En Route to See Our Winter Texan Friends - Wed., July 11, 2018

From Joplin, Missouri, we headed north on our way to Eagan, Minnesota. On the way, we stopped in Owatonna, Minnesota, to see our friends, Jyl E. and Dave N. who are Winter Texans at Traveler's World RV Resort in San Antonio, Texas. During the summer, they live at Mankato Lake, Minnesota, about 45 minutes from Owatonna. 

As an aside, when I started working at Traveler's World, the staff kept talking about the return of the Winter Texans. I had never heard that term and gleaned that it meant "snowbirds," which is the only term I had heard before for northerners traveling south for the winter.

The day was beautiful and warm. Scenery included rolling hills, wind farms, and crop farms. We just rolled on by the larger cities and kept on going, stopping only for rest areas, gas stations, and lunch. Every time we got out of the car our legs were stiff from inactivity and it took us a few seconds to get our legs moving.

At 4:00 p.m., we had a message from Dave that they were inside Cabela's, our pre-arranged meeting place. Our timing was perfect. We had arrived at 3:50 p.m. and were outside taking photos of the massive sculpture of two deer.

"Autumn Legends," by Dick Idol

Plaque about "Autumn Legends" and Dick Idol

 Once we knew Dave and Jyl were inside, we walked in to meet them. 

Susan and I hanging out with wild animals.

Jyl, Dave, and me

Can't forget the cold weather beasts.

After introductions, photo taking, and checking out Cabela's, Dave purchased his items. Then we headed over to Timberlodge Restaurant for dinner. 

Susan M. heading into Timberlodge Restaurant.

At dinner, we had time to get to know Dave and Jyl better. Both grew up in Minnesota. They worked at IBM and that's where they met. Jyl was interested in Volksmarching and we explained it to her. She will walk with us when they return to San Antonio. We look forward to it, Jyl!

Dave and Jyl at Timberlodge in Owatonna, MN.

Dinner was very nice. it would have been fun to see where they live, but we were on a tight schedule. After dinner, Susan and I were off to Eagan, MN, to spend the night. 

Timberlodge's bear

Susan and the bear

Tomorrow, we will do the state capital walk in St. Paul. The forecast calls for thunderstorms; we'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to seeing the Quadriga at the capitol. More about that tomorrow.