At Home with the Holms

When we first bought the van we immediately had plans to visit all our friends in every corner of the continent. The idea never faded, but the reality of camping in wintery conditions definitely dictates where and when we can travel. Minnesota is one of those areas that we’ve wanted to visit, but it seems that each year we miss our window of opportunity. We get so tied up with enjoying summer and fall in the northeast that before we know it we’re behind the eight ball with regards to visiting the States of the northern midwest. This year we managed to get out of NY by mid August and were finally able to visit some of our northern friends.

When driving a vehicle like Brienne you very rarely go unnoticed. At the gas station, grocery store parking lot, or just driving down the highway people are always taking pictures, asking questions, or simply just giving a thumbs up. We’ve become used to it, but even we were surprised when we received a text from Marcy’s college friend Jen stating the her husband Ron was behind us on the highway. Even though we were headed to see Ron and Jen, we were still over an hour away from their house when the text came through. Marce and I laughed out load, waved at Ron as he drove past, and proceeded to follow him home. A sign of good things yet to come.

As I said, Marcy and Jen are college friends. They studied abroad in Siena, Italy and later spent a lot of time together in New York City. Although they haven’t seen each other as much at either would like, their friendship remains strong. Additionally, Ron and Jen have a new baby girl and Marcy was looking forward to meeting the latest addition to the Holm family.

Not long after we pulled in, Ron fired up the 4 wheelers and dirt bikes for Owen, Lucia and his nephew. They tore off through the woods having a wonderful time and of course our kids wanted to join in the fun. Ron gave them rides around the property and took everyone down to the lake for a quick dip. When they returned we settled in for the first of many great meals that weekend.

The next day Ron and I took the boys to the local car show. We all enjoyed sharing stories and dreams of vehicles past, present, and future.

When we returned to the house we received a package from Aunt Megan. Of course we had forgotten several things in NJ on our last visit and she had mailed them here along with several goodies for the kids including two boxes of candy cigarettes. The kids all dug in and even though they don’t know James Dean, they seem to have the pose figured out.

We spent four days catching up on life and enjoying each others company while the kids swam and played at the playground. As a bonus the kids discovered a huge silk moth caterpillar to add another cool creature to our list.

Now we need to get ready for our Canoe Area Boundary Waters adventure.