Charlotte and I headed towards Wabasha on Monday morning in hopes of finding some interesting things to see and do. The kids of today are different from years ago in that they are accustomed to keeping from boredom by being on devices rather than looking out the window to see what they can see or count cows or barns or play the alphabet game. So she missed out on seeing some of the beautiful views that I saw along Hwy 35 on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi River. So I let her have her screen time while in the car. It was a rainy day, so we planned to do most of our sightseeing indoors.
We stopped along the way and read the historical markers and learned about geological features and the Indian maiden who jumped off a cliff rather than be married to the man that her parents chose for her at Maiden Rock. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Pepin was our first stop and it was very interesting to learn about where she was born, her early childhood years and what their life was like on the Wisconsin woods. Charlotte remembered so many things from the books but she felt that Norah and Camille would probably enjoy it more - she has grown up a bit since reading those books.
We continued down the east side of the river and crossed over at Wabasha where we stopped at the National Eagle Center to learn more about the majestic birds. There are three of them that live at the center and the museum I informed us of their habitat. The center offers tours of nesting grounds and observation but we just saw the museum.
We were hungry, so Charlotte chose Beth’s Cafe in Nelson, Wi for lunch, so we crossed the river and had a nice lunch at Beth’s, then stopped at the gift shop next to the restaurant. We just couldn’t go by the Nelson Creamery, so stopped there for a yummy ice cream cone. We were both thinking that it was time head to our motel to check it out, so our next stop was the Alaska Lodge in Lake City. I had reserved a room with a jacuzzi and we were both ready to try it out. The room was very nice and had a small balcony overlooking Lake Pepin. It was gray and dreary but we saw eagles and gulls flying on the currents and White Pelicans bobbing on the rough water of the lake. Every once in a while, a huge barge would float by. We had dinner at Big Bear Pizza, watched a movie, and went to sleep.
The Red Wing Diner was our breakfast destination and we spent some time at a few shops in Red Wing. We were headed to the Red Wing Pottery but the GPS lead us astray - there is construction everywhere - and we had to head toward home so we would be on time for Genevieve’s art class. We made clay wall pockets and Charlotte kind of rushed through hers - I think she was anxious to get back to a game on the iPad. We had a nice walk with Joey in the evening, watched a movie, and went to bed.
Joey had a nice and relaxing time with Deb.
I learned from neighbors at art class that the new manager who was supposed to start on Monday had a medical emergency and will not be working here. So we continue on without a manager.
