Wedding Bells, Chit Chat, Kayaking ... Fun

This last weekend was a busy one for us.  We drove up to Minneapolis to do a bunch of things, all of them fun.

The first was attend the wedding of one of the Wife's relatives.  Don't ask me their relation.  The years I spent doing genealogy are not much help to me in that regard.  The wedding was short, sweet, and very nice.  The reception was held in an old theater and was full of people wanting to party and celebrate the newlyweds.  I enjoyed the food and my piece of wedding/birthday cake (it wasn't really a piece of birthday cake but it was in my head).  A lot of people wished me a happy 50th birthday (thank you Facebook - what would we do without your birthday reminders?).

On Sunday we joined the Matron of Honor (MoH) and Best Man (BM) (our Matron of Honor and Best Man, not the one from the wedding the night before) for breakfast before driving to the Godson's house in St Paul.  The house is perfect for the Godson, his wife, and two adorable daughters.  We followed them to the MoH and BM's new house.  Yes, it was a day of new homes.

There we met up with the Altar Boy, his wife, and their two adorable daughters.  They house was full of little girls laughing and giggling.  The MoH and BM's new house is huge and located near a nice park, lake, and easy access to the Minneapolis trail system.  It was still empty of furniture when we visited but it will soon be full and will truly become a home.

We spent the night at the Godson's.  Their oldest daughter, just turned two a few months ago, declared that I was happy and good.  Made me smile.

Our Monday plans changed a little as Sunday went by.  We were scheduled to paddle tandem kayaks out on Lake Superior (near Split Rock Lighthouse).  Unfortunately ... or maybe fortunately ... the weather didn't cooperate.  Instead our Monday kayaking adventure was moved to a small lake just north of Duluth.  On the smaller lake we could take out solo kayaks, the water would be warmer so wet suits would not be required, and the weather would be nicer.

Kayaking on Fredenberg Lake under gorgeous skies.

Our kayak adventure was hosted by Positive Energy Outdoors, the same non-profit group that hosted our dog sledding adventure in February.  Our guide talked us through kayaking basics and helped us into our kayaks.  We all learned the basic pretty quickly.  For the next couple of hours we paddled around lake Fredenberg.

Blooming water lily.

The weather turned out to be perfect with partly cloudy skies and a light breeze that picked up just as we were finishing.  We saw turtles, fish, heron, and eagles.  We visited a beaver dam and admired the blooming water lilies.  It was so relaxing.  While there are some homes on the lake, most of the shore is forested with old pine forest.  It was nice to paddle a little and coast a little, letting the wind gently push you along the shore.  It was totally opposite the high energy rush of the dog sledding.  Can't wait to do it again sometime.

Relaxing kayaking through the lily pads.

Our four days finished with a tour of the Godson's school (he's a principal) and driving home.  Another very nice four day weekend on the road.  I was ready to get home - this is the last time I will be on the road this summer before going to the Camino - especially since I had the birthday brownies and ice cream my Mom brought waiting for me in the fridge.

Kayaking pictures can be found in my 2013-07-22 Kayaking Google Photos album.  Pictures with people in them can be seen by friends and family in my 2013-07-22 Kayaking Facebook album.