Look what finally showed up. Well, at least some of our Bumfuzzle hats arrived. Like with so many things right now, there are backorders galore. We did, however, get the baby pink and the heather gray hats in. So, if you ordered those, you can expect a package soon. We told the kids from the start that they could keep any profits, but they’d have to put in the work. Ouest has been handling the invoicing, and now it’s time for Lowe to earn his share in the shipping department.

At least I think he is supposed to be.

I swear there are some big fish in this lake. We just can’t seem to find them.

Back when all the land around here belonged to one farmer, this little building was one of the barns. I think it’s the highlight of the lake to this day.

That man on the left, Tony, was my neighbor and best friend for many years. He, along with the other two guys, and that lovely lady behind Ali, were in our wedding party. I haven’t seen Tony since maybe 1999.  He moved to Colorado, and I went off to travel the world. Somehow, our paths didn’t cross in over twenty years, before we converged in Minnesota again. While Ali and I might not miss our old life, we do miss our old friends. Somehow, nights like this with the old gang make me love Ali even more than I do every other day. It still seems crazy to me that we shared a high school classroom together.

Throwback. This picture of our wedding party makes me laugh. Clearly the liquor hadn’t been served yet. Water glass cheers to the bride and groom.

Yeah, while we were in Minnesota I’ve been scanning old photos. How did you guess? The three of us have been friends for as long as I can remember. Senior Skip party at the river, anyone?

I’ve been going to Valleyfair since I was younger than my kids. About once a year my family would load into the car on a Saturday morning with my parents saying we were headed out to Grandpa’s farm, as usual. I’d be in the backseat not paying much attention, when all of the sudden I’d look out the window and see the rollercoaster and ferris wheel down the road. That was the best. This trip wasn’t a surprise to the kids, but it was no less exciting.

I like most rides well enough, but if it spins in tight circles, forget it. Fortunately, most of today’s rides didn’t. We did all the roller coasters as a family, but there were a couple rides that Lowe and Ali weren’t interested in going on, so I took the reigns on those. On one ride Ouest and I were just going around in big circles, laughing all the way around, when she yelled out, “This is the first time I ever went upside down on a ride!”

At the end of the day I was walking alongside of her and she said, “I had a lot of fun today, Papa. Thanks for going on all the rides with me. It wouldn’t have been as fun if you didn’t.” That made my day.

The next day, though, it was time for me to fly off. Boat haul-outs are not a family affair. Bumfuzzle needs a bottom painting, a polishing, and a bunch of other random jobs done on her, so I’ll spend a couple weeks living in a hot boat in a parking lot making sure it all gets done. Then we can have another couple of years haul-out free.

On the plus side, airfares seem to be plummeting. For about $150 extra I was able to bump up to first-class. When you factor in the two free bags of 70 pound luggage they let first-class passengers have, it was like a free upgrade.

I take back everything bad I ever said about flying. Well, until my next flight when I’m thrown in the back again.

Ships were lined up off of Aruba, all out in deep water for some reason.

Upon arrival I grabbed my luggage—three big plastic bins—and then proceeded to the COVID testing station. Quick swab there, along with instructions to head to my hotel and wait for the results. I then pushed on towards customs where I was certain I would raise eyebrows. I had all our boat paperwork along so I could fend off any demands for duties on my imports. Fortunately for me, phones have taken over the world. Four customs agents stood around, every last one of them staring at their phone. As I walked past the last lady she looked up at me as I pushed the cart overflowing with bins that were clearly not normal tourist luggage. I could see in her eyes that she was weighing her options, knowing that she should stop me if she was going to do her job. Then her eyes went back to her phone. Saved by Tik-Tok. A few hours later, at my boat hotel, I got my negative test result and was free to move about the island.

That’s where I’ll be taking the boat in a couple days.

Meanwhile, back in Minnesota.

One night Ali and the kids were sitting on the front porch. Lowe had ordered something off of Amazon, and was excited about it arriving. When he heard an engine up the street he jumped, but Ouest said, “It’s only a generator, Lowe.” A few seconds later they all got a good laugh when they realized it was actually the neighbors lawn mower. It’s the little differences in our kids that keep me happy. Not knowing the sound of a lawn mower would be unheard of for a suburban kid like me, but for them, that noise was immediately a generator. Probably a Honda 2000 if they had to guess.