Pine Edge Inn Little Falls

... we had to weave through the other drivers. We met Aleen for dinner at Trieu Chau, a local Vietnamese restaurant in St. Paul. I ate Bun Rieu while Susan had Bun Bo Hue and Aleen ate the vegetable soup. We made it to Hung and Lien's at 8:30 PM exhausted but ready to see what Minneapolis has to offer since this is our first time to go sightseeing here.

We will be seeing the Mall of America...

... took the time out for her to get to go see it. That made her really happy. My cell phone has gradually been picking up on missed calls and voice mails etc. After all I found out that despite Mammoth Hot Springs has a cell tower, it was not working for the AT&T phones so and with all the traveling today in and out of towns through ranges and ranches. Tonight we are having Papa Johns, oh has this been a long time since I have had Papa Johns ...

... it out just to get to the suitcases), taking the dogs out to the kennel, finishing some laundry, cleaning and getting a haircut, we finally left. A very uneventful day as far as sights are concerned, did some major driving, that is I did it and just now arrived at the hotel at approx 11:30 EDT. I'm just happy to be here and get to stretch out. Tomorrow involves some 900 miles to drive ...

... try to get at least one in each state we travel to as well as the provinces in Canada, I have even found them in the Bahama's. Anyhow, the allergies are kicking back up again, so much for the temporary reprieve. I did manage to finish reading my book on the Chilkoot trail, which I might add was a very insightful book. We stopped at one of the caches which was in New Salem, ND for Sue the largest Holstein cow. Caches ...

... and it put us onto a major four lane highway for about a mile. the shoulder wasn't so bad, but it got really tricky when we needed to make a left turn. the most exciting item of the day: we crossed the mississippi river! i had no idea that it started so far north. at this point, it's still a pretty small river, but they do have a dam in little falls that generates enough electricity to power the town. with so ...

... I passed though Christine ND, so seeing as I've got a town called Tupper on my must see list For a period of time I'm going to be somewhere in between my first and last names. Made it to Brainerd MN at midnight stopped at a Super 8. Went in to ask and they wanted $83 bucks, but the guy on front desk was really sweet and gave me the corporate rate.$63.:) then stayed up till 4 am doing laundry.

Eight days until I arrive in Miami for orientation! I thought I would let you all know my address while I will be in Paraguay. Samantha Parker PCT Cuerpo de Paz 162 Chaco Boreal, c/Mcal. Lopez Asuncion 1580 Paraguay The PCT stands for Peace Corps Trainee. In April you will want to write PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). Feel free to send me letters anytime you want!!! I still have the same email accounts, but I am not sure how often I am going to be around the internet.

Hi again :) it honestly doesn't seem like an entire year has passed since I started my last adventure. But here I am, a mere half an hour before I head to the airport. I would love to go into the detail of the hurry and scurry of my last minute packing and wisdom teeth annoyances (my cheek puffed up again :( lovely and fun) but I'm too excited and tired to do so at the current moment...I promise to give a full report upon my arrival. Wish me luck! and keep in touch!! halen

Well...here it is. I finally got into the Peace Corps! Paraguay here I come! I figured that having a travel blog will be the best way for me to relay my experiences back to friends and family and whoever else is interested. I am scheduled to leave on the 6th of February. My first destination is Miami for orientation and then after a couple of days there I should be headed to Paraguay. I'll write more when my jouney begins.

... and give the gang a tour of the m'home on Saturday afternoon - but we're getting ahead of ourselves! We had so much fun last April with Rose's old business friends at the Hilton Head IMRA Conference and Past Presidents' Reception, that Myrna invited two of the people we'd had a lot of laughs with, Norma Jean and her husband Gus, and Bill and his wife Sue, up to her cabin for this weekend with us. Norma Jean and Gus arrived Friday evening, after Myrna and ...