Rochester, Minnesota

6/18/2024

The Hampton Inn Rochester offers a free breakfast and it was very good. I had eggs, sausages, muffins, and cereal. Then we came back to work on the computer before we went exploring. Finally, we went to Aldi’s to get some snacks and then gas at Costco. Costco was so much cheaper than other places. At 10 am, we went to the Zolman Zoo, a free zoo in Rochester. We saw river otters, wolves, coyotes, a black bear, prairie dogs, skunks, porcupines, eagles, owls, hawks, and vultures. When we left there we went on a hunt for antique stores but we didn’t find anyone. We stopped at Savers, which was like a Goodwill store but didn’t find anything. Then we went to two Dollar Tree stores before finally returning to our hotel. Of course, we had to go by the Ear of Corn water tower so I could take another photo. We relaxed for a few hours before going to the lobby for soup. Every evening the hotel offers complimentary soup which is usually delicious. Yesterday we had vegetable soup and tonight we had broccoli cheese soup.

SPAM Museum

Today we left Iowa City and headed towards Minnesota. It was dark and overcast most of the way. When we reached the SPAM museum in Austin, it started raining. This is about the third time we have been here and enjoyed the exhibits. A girl came around with samples and we tried the Spam with bacon and the Spam Teriyaki. We went to the souvenir shop and bought some SPAM souvenirs. Then we went to Kenny’s Oak Grill for lunch ($20). Don had a salad which cost more than my hamburger and chips!

I called the Hampton Inn in Rochester where we have a reservation for tomorrow night and they had a vacancy for tonight also. Since it was pouring down rain, we decided to just go and relax. She was able to give me a much cheaper rate for both nights (as a Mayo patient) so I’m glad I called. We like this hotel because they serve soup in the evenings.

Meeting a Friend in Real Life

6/16/2024

I love having my online friends but I really love meeting them in real life! Today was one of those days. 

We woke up and headed to see my friend Britni and her farm! I was so excited because she has been sending me her farm pictures for the past few years and I really enjoyed imagining it in real life. 

It took us about 4 hours to get to her house and we stopped in Monmouth for lunch first. We ate at the Maple City Family Restaurant and it was packed! The food was great! 

We got to her farm and it was beautiful. Her family is the fourth generation to live in their house and each generation has added to it but hasn’t done that yet. Then they showed us their personal garden in the backyard. They had sweet corn (for eating), and sunflowers, zinnias, and beets. Then we went across the street to see their farm equipment. Boy, they were huge! They grow field corn and soybeans that they sell. It was a huge farm! Justin was so patient in explaining how the whole process works from planting the seed, to harvest to storing it in the grain bins. It is a really labor-intensive process and I don’t think I ever appreciated farmers as much as I should! You could tell that Justin loves what he does and takes great pride in it too. He also said that this year, drones will be doing their crop dusting. I was surprised by how much technology was used in their farm equipment! 

After we left them, we headed to Iowa City and checked into our Hampton Inn Iowa City/University Area. After we checked in, we went to Costco to fill up with gas and got a hot dog and ice cream there for dinner. Then we went to the Devonian Fossil Gorge. We were able to walk on the 375 million-year-old ocean floor. We drove around and saw the dam and then we headed back towards the hotel. We drove by the University of Iowa football stadium on the way. 

It was a great day! 

On the Road Again

6/15/2024

We got up early and checked out of the Mammoth Cave Lodge and headed north. We stopped at the Turnhole Bend Nature Trail and did a short hike before leaving the national park.

For breakfast, we stopped at PJs Cafe in Brownsville, KY. We stopped in Owensboro, KY for gas and then crossed into Indiana.

Our next stop was Casey, IL, where we visited in 2021. There was a car show and there were lots of people in town. We had lunch at Reflections Family Restaurant right downtown and the food was very good. Then we walked around town and hoped to buy some fried pies but they were gone by the time we got back there. Then we found an antique store and enjoyed looking around that store for a while.

When we left Casey, we headed to Paris, IL. For a couple of hours, we shopped at the Whippoorwill Antique Mall in Marshall, IL on the way to the Hampton Inn ($124.16), in Paris, IL We had dinner at Arby’s and realized that there wasn’t much there in that town. It looked like a depressed economic area other than some manufacturing plants.

Mammoth Cave Day 2

6/14/2024

I woke up at 4 am (Central Time) which is my usual 5 am wake up time (Eastern Time) and Don got up around 5:15 am. We drove to Glasgow, KY to eat at the Cowboy’s Country Cookin’ again. We had a wonderful breakfast of 2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast (or biscuit), and a drink for $10 each. 

Since it was so early, we did a ½  mile hike near the visitor center. 

We got back in time to get organized for our first tour at 9 am. We did the Extended Historic Tour which lasted 2 ½ hours. As we started, we saw a deer and a copperhead. The end where we had to climb 155 steps almost killed me! Then we had to walk out of the cave and wash off our footwear to prevent White Nose Syndrome from getting to other places. Then we had to walk uphill to our room at the lodge! 

The first thing we did was walk over to the post office to mail some postcards. After we bought the stamps and put them on, the nice lady there canceled the postcards and returned them to Don. We decided to start with an ice cream for lunch and then returned to our room to eat salads that we bought at Walmart the day before. Don took a little nap. 

Then we had a 2:15 tour - the Violet City Lantern Tour. There were 12 lanterns and Don and I got one to share. The tour lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes but it was so dark, I hardly took any pictures. We walked 3 miles and once we left the paved path, the dirt path was very challenging to walk on in the dark. There were lots of steep up and downhills but the worst was at the end when we had a lot of stairs to climb! At  the end of the tour, we got on a bus that took us back to the lodge. 

Even though we were tired, we were hungry, so we headed to Cave City for dinner. We tried KFC but they were out of chicken legs. So, we went to Cracker Barrel and had a great dinner. The food and the service was excellent. When I went to pay, I was able to use my reward points for a free drink and a free entree. 

It was a great day but we are pretty tired. We walked over 8 miles today. 

Mammoth Cave Day 1

6/13/2024

We left home at 5 am and headed towards Asheville. It was dark when we started so I drove until it got light which was about when we crossed into North Carolina. We hit some traffic around Knoxville so when we got to the other side, we stopped for breakfast at Waffle House. The service was great and so was the food. On the way, we stopped at Buc-ees for really cheap gas. Then we made it to Mammoth Cave National Park around 1 PM Central Time. 

The first thing I did was buy a lifetime senior pass so I could get my cave tour tickets for half-price. Don showed his pass for his tickets. Then we went to check into our room. We were booked for 1 night at the Sunset Terrace ($156) and 1 night at the Woodland Cottage ($160 with no TV, AC, or heat). When I asked if there were any cancellations, Eric, the manager, came out and told me they would give us a special brand-new room in our building. There are only 4 special rooms in the building that house the restaurant, the cafe, the coffee shop, and the gift shop. The building closes at 10 pm and is locked but we have access in and out of our room through another door. When we went to look at the room, it was a lovely handicapped-accessible room. It was huge with 2 queen beds and a large bathroom. There was TV, internet, AC, and heat. We were able to watch live TV as well as our Amazon Prime on the TV. Eric cancelled our reservation and rebooked this as a new reservation which was cheaper than the original reservation. 

Next, we drove to Glasgow, KY to have lunch/dinner at the Cowboy’s Country Diner. It was definitely a local place and the food was good. I tried to find 2 gas stations with Gas Buddy directions and it brought us to corn fields. Finally, I put in the address for the Murphy’s Gas at Walmart and we were able to find it. 

We returned to Mammoth Cave and got some ice cream before deciding to go to the Green River Ferry to watch the cars go across. It takes 2 cars at a time and doesn’t cost anything. We did a short hike near the river before going back to the Visitor’s Center. After going through the exhibits, we walked to the camp store and post office. By then it was time to call it a day! 

Fraud Prevention

Last week we attended a class on how to prevent Fraud. There were about 40 seniors who attended the class presented by Investigator Andrew Guest of the Simpsonville Police Department. We learned how to prevent falling victim to fraud and scams. It was well worth the 90 minutes that we spent in this session! Here are some of my takeaways from the session. 

1. Americans lose $300-$600 billion a year in financial crimes. 

2. Isolation, pressure and personal need - 3 things victims have in common. 

3. Types of fraud or scams: 

1. Skimmers

2. overpayment scam

3. Romance Scams

4. Pig Butchering

5. Grandparent Scams

6. Prize Scams

7. Government Impersonation Scams

8. Warranty Scams

9. Counterfeit Medication

10. Rental Home Scams

11. Nigerian “419” Schemes

12. Pyramid Schemes

13. Ransomware

14. Blackmail/Extortion/Sextortion

15. Securities fraud/Investment fraud

4. Watch for grammar and spelling errors in letters and emails. 

5. Scams are easy to avoid!

1. Just hang up!

2. They tell you not to contact the police. 

3. Don’t be pressured. 

4. Don’t give out too much personal information. 

5. Shred old documents. 

6. Don’t put checks in your mailbox. 

6. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is a scam. 

7. When in doubt, check with the police.