Day 5- Nov. 9 -farm country

What a great day!!! My mom always says, life is not an event, it is a journey. That would be why it took me 9 hours to go 250 miles today!! It was a journey!!

Welcome to Minnesota!!

When I jumped out to take this picture, these pesky things jumped out of nowhere!! Scared the crap out of me. I thought a snake bit me, and I jumped probably two feet off the ground when they hit my leg and poked through my pants. They flew all the way up to my knees. I ended up with about 15 of them imbedded in my pants and shoe laces.

Today started with a delightful cup of instant breakfast while sitting on the tailgate of my car, soaking in the warmth from the sun!!!!

I'm not an interstate kind of gal when on a journey like this. Interstates are for getting from point A to point B. My destination is everything in the middle, so I decided to take an alternate route to Minneapolis. I had a whole day so why not see some more "small town USA!"

Have you ever asked a local for directions?

"Oh, just go down there to Uncle Buck's farm and go left..."

"Oh, is that near here?"

"It's by the airport..."

Then, as I looked in the sky for any planes, I asked again, "Oh, is that near here?"

The lady cocked her head like a puzzled dog. "OH," she says. "You don't know where the airport is?"

"Um, no."

"Well, go to the next exit. They can help you there."

OK-Moving on to the next exit... I pulled into the Petro station and asked the nice guy at the counter where hwy 10 was. He looked puzzled too. I said, "I don't want to take the interstate to Minneapolis; I want to take hwy 10."

"You don't like the interstate? Oh, girl," He says with lisp "you just wind your way through the neighborhood until you pick up highway 10, but that's the slow way to get there."

I thanked him for his help and made my way for hwy 10 going east.

Not far after turning onto hwy 10, I spotted this trailer. I couldn't help but notice the entertainment deck on top. Them folks are set. Notice they even put up a railing so ya don't fall off after a couple of them beers! It ain't level, so ya best not set that beer down or you gonna be jumping for it.

When I stopped to take a picture of the trailer with the deck, I passed this cute little shop. No heads, no legs? Hmmm...

Later down the road, I couldn't help but stop to admire this cool machine. Do you think they'd mind if I took it for a spin? It was running!!! Tempting to wait for the owner to return, but I decided they might be a while so I took a picture in their field instead.

Well, I had to stop the corn field fun and get moving in a forward direction. Before too long, I came to Detroit Lakes. Really pretty!! This is Minnesota and there are lakes everywhere!! I have seen so many in such a short distance.

I wish I didn't have to be in Minneapolis tonight because I would have stopped in my tracks to stay at this place. Now, that's a local bed and breakfast like no other!!!

Oh, wheat field fun!!!!! I have always wanted to stop and run through a wheat field and that's exactly what I did!!!

Have you ever seen those wooden carvings of the man leaning against a building? People put them on houses, barns, against trees, and all kinds of places out in the country. Well, I just wanted to be like him.

That is one big roll of wheat!!!

Oh, let the local fun begin. Getting to know the locals is probably one of the coolest things. I went in to ask directions in the small town of Wadena, MN and couldn't help but notice this nice old man sitting there having a cup of coffee. Perfect person to ask. He probably knows the area well, won't chase me down (I'm faster) and won't ask many questions of me. So I sat down and asked him where to go. Thus, the conversation began...

What an interesting man!! Everyone has a story and I was fascinated to know his. He was one of the originals to invade Iwo Jima. He served in the Marines and was stationed in the south pacific from '43 through '45 (I think he said).

When I asked him about the town of Wadena and the area. He said, "There isn't much to say, the sidewalks roll up at 5:00 and there is no White Castle hamburger place here." LOL :) He is from Missouri where they have White Castle and he misses the burgers.

Just a side thought- This reminds me of when I was on a date with a guy I met about a year ago. We were driving to Applebee's for lunch and we passed a White Castle. I assumed it was the hamburger place and said, "Oh, my mom loves White Castle." He looked at me with this puzzled look and said, "What?" I said, "My mom loves White Castle." "Oh!" He said with a stand-off-ish tone. Like, what do I say now? It wasn't until we got closer to the sign, that I realized his reaction. It was a porn shop in Washington, not a hamburger place. OOPS!!!

Anyway, back to Noel, the Marine in Wadena- He told me many interesting facts, but when a man came into the restaurant coughing, he and his friend said that they heard on the news that to avoid the Swine Flu, you should kiss a lot of people. It will build your immune system. LOL :) Oh, my goodness!!!

We talked a little more and I took his picture and went on my way towards Minneapolis.

Well, the sun doesn't let me down again!!!

I had to stop and sit in this field and watch the sun set!! AHHH...

About an hour after sunset, the city of Minneapolis came into view. WOW!! That's a different view than I have been used to. I felt like the country bumpkin that was lost in Manhattan!!

I wove my way through the city for 45 minutes going from highway to highway and accomplishing nothing. I called 4 times for directions and finally got here to the hotel. It is now midnight and time to crash since it will be an early morning tomorrow. Good night!! :)