Several weeks ago Jim and I planned a little getaway on May 8 - 10 to spend a relaxing weekend with his brother John and John's wife Alice. John and Alice, the world travelers in the Engstrom family, are soon off to a new adventure; and we wanted to spend some time together since we may not see them much in the next three years. John and Alice have lived in Stonybrook, NY; Minneapolis, MN; and have also spent time living abroad (with their three children) in Germany, India, and Switzerland. They also spent six months traveling around the world while John enjoyed a sabbatical a few years ago. Though John is at an age where most people are ready to retire, he just accepted an offer to be headmaster of a private school in Seoul, Korea and they are preparing to move abroad again in July. We don't see them nearly enough -they are very busy people. So we were lucky to snag a weekend that worked in both of our schedules to spend time together. We decided to find a place halfway between Minneapolis and Cedar Rapids so that neither of us would need to travel far.
We settled on Lanesboro, MN, a place Alice had learned about from a friend. We were all delighted to find this quaint, charming little town, nestled in a valley surrounded by beautiful bluffs, filled with B & B's, shops, restaurants, a winery, and even a community theater. We attended the farmer's market, shopped, rented side-by-side tandems to explore bike trail, enjoyed wonderful dinners and attended the theater. In between we had plenty of time to talk and relax. It was a great time . . . and Jim and I will definitely be back . . . with our tandem!
Some of the shops on the main street of Lanesboro.
Y
ou can see the bluffs that surround the town. Amish buggies wait while their drivers sell wares at the Farmer's Market in the city park.
We had fun riding the side-by-side tandems.
Dinner before the play at The Vintage.
Annikah enjoying a frozen treat - all the way in Tanzania! (thanks for sharing the picture, Roxanne!)
Claire showing off the cute outfit her mommy bought her in Atlanta on their recent trip.
Joel and Silas always enjoy doing yard work with Grampa Jim.
Having fun with Uncle Justin's shoes during our garage sale. Surely someone will want to buy them after being worn by such cute models!
