June 8

We were thrilled to find our hotel when we pulled in last night because there had been NOTHING in the area prior to pulling into Decorah.  In town we located 3 well known hotels, all of which were at capacity due to weddings in the area.  Apparently someone has a lot of friends and family. We also saw a large old inn as we pulled into town. A historic hotel was listed, but we knew it would be too pricey. We ended up finding rest at the older inn.  After walking the long corridor to our room, we discovered the room was just fine. However, when I remembered something I needed, I opened the door to go back down the hall, and it was as dark as a stack of black cats! None of the hall lights were on, so I decided I didn't need anything that badly after all. This morning when we headed for breakfast, the hall lights were still out, but Nathan found a light switch and it seemed to cause the lights to work.  I came back to the room after breakfast and decided to wind back through the inn rather than going back through the parking lot. As I walked past hallways, I began to notice that ALL the hall lights were out. I found that a bit unnerving.  Then suddenly as I progressed down a hall the lights came on.  It seems this entire inn is wired with sensors like you might find in the coolers at a grocery store. They are motion sensitive. Not a very comforting feeling when you are walking along in daylight and the halls in front of you are dark and creepy.

We pulled back out and headed for Burr Oak to see what we could find in daylight.  We knew the museum would not yet be open, but we were able to see Laura Ingalls Wilder's old homestead on Silver Creek and let the boys climb in the covered wagon.

Next we headed back towards Wisconsin by way of Minnesota.  The rolling hills in Minnesota are so pretty as the farms create a patchwork quilt across the countryside dotted with barns and silos. It has become a game at this point to see how high the street "names" will go.  I believe the highest thus far was 1250 St. (Street names like that do no favors for folks with dyslexia.) Back into Wisconsin we were met by swarms of motorcyclists. That was a bit unnerving for me because some were dare devil types passing on double yellows in curves or passing and coming at me head on!

As we turned towards Pepin, we drove through the town of Wabasha, home of the film Grumpy Old Men. It was here that we began to see more of the Mississippi River. As we crossed the river back into Wisconsin, we enjoyed new views of the river.  It is not just a straight shot up here.  There are islands covered with trees where the river goes around and the Upper Mississippi River looks more like something you might see in Louisiana with lots of trees canopied over the waters. Pepin is the birthplace of Laura, so we finished up our Little House tour for the day here with a stop by the museum and then on to the old homestead.  It was fun to just be outside and let the boys run in the corn fields.  Simplicity at its finest. We even got to watch Andrew take a "Carrie" type tumble as he ran for the cabin in the Big Woods. As we headed back for Minnesota, we enjoyed views of Lake Pepin and the St. Croix River.

Now the trip was really starting to get exciting for Samuel.  He has been chomping at the bit to get to Bloomington, MN - home to Mall of America! Today was the highlight for him.  We were only able to spend a couple of hours there before they closed for the evening, but that was long enough to make the most important stop - LEGO STORE! Samuel has been saving his money for this very stop and stocked up.  He had said he was going to wait until we got home to put any of them together, but of course that didn't last. We ate supper at Cadillac Ranch the mall and while waiting for our food, he had already opened up and worked through two of his four sets. He decided to wait until we got to the hotel to break out the big one.  Since we didn't have much time left, we will have to go back tomorrow.

Since we still had plenty of daylight left after we left the mall, we made a trip to one of the parks in Minneapolis.  The older boys were drilling Andrew on the way there, and by the time we arrived, Andrew was proclaiming our destination - Minnehaha! Minnehaha Falls was raging today and the upper banks were bulging onto the shoreline. The park was bustling with people on bikes, so we may have to go back and rent some tomorrow to better take in the sights of this wonderful park in the middle of the city.

Our final stop was the Sculpture Gardens, another lovely park that allowed cooped up bodies to run, squeal, and stretch.  The focal point in the park was the Spoonbridge and Cherry. It was so refreshing to hear the birds, have room to run and just unwind for the day!