Woolly Mutts

Still in love. (With my husband and Minnesota.)

Greeting from glorious, if slightly damp, Grand Marais, MN.  Since most of you follow me on facebook, it's no surprise that we have again made our way to the north woods for a few days of escaping reality.  The fact that I have managed to catch some one's cold/flu/whatever is a small bump in the road, but even if all I do is sit in this fabulous room, knit, read, and watch the waves roll in, I'll be perfectly happy.

We arrived Sunday late in the day and stayed one night in an upper level room that was lovely, but I had a small wish list (tv in bedroom, bathtub) and when we asked if any such room was available we were escorted to the room that we will now ask for each time we come.  Room 108 at East Bay Suites is my new favorite place in the world.  The view is not quite so spectacular as the higher level rooms, but to be able to just walk out our door to the rocky beach is pretty fantastic.  Add a Japanese soaking tub, kitchen, washer/dryer, fireplace, king size bed....oh...dishwasher...I am loving a dishwasher..I could be happy here a long time. 

Due to my meh-ness we haven't done anything much other than drive a few back roads and a bit of shopping.  When next I post I will wax poetic on the fantastic yarn store they have here. 

Even the rain in Minnesota is beautiful.

Home again.

After a long day of travel that consisted of many more hours of aggravation than actual flight time we are home.  I feel like I've been rode hard and put up wet. (I apologize in advance for forcing you to endure my practical application of "what I learned on my summer vacation".  Holly is now fluent in "southern".) I tell you what, air travel is for the young.   What follows are my a couple of tips for vacationing in a place you have never visited before:

Tip 1: Avail yourself of the magical Gray Line Tours.  I learned things and went places that I would never have heard or done alone.  While riding on the bus the driver gave us information on local history, celebrities, places to eat, things to do, etc.  In most cities they will pick you up at the door of your hotel and drop you back off safe and sound.  I can't say enough good things about what a great time I had all by myself on a Gray Line bus.

Tip 2: Make a local friend.  I accomplished this by getting a pedicure.  The hour of conversation we had gave me all kinds of information about the resort, area, etc.  I offhandedly mentioned that we had seen a car with an Australian license plate.  The girl giving the pedicure told me that the car belonged to Keith Urban, who is Australian.  I may have just seen Keith Urban....or his driver....or mechanic, whatever.  She also provided me with tattoo parlor info (I didn't do it, but I will!), where to find the Whole foods and the closest Target. 

Tip 3: TIP! I tried to be sure I had a handful of one dollar bills everywhere I went.  Service workers have a hard and often unpleasant job and a nice little tip can go a long way to getting better service.  One night AH had a business dinner and I ordered room service.  I gave the woman who delivered my dinner a cash tip on top of the one the hotel added.  The next night when I ordered again I got extra flowers on my tray and exceptionally good service.  The woman from the night before had told them I was a nice person and to treat me well. 

General tip for air travel: Take more than one suitcase.  Most major airlines charge you now for checked luggage, BUT they charge you even more for luggage that is too heavy.  It would have been much more economical to take two and much less aggravating.  We waited in line for EVER while people tried to get their luggage under the weight limit.  By the time we got through the check in chaos and the security line I was thinking a slow train to anywhere would have been better than flying. If we go again next year we will seriously consider driving.

Tomorrow my report on Nashville yarn stores! 

Picture above is the front porch of Belle Meade plantation.

The party is over.

We're killing a little time while we wait for check out.  I love to fly, but not terribly fond of air travel in general. There is a great deal of hurry up and wait involved that gets old quick.  And rules....let's all say a big thank you to all you terrorists out there for making air travel a pain in the a#@.  If we come next year, and there is a good chance that we will, there will be some consideration given to driving.  As we wait, a few thoughts on Nashville:

*The Gaylord entertainment group may very well be planning to take over the world.  No need to panic cause they seem all friendly, but if Nashville is any example we might just want to be vigilant.  There is a Gaylord this or that all over this city.

*Nashville is one of the most beautiful, pastoral, green places I've every visited.  The east side, of town , or Music Valley, is all about Opryland and down home cooking and country music.  Lots of drive that big ol camper on up here we'll show you a darn good time.  The west side, Belle Meade and Brentwood area, the state of living goes up a few notches with multi million dollar houses and trendier shops.  Did you know that Whole Foods has a sister store called Whole Body? I did not and am glad we checked it out. Down town is a really interesting mix of honky tonks, history, and beautiful new architecture. 

*I did not see one gym or fitness center.  I asked the girl that did my nails about it and she said that her granny had lived to 97 eating grits and smoking cigars (that's ceegers)and that she didn't need 200 sit ups a day to feel good about herself.  Smoking is alive and well and living in the South.  I think I can that I did not leave a single building without passing at least  1 smoker.  I would be interested in the health stats here.

*Those native to the South have the ability to say anything and make it sound nice.  "You are fat, ugly, and your mother wears combat boots, bless your heart" can come out sounding like a compliment.  I heard a docent put someone from Kentucky in their place regarding the origins of American horse racing and it sounded like butter.  Craziness.

*I am now fascinated by the civil war and must read many books about it.  This was my first visit to anywhere in the US that had kept slaves and it was a little surreal.  I was reminded frequently what a Yankee I really am. That picture on the left is what one of my tour bus drivers called a "slave wall".  They are all over the west side of Nashville and indicate areas that were once plantations.  The slaves cleared the stones out of the fields and then made walls out of them.  There are literally miles of these walls in this area.  Interesting and sad.

Almost time to head for home.  I'm going to miss living here in this city that is the Gaylord Opryland Resort, but I'll be happy for my own bed and the cool Illinois (that is illinnoise here) air.  I leave you with one more picture that I must confess to taking.  The picture at the very top of this post is Alan Jackson's barn.  It was remodeled and converted to a guest house and recording studio.  The one below is his house.  See y'all at home.

There is something to be said for traveling alone.

As vacations go, this one ranks pretty high up there.  There is no question that I would rather be spending all my time here with my amazing husband, but I've discovered that the purely selfish existence of the lone traveler isn't so bad.  I get up after AH has left in the morning (he has to be across the complex by 7:30 am.  I think that early hour is a bit cruel.) shower and dress then head downstairs to a little coffee/pastry place in the hotel lobby and grab a croissant or bagel for breakfast.  I stop at the Necessity store and get a Nashville paper before heading back to the room where I take my sweet time eating, reading email and blogs and posting here.  Yesterday I had a manicure in the morning and today I may get a facial.  Spoiled rotten, I am.

I've been spending some time each day exploring the resort and I must have reached a point where I look like I know where I'm going because people stop and ask me questions all the time.  Yesterday a group of 70ish ladies wanted to adopt me as their group mother after I took their pictures and made sure they got on the right Gray Line bus.  Nice ladies.  I've met business men that can't find the fitness center, vacationers lost looking for an elevator and several folks looking for the pool.  I made friends with one of the in-room service people who brought me a little vase with a daisy in it last night.  I am either like-able or pathetic...either one works for me. :-)

So yesterday I took another tour, this one Homes of the Stars.  Our very knowledgeable driver Steve drove us west of the city to a suburb called Brentwood where a copious amount of people with ungodly amounts of money live.  Multi-million dollar houses were as far as the eye could see.  There were music business executives, athletes, actors, and of course, country stars.  We saw the homes of Dolly Parton, Martina McBride, Tim and Faith Mcgraw, the Dunn half of Brooks and Dun, Trace Atkins (who was leaving with his wife in a BIG ol pick up truck, but stopped by the bus and waved.  The woman in the seat in front of me darn near swooned.) a few others I have no knowledge of and Alan Jackson.  Mr. Jackson lives on a winding back road in a house so amazing I can't even tell you.  There is also a barn converted to a guest house/recording studio, cabin on the river, and landing field for his plane. If there any fans out there, he lives on Monard rd, but I couldn't find it again if my life depended on it. I didn't take any pictures because it felt sort of invasive.  

The reason I took the tour was to get a chance to see some of Tennessee that wasn't big city Nashville and I got exactly what I wanted.  The land out there was truly beautiful, green, hilly, and thick with trees.  I can see why so many folks choose to live here.  Each time I travel to a new place I always ask myself if I think I could live there and the answer here is, probably not.  It is hot and humid and makes me long for the cool wind off Lake Superior.  I am, however, really glad to have had the chance to visit.

Interesting fact about the Nashville area: they call it the buckle of the bible belt (and let me tell you that if the Lord Jesus does in fact come again it's gonna be somewhere in this neck of the woods) because there are over 800 churches in the area.  There are also 600+ bars and saloons.  I guess there is a lot of sinning that needs repenting come Sunday morning. :-)

I like it hot, hot, hot.

Actually, not so much, but hot is what we've got here in sunny Nashville.  90 yesterday, 94 today.  Air conditioning is everywhere, though, so I've got no room to complain.  About anything.  Nashville is an interesting city.  It's small enough not to be too intimidating (although I'm still too chicken to take off on my own and find yarn stores) but large enough to have anything you would want fairly close at hand. (yarn stores) Yesterday morning I took a 3 1/2 hour Gray Line tour of the city and was very impressed.  The bus picked me up at the closest hotel door (again, this place is massive)and brought me back to the same door.  The bus driver (hey, Rudy) was full of country music information and quite a few bad jokes.  He did a bang up job of keeping all his little chickens accounted for and showed us a real good time, bless his heart.  I'm reasonably certain that I will come home with a little drawl. :-)

On the tour we spent a half hour in Ryman Auditorium.  The building is old and truly beautiful.  I was not the demographic the tour was aimed at (those that worship at the country music altar ...and that is no joke) but I could appreciate how much the building means to the industry.  There are more pics on my facebook page if you're interested.  (Not on facebook? You should be. :-))

After the Ryman we went to the Country Music Hall of Fame where I was trapped in country music hell for over an hour.  Where the Ryman was old and welcoming, the CMHF was new, huge and.....boring.  I apologize to all you country fans, but I searched that whole building for ANYONE that rang a bell in my head and found very little.  Here I thought Garth Brooks was some sort of country legend.  Go figure. I did find some cute books for baby in the gift shop and a stool in a shaded corner to kill time in.  Ipod...I love you.    On Wednesday I'm going to take a tour that goes out to a couple of more historic places, Bellmeade and Hermitage and I'm seriously considering taking a tour where they drive you by country stars homes so I can get a look at the neighborhoods.

Here's the sort of cool thing about country music stars....they are cool.  We were told as soon as we got here that there was a really good chance that we would run into a star or two during our stay.  Unlike the LA tv and movie stars, the paparazzi could care less about the country stars and leave them alone to live their lives here.  That being the case, they go to Target and Kohls and out for dinner just like we do.  Now I would probably not know a country star if I saw one....unless they were Garth Brooks :-)  (I love me some Garth.) but I think it's sort of nice that they get somewhat normal lives here in Nashville.  One couple that I met on the early tour took the afternoon home tour and I ran into them in the elevator when they got back.  They saw Faith Hill backing out of her driveway and she stopped and waved.  People are so darn nice here.  Another person getting a pedicure when I did (best pedicure I've ever had) saw Eva Mendes having lunch downtown and Nicole Kidman in the grocery store. 

Today I'm getting a manicure this morning (I am a pampered princess this trip) and not quite sure what to do this afternoon. Maybe the home tour....maybe the mall.  Tom has a business dinner tonight so I'm on my own pretty much all day long.

Hugs and love to all the home folks.  Kay...I hope the boys are behaving and thanks a million for making this trip possible.  I would imagine that I might begin to get bored here about Friday...but maybe not.:-)  (I've been taking notes of all the phrases I hear that are new to me and trying to use them in sentences. " Here about" is one of my favs.)

Nashville, where you can get a wake up call from Wyonna.

Monday morning, almost 8:00 am in Nashville.  I walked Tom across the hotel to his conference about 7:30. (I left him quite a ways from the door so he would not be embarrassed that his little wife walked him to school.) This walk took about 10 minutes so that should give you some idea of how massive this complex is.  I'm getting picked up at 8:30 by Gray Line Tours for a 3 hour tour of Nashville so I'm going to keep it brief this morning.

The Gaylord Opryland Resort is broken up into sections.  Our room is in the Cascade section and the picture above is the center area.  It has two restaurants and a book store.

This picture is of the Delta area (a small portion of it) which is closer to Tom's conference area and has multiple shops and dining areas.  Be sure to click on the pics to see them bigger.  It is quite literally a tropical garden in here.

For an establishment this swanky our room is sort of lame.  No chair to sit on other than the desk chair and I was hoping for a little spot to sit and knit, etc.  It is just down the hall from the spa and pool area, which is a plus.  I'm getting a pedicure at 2:00.  Nashville itself, or what we've seen of it, isn't anything to get real excited about UNLESS you are a big country music fan and then I'm pretty sure this is Nirvana. The Grand Ol Opry is just down the road from the hotel complex and we were sort of disappointed to see that Carrie Underwood would be there 2 days after we leave.  Oh well. 

The people here are incredibly friendly.  When I told the woman (Helen was her name) at the concierge desk that I was alone this week she said, "You aren't alone! You have us."  She arranged for my tour this morning and offered driving instruction to anywhere I want to go.  I think I'll be visiting Helen frequently. :-)

More later, y'all.

I think I'm almost ready.

This morning I went to the oral surgeon and got a clean tooth socket bill of health, (I was told I heal well for a fifty year old.  Made me feel sort of old.) got my hairs colored and trimmed a bit, picked up some shiny new knitting magazines and I think I'm almost ready to start packing.  I even have nifty new zebra lugguge with which to pack.  On Sunday, May 31, Amazing Husband and I are leaving for a week in Nashville.  He has a work conference to attend at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and I've decided to tag along.  Did you know that Nashville has it's own Parthenon? I did not.  AH will be busy each day so I am going to be a brave little toaster and set out on my own to discover Nashville. 

I've done my homework and have a couple of yarn stores mapped out, but I'd love any input on "not to be missed" attractions in the Nashville area.  It's my first visit to the area and I'll have nothing but time. 

In unrelated news.....Yay Kris, the new American Idol.  What a sweetie.

Back to reality.

We have spent a lovely week walking and resting and dreaming of having a home here one day, but now it's time to make the trip back to Illinois.  I miss the mutts and there are things to attend to so it is time.  It is weeks like this that replenish and renew, make "real" life a little easier.

These past days I have frequently thought of the beauty to be found here.  Many time I have heard people talking of their vacations to Greece or Hawaii or Italy and have been envious of those travels, but it is hard for me to imagine that anywhere could be any more beautiful than the north woods, especially during this season.  Not that I would turn down a trip to any of those places and I'm sure they are spectacular.  Things just feel right here for me.  Like I belong.  Hard to top that.

See you at home.

Early morning on the north shore of Lake Superior.

We left the country - or - the day I lost my mind in a Candian yarn store.

We've talked about it, threatened to do it and yesterday we did it.  We left the country.  We came back, though, no worries.  It was a nice trip.  From the Minnesota border (where they ask some sort of stupid questions) the terrain changes to rockier, almost mountainous and then as we got closer to Thunder Bay it began to look more like Wisconsin.  Flatter and agricultural with corn fields and cows. Not what I was expecting.

First stop, Threads in Time yarn store.  An incredibly friendly woman in the local bookstore here gave me stellar directions and we drove right to it.  Kids, I lost my mind.  Seriously.  The owner, whose name is Lynn (Hi Lynn!) was the perfect mix of helpful and leave you alone, and she was the most adorable Canadian I've ever met.  I wanted to hug her.....and I don't mean that in a condescending way.  She was so kind and generous.  When we got there I didn't have the correct Canadian coin to feed the meter and when we mentioned this so that she could make change for us she gave us a Loony(dollar coin with a Loon on the back) so AH could run back and make us legal.  AND she would not let us pay her back.  Just lovely. 

So there it is.  The yarn stash from Canada.  I went in with the idea that I would only purchase fibers that I could not get readily at home, and for the most part I kept to that.  Mostly Fleece Artist and their Hand Maiden line and OH.MY.GOSH was it all beautiful.  The colors are vivid and she had such a great selection that I could hardly decide what to get.  She had lots of great fibers made up into kits that came with free patterns so everything I purchased had a pattern with it.  Brilliant idea.  Email me if you want specifics of what I got.  (hollyberry57atcomcastdotnet) I'm sort of hurrying here.  Anyway, I'll surely go back again and if you're ever in the area Threads in Time is a must see.

I am fascinated by Canadian money.  There are hockey players on the 5 and the coins are pretty.  I'm going to save it for the next trip.

After that we drove out to the Kakabeka Falls.  We have a thing for waterfalls and while this one was massive, we've seen many others we like much better.  This one was pretty commercial, although easy to access if that is an issue.  AH uploaded a few more photos here although I'm not sure there are any of these falls. Today we're driving down to Gooseberry, one of our very favorite falls.

We've changed to a new room with a much nicer bed.  I was sad to leave the old room, but have to say that this one just might be my new favorite room here.  Two more glorious days in Grand Marais.  This is the life.  As you can see, Lady Eleanor is growing and getting more beautiful, especially against such a perfect backdrop.

More soon.  Right on.