Day 6 -- Minneapolis

We made it to Minneapolis around 3:00 and it is great being here.

"A" is staying with Joanna, and Laura and I are staying in the soon to be vacated apartment of Joanna's boyfriend, Steve. I think both "A" and we are happy to have less than 24/7 being spent in direct contact.

The first order of business was to completely unload our trunk so we could get out the things we had brought cross-country for Joanna. It was unbelievable to look at the huge array of items we had been carrying in our car -- for both us and Joanna.

For us there is:

-- a box of "A"'s clothes
-- a box of Laura's clothes
-- a box of my clothes (the idea with these boxes is that we each select what we want each day and just bring those in a separate small duffel bag into hotels with us -- it's worked pretty well, but has been a bit hard to get at our clothes)
-- 3 small boxes of things we didn't want movers to transport
-- a carrying bag of medical/apothecary type needs
-- a box with activities "A" can choose from for entertainment while driving
-- a backpack of electronics (headphones, portable dvd player, dvds, etc.)
-- a daypack
--the equivalent of 3 bags of groceries (food that we took plus food my mother sweetly gave us for journey)
-- 2 rat cages -- one large and one small (for when we need to "sneak" into hotel rooms)
-- a cooler
-- a bucket filled with personal items (shampoo, sunscreen, etc.)
-- a sleeping bag
-- 3 pillows
-- 6 coats of various types (9 if you count fleeces)
-- a laptop computer
-- 3 purses/messenger bags
-- a travel lap-table for "A"
-- a dirty laundry bag
-- several other small items (books, hairdryer, etc.)

I think that's it, but I might be missing some stuff.

Now, what we had for Joanna:

-- six (mostly large -- averaging say 2 1/2 by 4 foot) framed pieces of artwork
-- an arcade-type amusement game
-- cross-country skis, poles, shoes

We had to remove everyting from the trunk to get at Joanna's things which were at the bottom. It looked like we were moving in!

I took some pride in how I had carefully planned each inch of car packing space for efficient use during the trip. Well, pride truly does go before a fall. We were barely into the trip when my system started to break down and our things became somewhat of a confusing jumble. I have some hope that with Joanna's things now out of the car, we can have a bit more space and order. But I won't hold my breath.

Last night we went to the Dakota Jazz club in Minneapolis. We had a wonderful dinner and heard some great live music (Nachito Herrera). It was in celebration of Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Steve's and Joanna's Birthdays. Very nice. Here's their website: http://www.dakotacooks.com/

Today, we are hoping to spend at one of MN's wonderful lakes.

Sorry for the lack of pictures again. I have the laptop and "A" has the camera at Joanna's. We'll get it together at some point and I'll play catch up.