators,” Knudson said.  But because the Painted Lady isn’t acclimated to the northern Plains, it isn’t equipped for the chilly temperatures that arrive when summer yields to fall.  “They’re not native species so they can’t handle the winter here,” Knudson said, “so when the first frost comes, they’ll die off.” (www.inforum.com)]

[I’ve always thought that anyone, or thing, who can flit deserves bonus points . . . ]

[Definitely flitters . . . ]

[Again, the Super (not me) decided a Bump’s carrot cake slice would be a perfect birthday accompaniment to the caramel roll . . . ]

[OK, let’s delve into the birthday booty, from sources far and wide . . . ]

. . . and continuing the next day.

[Thanks to all!!]

[And to all who share – Locally: Shelly, Larry, and Ken; nationally: Anthony Weiner and Beyonce.]

I’ve noted my fingernails and eyebrows seem to be growing exponentially faster with age than when I was younger.  That tidbit has absolutely nothing to do with what follows here, but my U of M Alumni Fall 2017 magazine came today and this was in it.

Men grow old, pearls grow yellow, there is no cure for it.  ~  Chinese proverb

Up Next:  Regular programming, trying to collate events of the concurrent Grape Stomp and Homecoming next weekend!

September 4 (THE MAGIC DAY)

OMG!!!  70!?!?

[Saved by . . . ]

An unplanned, great part of the trip was throughout the whole 3-day weekend, the Sirius XM Beatles channel played the Top 100 Beatles songs, as determined by a fan vote.  So, whenever we were on the road, the Super and I enjoyed the playing of the 100, several times over:

Beatles Countdown 1. A Day In The Life 2. In My Life 3. Hey Jude 4. Abbey Road Melody 5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps 6. Here Comes The Sun 7. Strawberry Fields Forever 8. Something 9. Let It Be 10. Yesterday 11. Eleanor Rigby 12. Blackbird 13. Hey Bulldog 14. I Am The Walrus 15. Norwegian Wood 16. Across The Universe 17. Here, There And Everywhere 18. Penny Lane 19. Dear Prudence 20. Sgt. Pepper’s… 21. I Saw Her Standing There 22. Help! 23. Tomorrow Never Knows 24. Nowhere Man 25. All You Need Is Love 26. Revolution 27. Don’t Let Me Down 28. If I Fell 29. The Long And Winding Road 30. A Hard Day’s Night 31. Rain 32. All My Loving 33. Come Together 34. For No One 35. Get Back 36. You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away 37. Ticket To Ride 38. I Want To Hold Your Hand 39. And Your Bird Can Sing 40. And I Love Her 41. Day Tripper 42. I’ve Just Seen A Face 43. Paperback Writer 44. Oh! Darling 45. She Loves You 46. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 47. Two Of Us 48. Eight Days A Wheel 49. Twist and Shout 50. Heater Skelter 51. We Can Work It Out 52. I Feel Fine 53. I Want You (She’s So Heavy) 54. This Boy 55. Back in the USSR 56. Hello, Goodbye 57. Things We Said Today 58. I Will 59. You’re Going to Lose That Girl 60. When I’m Sixty-Four 61. The Night Before 62. The Fool on the Hill 63. I Should Have Known Better 64. You Never Give Me Your Money 65. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 66. Got to Get You Into My Life 67. Taxman 68. Within You Without You 69. Do You Want to Know a Secret 70. Can’t Buy Me Love 71. Please Please Me 72. Michelle 73. Girl 74. Ballad of John and Yoko 75. Drive My Car 76. Lady Madonna 77. You Can’t Do That 78. Yellow Submarine 79. Birthday 80. I’m Happy Just to Dance With You 81. Octopus’s Garden 82. Good Day Sunshine 83. You Won’t See Me 84. Anna (Go To Him) 85. Magical Mystery Tour 86. P.S. I Love You 87. I’m A Loser 88. From Me To You 89. Love Me Do 90. Happiness Is A Warm Gun 91. Please Mister Postman 92. She’s A Woman 93. Roll Over Beethoven 94. You Really Got A Hold On Me 95. I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party 96. She’s Leaving Home 97. I’m Only Sleeping 98. Rock And Roll Music 99. Thank You Girl 100. Boys

The planned, ungreat part of the trip is that I thought when I got home I’d do a selfie holding my unwrapped, still totally cellophaned, Beatles LP, “The White Album.”  But I couldn’t find it – lost in the ether after 40+ years?  It’s probably worth $2 – 3 million by now!!

[We had morning time in New Ulm – it was a short drive to Glencoe, our next destination.]

[An older gentleman (look who’s saying “older”) passed by as I was taking the photo.  He said I should have seen the place in its heyday.  I said if only I had that capability . . . ]

[The place did have a rathskeller!]

[Some sort of government building . . . ]

[Yup, that’s what it was . . . ]

[My guess, at one time the high school, or the combined junior and senior highs.]

[On the middle school boulevard . . . ]

[And now going up the hill to visit Hermann the German . . . ]

[There he is, in all his splendor.  We had stopped by the previous day on our way into town, but half the population of Germany was there.  We were first visitors this time on an early holiday morning . . . ]

[The last time we were here, he had just completed a major makeover – kinda like Big Ole in Alex.]

[Nice overlook of the city . . . ]

[More historic buildings . . . ]

[And back at the German mall – no shopping desired by the Super?]

[And this is the historical society museum – cool building!]

[No doubt containing Wally Pickle and the Dill Pickles and Whoopee John Wilfahrt . . . ]

[Hermann from a different angle . . . ]

[We’re heading to the high school . . . ]

[Brand, spanking new as of 2016 . . . ]

[Cathedral of the Holy Trinity from afar . . . ]

[Where “Weakie” went to school . . .  yeah, I thought the same thing, the school looks too new!]

[Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, close up . . . ]

[Apparently there are two sheets of ice in here . . . ]

[One of them Olympic size.]

[I thought it looked like an old football stadium.  Upon further review, I’m pretty sure gladiators fought here.]

[On the road out of town heading to Glencoe . . . ]

[Not really sure . . . ]

[Lafayette, we are here!  Population 504.]

[Population 1,399]

[From the beginning, the final destination for my birthday lunch . . . ]

[“The Bumpster” is 2nd from the left and the founder of Bump’s.  He always said the Fat Boys had to go to Glencoe someday for a Bump Burger. So, I did.  The restaurant is now run by his daughter and son-in-law, and in statewide voting by a Minneapolis TV station, its beef commerical was voted best in the state.]

[The award-winning beef commercial, borrowed from Yelp . . . ]

[We stopped in town for directions and were told the place is always packed.  It was.]

[The Super made me do it . . . ]

[The Super also decided I should have a Bump’s caramel roll for my birthday cake . . . ]

[And the Bump Burger, worthy of its pre-game buildup!]

[It was a half-pounder, so we split it . . . ]

[And from the exterior, just off Highway 212 . . . ]

[Good-bye, Glencoe . . . ]

[And then on the road for home, with all the places betwixt and between . . . ]

[Population 14,178]

[Hometown of Alexandria’s internationally-renowned, Deb Trumm . . . ]

[Population 2,432]

[Brooten has an airport?]

[Next stop – Alexandria . . . ]

If you survive long enough, you’re revered – rather like an old building.  ~  Katherine Hepburn

Up Next: The aftermath . . .

September 3

[After overnighting in Worthington, the plan was for a little more sightseeing, then heading northeast to New Ulm via Highway 60, and then spending the night in New Ulm.  First up, drive by Mom’s old house in the morning . . . ]

[Downtown Worthington . . . ]

[Swing by El Azteca again . . . ]

Strange . . . but true

[This is Larry (with Laura, obviously).  Larry was born in Worthington and lived in the house located one picture below this one.  That house was about 4 blocks from where Mom grew up.  Near as we can figure there was at least a few years overlap between the two families before Mom’s moved to Minneapolis, but they didn’t know each other then.  When the McCoys moved to Alex some 30+ years later, they bought the Obert house (that we built in ’49-50-ish) in 1967 and have lived there ever since.  The house has had the same phone number for 68 years.  And then to cap it off, Larry and I have the same birthday!]

[McCoy house in Worthington . . . ]

[Obert house in Victoria Heighs, Alex, c. 1950 . . . ]

[Obert/McCoy house mid-60’s, yes, we added a 2nd floor in the early 60’s.]

[Back to current times, we returned to Pupuseria & Restaurant Crystal (remember it was closed on Saturday) to pick up some Salvadoran pupusas for the road.]

[Adios, Worthington!]

[On Highway 60 to New Ulm, passing Brewster, population 473.]

[Highway 60 parallels a railroad track – there are grain elevators every couple of miles.]

[Maybe the Heron Lake water tower?]

[Another nice mid-sized town.]

[And back to the little guys – population here is 87.]

[And we’re at the next overnight destination . . . ]

[This is “Weakie’s” (3rd from the left) homtown.]

[Some nice TOPOGRAPHY heading into town.  The city has a population of 13,522, very Alexandria-like.]

[Displaying the German heritage.]

[We were looking for a place to lunch on the pupusas we brought from Worthington . . . ]

[This was a little park at the base of the road into Schell’s Brewery . . . ]

[Unfortunately, we should have eaten the pupusas when they were hot and fresh!]

[Heading out of the park . . . ]

[And there’s the little covered picnic area where we noshed . . . ]

[The road up to Schell’s.  It was a Sunday on a holiday weekend.  No chance to find parking anywhere near the place, so we didn’t partake.]

[A park . . . it says so on the sign.]

[Our windshield sticker was good to the end of the month . . . ]

[Hot summer day, holday weekend . . . ]

[Why was everything closed?]

[A unique natural swimming pool – never seen such before?]

[And working our way back to town . . . ]

[“Weakie” has been eating here for 70 years – always gets the b-b-que ribs, french fries, and cole slaw . . . ]

[We ordered wine – our server noted that people here drink beer, not wine!  Ha!]

[We split an order and opted for hashbrowns rather than fries . . . ]

[Well worth the long considered visit – the cole slaw was the best ever, crispy and vinegar based!]

[A nice trend we’ve noted in cities this size – downtown corner art.]

[It’s a clock, it’s a musical clock, it’s a big musical clock with wooden people that pop out of it. … New Ulm’s Glockenspiel is a 45-foot-high musical clock tower with performing animated figures; carillon with 37 bells.  (www.roadsideamerica.com]

[Where we just dined . . . ]

[Across the street from where we just dined . . . ]

[New Ulm history . . .

[One of these is a real person . . . ]

[Cool building with a supposedly cool restaurant?]

[Again, German heritage . . . ]

[“Weakie’s” favorite radio station because it’s “junk” spelled backwards (I believe for New Ulm Journal?).]

[We will do a final tour of New Ulm in the morning before heading to Glencoe.]

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.  ~  Groucho Marx

Up Next:  Birthday, the actual day!

September 2 (still)

[Leaving Pipestone, heading south on Highway 75 again . . . ]

[Another Bucket List item . . . ]

[And here are the real live bison . . . ]

[And, of course, since youngsters are going off to college now, their parents have to say, “Bye, son.”  Oh, you heard that already?]

[Not a bad view (guess the background city?), with a Halloween tree in the foreground.]

[Nope, can’t quite make out the name on the water tower.]

[Meanwhile, back on the hill . . . ]

[We hiked up to the interpretive center only to find it closed.  I guess we may have misinterpreted something?]

[A color changed tree . . . ]

[With leaves that look like flowers.]

[Either riding thermals (it was a hot, sunny day) or an aged hiker collapsed on a trail.]

[The Super is off in pursuit of her Quarry . . . ]

[The goal is attained . . . ]

[We wanted to get up there – it would require a drive back to where the bison were and then a 2-mile trail hike.  We didn’t have the time, or the desire.]

[There’s a topless man up there!]

[Now looking for a place to have lunch . . . ]

[Luverne revives a lot of childhood memories.  They always seemed to be in the state basketball tourney, so they got a lot of statewide TV coverage back in the day.  Of recent vintage, they have become a bit of a hockey power – the only one from this part of the state.]

[And not a bad little baseball field.  The high school nickname is the Cardinals, a la Alex.]

[Another mid-size city downtown that appears to be vibrant.]

[So, where are we? If you stand here and throw a baseball to the south, it will end up in Iowa; if you throw it to the west, it will end up in South Dakota.  Now you know where we are.]

[I did mention lunch, right?]

[Whom amongst us doesn’t enjoy a chocolate malt?]

[Yes, Mom, I finally made it!]

[And the house Mom grew up in – she was born in Eau Claire, the family moved to Worthington when she was very young, and at some point in her mid-teens the family moved to Minneapolis where she graduated from Marshall High in 1941 (I think, I wasn’t there).]

[There was a young man in the garage in the back.  I asked if he’d mind if I took some pictures of his house – I told him my mom grew up here, like 90 years ago.  He smiled and thought that was cool.]

[Photo of the house by brother Cam in 2010 . . . ]

[And back in the day . . . ]

[And here’s Mom with her brother Dick (later to become my uncle Dick, though neither of us knew about that at the time).]

[A final shot as we go in search of Worthington.]

[OK, not likely where the Thompson (Mom’s maiden name) kids went to school . . . ]

[But this was . . . ]

[And long ago we learned the cheer:  “Red and black, red and black; Rickety-rack, rickety-rack; Rickety-rye, rickety-rye; Worthington, Worthington, WORTHINGTON HIGH!”]

[Probably self-explanatory?]

[An unidentified water tower?]

[I guess so.]

[A lovely evening for a drive around the city’s Lake Okabena.]

[Sunset Park, appropriately enough.]

[I still don’t see anything on the water tower?]

[Stock photo]

[Lake Okabena. It’s only 776 acres (about 3/4’s the size of beautiful Lake Darling), but it hosts . . . the Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival — which has drawn sailors, musicians and spectators to Worthington for the past decade. (www.dglobe.com)]

[“The kids” ate here once (everybody’s been here except us?) and recommended we do as well.]

[I thought it was an abandoned building, but for some reason the place is closed on Saturdays.]

[Worthington’s population is 12,800 – about the same size as Alex.  But it had a Daily newspaper since 1872?  Until April of this year, that is, when it changed to a twice weekly Wednesday and Saturday publication.]

[We still were looking for fine dining – this place looked good right downtown . . . ]

[El Azteca, with a nice cold Corona . . . ]

[The Super got a taco salad, I party dip Azteca.  Mmmmmmmmm!]

Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.  ~ Billie Burke

Up Next:  Birthday, day 2