Get on Board the Riverboat

Last September, my brother, sister-in-law, husband and I went for a ride to Stillwater to take a cruise on one of the Stillwater River Boats. The traffic was moving along nicely, when we noticed a large sheet of clear plastic dancing around the cars. It formed into a ball and bounced off a few cars in front of us. When we got closer, it spread out like a magic carpet. It slightly skimmed our hood and floated over to the car next to us where it entirely covered their windshield! Luckily, everyone had their wits about them. The driver with the covered windshield pulled over to the side of the road. The drivers behind us slowed down to give them room. We were shocked yet thankful everyone was okay.

When we got to Stillwater, we visited an antique store and saw familiar things from our childhoods. 😉 We stopped at Candyland to pick up popcorn and turtle candies and headed towards the other end of town to the riverboats. A line began to form on the hot asphalt parking lot. We couldn’t wait to get on board. We hoped we could catch a bit of breeze on the top deck under a canopy.

Stillwater Lift Bridge

At the top deck, we found a cozy table and settled in with some cold, refreshing beverages. Many boats and jet skis bobbed up and down the river. We admired the new bridge to the south and the old bridge to the north. The Captain began the trip by turning the boat around so it faced in the other direction. The ship headed away from the Stillwater Lift Bridge, which was built in 1931 and is now used as a pedestrian and bike bridge. We floated closer towards the new bridge, St. Croix Crossing, which is located in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota and crosses the St. Croix River to St. Joseph, Wisconsin.

St. Croix Crossing Bridge

People were welcome to visit the banquet table at any time. We had our fill of chicken, pork roast, potatoes, coleslaw, and a roll with butter and topped it off with a chocolate chip cookie.

By the time we reached the new bridge, large clouds began to accumulate. We wondered if we would get soaked as the blue sky became filled with dark clouds. The lightning traveled on top of one cloud to the next. No thunder rumbled our way, so we stayed on the top deck and watched the lighted homes on the hills pass by.

It got a lot darker than this!

A little nervous, I made a quick exit to visit the restroom, in case the lightning decided to head our way. When I met up with everyone, we were ready to disembark. No drops of rain met us until we approached our car. We only got a sprinkling. As we drove away from the river, hail plummeted down. The driver kept going as we hoped the hail would lighten. When it did, large and steady raindrops arrived to take its place.

We made it home safely, without a bump on the hood, but found no puddles to greet us. We were glad to have had an exciting adventure to talk about, but I wished we would have gotten some rain in our neighborhood too.

(This post is in response to WordPress #dailyprompt: Think back on your most memorable road trip.)

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Up the Stairs They Ran

Leo (Cockalierpoo) and Kona (German Shepherd)

Last week, Hubby, a/k/a Papa, and I watched our two grandchildren while their mom went to run errands. I desperately wanted to play Chutes & Ladders. It’s a game Papa and I gave the kids for Christmas, but they didn’t want to have anything to do with it. Did they know I truly bought it so I could play it with them?!

We got busy playing hide and seek and checked out the other gifts the kids received, while their two dogs looked on or followed us up the stairs and back down again. After running around, the kids settled down and went to find the crayons, markers, and coloring books in the basement. My grandson drew a treasure map and my granddaughter made a colorful design. While digging through the bin, I found three crayons (blue, red, and green) to use while coloring a page out of a coloring book. My creation was nearly halfway done, when the kids decided to go onto their next activity. Up the stairs they ran. I followed along, leaving my coloring project behind.

Soon I heard a whimpering sound coming from the direction of the basement door. Did I close the door, leaving one of the dogs stuck in the basement? When I got to the door, Leo looked up at me. I opened it to find Kona sitting on the top step. Her tail went thump thump on the stairs. How cute it was to see how Leo looks out for Kona.

The dogs didn’t used to watch out for each other. When Leo joined their family, the summer before last, Kona didn’t seem too excited. The German Shepherd hid in different rooms or on different floors of the house to stay out of the Cockalierpoo’s way. After a few weeks, they became friends and are like two peas in a pod now.

The dogs went outside together for a short time. Before we knew it, Mom was home and we chatted. I reluctantly put Chutes & Ladders back in the cupboard where I found it, because it was time for our visit to come to an end. Maybe we will get to play it next time.

Do you ever buy gifts for other people that you really want? 🙂

(This post is in response to WordPress #dailyprompt: Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?)

A Treasure to See

It’s a strange phenomenon. Friends have experienced it too. When we see the leaves change to their vibrant colors and the temperatures begin to drop, we dig in our treasure chest of leftover yarn and take an inventory of our crochet hooks and knitting needles. Spending more time inside, helps us get creative.

This fall, the weather thermometers didn’t drop like they usually do. We were greeted with many sunshiny days, and my yarn closet was left unattended.

A few days before Christmas, I managed to stay tucked away in our cozy home. The temperatures stayed below zero for days. There were two more gifts that needed to be created during hibernation. Last year, I crocheted snowmen ornaments for my grandkids. I wondered if making ornaments for them would be a yearly tradition. The closet held plenty of red, white, and green yarn. I admired a reindeer ornament pattern, but the yarn closet didn’t contain those colors. A trip to a store would ruin my plans of staying in hibernation. Plenty of white yarn spilled out to greet me. I began crocheting a snowflake ornament from a pattern I found online. The next morning I woke up and thought, “What kid wants a snowflake ornament? Kids want something fun.”

Luckily, after scrolling through many patterns on Pinterest, I found a cute Santa pattern on the Crochet for You Blog. The ornaments were completed on time without having to make a trip outside to get more materials!

The grandkids’ smiles were a treasure to see, when they opened their packages to find the Santa Claus ornaments. 🙂

(This post is in response to #dailyprompt: “How are you creative?”)