When we left the Savannah area on Sept. 12, Barb flew to Las Vegas to see her father, and I flew to Bismarck, ND, to spend some time with Mom and sister Zona.

The first part of my visit was rather low-key; I spent a lot of time putting together a slide show to be subsequently presented at Krogen’s Open House in Annapolis — the theme of our presentation was “Cruising the Caribbean”.

When Barb joined us in Bismarck on Sept. 19, the activity level picked up considerably.  We visited a new bar in the top floor of a building in downtown Bismarck.  Joining Barb and I were Cathy, Erik, Cindy, Zona and Mom.   The latter’s beverage was soda, called “pop” in that part of the world, while Barb and I indulged our new passion for Guinness on tap.  The musical entertainment was provided by a sole performer playing German polkas on an accordion, the output of which was sent through some kind of synthesizer so that on some songs the bass was rendered as if it were a tuba, and on others the keyboard as if it were a clarinet.

We went to see Cathy’s son Cole play soccer.   We took Mom out for lunch to a restaurant in a strip mall where Barb ordered a cheese button filled with cabbage, and the waitress was a native American.

We played many games of progressive rummy, during which Mom won more than her fair share but complained bitterly 🙂 when she didn’t.

Zona’s brother-in-law Floyd and his wife Sheila came for dinner one night, bringing with them gigantic shrimp and a luscious salad, and we provided the beef tenderloin steaks.  On another night we grilled pork tenderloins.  We joined Dawn and Jerry for burgers one lunch.  And we joined Jon and Cathy and their rug rats Cole and Katie for dinner, followed by a delicious fruit dessert prepared by Katie.  (Barb and I are subsequently on a diet, attempting to reverse the consequences of so much eating.)

One day the media was filled with news that a moose was wandering through the northern section of Bismarck; the authorities urged folks to leave it alone, saying that it would probably soon find its way back out of town.

On Sept. 24, Zona left to go on a cruise on the Danube.  (You will have to read her blog to learn more about that trip.  🙂  )  On the same day, Barb and I drove to Rochester so that I could see Dr. Matteson, head of rheumotology at Mayo.  The results were good; my drugs are working and there are no signs of adverse side effects.  He recommended that I continue the quarterly blood work. As long as my symptoms remain stable and I send in my lab work, I won’t need to visit him.  As we passed through Hastings, MN going to and returning from Mayo, we stopped so that Barb could further her genealogical research.   We visited Tom and June Alcorn on Sept. 24 and Muriel Arms, who treated us to a Norwegian dinner, late the next day.

On Sept. 26 we drove up to McFarland Lake, in the extreme NE corner of Minnesota, in order to visit Jon and Cathie Ringen.   But that is the subject of another post, found here.

At the conclusion of our visit to the Ringen’s we returned on Sept. 30 to Bismarck, where we did some more socializing and card playing.   And one of Barb’s best friends, Monica, stopped by briefly on her way to Carrington, ND to see her mother.

And thanks to Zona, Barb had surgery to remove a spot on her abdomen.  Barb and I had both visited a dermatologist in Savannah, where Barb had a small spot removed.  But just before our trip to Mayo, she received a phone call that suggested more needed to be removed.  Remarkably, Zona was able to talk her dermatologist into taking care of Barb when we returned.

So when we left for Annapolis on Oct. 3, via Washington, DC, Barb had a bandage on her stomach and orders not to lift more than 10 pounds for two weeks.  Guess who played the role of luggage mule….