Our First "Vacation" of Retirement.

    I threw my Swiss Army knife in the trash can.  It was either that or run out and mail it to myself, then beg to get back in the front of the line.  So I dropped it in the trash can.
    Thus began the last leg of our two-week vacation trip to Minnesota.  The only reason we decided to spend our time in the mosquito state was because we could drop Karen's father off at her brother's house and that's the only timeshare we could find in the region.  I wasn't looking forward to this little outing, but it turned out to be not so bad.  Not exactly a ringing endorsement, is it?  Minnesota is not a very exciting state for casual vacationers.  To truly appreciate it one must plan on doing a lot of fishing or boating.  Sightseeing is fine for awhile, but even the cutest small towns begin to look pretty much the same after a few days.  Florida has lots of fun beaches and theme parks.  New York has the big city.  Texas has...well, they have everything, don't they?  But Minnesota has about 13,000 lakes, mosquitoes and leeches.  So, if you don't plan to be on the water, you'll miss the state's main attraction.
    That said, we did see the Mississippi River at its origin and several other spots as it slowly grows in volume.  We bought a few small things from an Amish farm.  We always seemed to miss the tornado warnings, which was disappointing as I have never seen a tornado in real time.  We saw a large statue of Paul Bunyon and drove near a very large ball of yarn, choosing not to drive a quarter mile out of our way for that privilege.  We also saw several bald eagles in the wild and enjoyed looking at many loons.   But there was no Epcot Center, Empire State Building, Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon or Rogue River. 
    But, in a laid-back, hakuna matata sort of way we enjoyed just being together in a place that wasn't home.  We rented a small boat, shot a round at a 9-hole course, walked down quaint old streets with quaint old shops, hiked a few short trails and did a lot of driving on country roads.  But I don't think we'll be planning anything similar in the next 40 or 50 years.
    I have another Swiss Army knife I bought a long time ago when I thought I had lost my first one.  So dropping that one in the trash wasn't a huge disaster, just a waste of a good knife.