November/December 2001

November 5th-November 30th - This write up being done near Christmas, sorry...

Wow....talk about a lapse of time!!!  We're really, really, really sorry that it's taken this long to update the web site.  And, yes; we've already been softly berated by some folks...but not too softly.

Since this is being written up near Christmas, we're going to just highlight what we can since we sort of slowed down on documenting our trip.  Perhaps, we slacked off keeping the site updated, in an attempt to deny the fact that the trip was coming to a close.  Yes, there are times when denial is bliss; at least so we keep telling ourselves.

Regardless, here's a summary of the rest of November....As you know we spent time at my parents place in Florida.  In all, we spent about 3 weeks there recuperating from all the traveling we've done.  Here are some pix of our dog Joule, who is now spending all her time with my parents.  She has severe arthritis in her rear hips, so she's retiring with my parent in Florida.  Besides, my parents treat her like a grandchild that they've never had.  But, they keep hinting that they'd like a human grandchild...geez parents!!!           

We spent Thanksgiving with the P's and Monika and I spent the day cooking and prepping for an excellent dinner.  Unfortunately, the only proof of it is on video tape; so take our word for it.

End of November...South Carolina

With time running low and money running out, it was time to hit the road again.  But, there is always room for a side trip!!!!! 

Monika's brother Joe and his wife Joanna were in the process of relocating to Columbia, South Carolina.  And, it's only a 6 hour drive from my parents place!!!  Joe had gotten an excellent job offer that included a sweet relocation plan...plus he had just bought a house and his wife hasn't seen it yet since his wife was in Poland for family obligations.  So, yeah he bought his first house with just a verbal approval from his wife.  But, man the house is really sweet and a new build!!!

He hadn't closed on the house yet since there were doing a few modifications to it; so he was staying at a hotel about 15 minutes away.  He gave us a tour of his new job and it was pretty sweet...you just can't beat less responsibility and more money plus enjoyment!!!  Oh yeah, did I mention that his house is less than 5 minutes from Lake Murray...a very large lake that was once the location of a city which was than flooded over and turned to a lake.  They say you can go diving and see old buildings, cars, and planes somewhat intact; we never got a chance to try since we found out about it after we left.

Near the hotel that we were staying with Joey was a small zoo, so we decided to visit it while Joe was at work.  It was a bit smaller than Lincoln Park Zoo, but  more modern; plus it had an arboretum.  Here are some pix of the zoo and arboretum.

December 2001...the end of the road, but the start of a new adventure. 

After a week with Joey and sleeping on the floor using our mats and sleeping bags, it was time to head back home to Chicago.  After many miles and many adventures, it was time to figure out what to do with our lives.  Since Florida we've talked about where we should relocate too.  We had two places in mind; Boulder, Colorado and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

So, where did we decide on ---->   Minneapolis/St. Paul!!!  Here are some of the main reasons why:  1)  there are forests and lakes everywhere.  Boulder is in an alpine desert climate which means that the area is more grass/shrub-like.  There are forests but you need to drive to them and the same goes for lakes.  In Minn/St. Paul, there are several lakes and creeks within 10 minutes driving.  2)  Housing is still affordable and there are many chances to earn a decent profit over several years.  3) We'd still be able to earn, hopefully, the same amount job-wise; but the cost of living is cheaper.

Dec. 3th - Chicago, IL

TOTAL DRIVING MILES: 14,896!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We finally arrived home late at night to the view of the grand Chicago skyline; and drove to Monika's cousin Mary to stay at her place until we figured things out with Minneapolis.  

It's hard to believe that we've been on the road since August 20th; that seemed like years away.  

Dec. 4th - Repairing the Scooby...

We dropped the car off at a body shop to get the dent I picked up in Portland, OR fixed.  It was a pretty small dent (softball-sized) in the left rear fender and some scuffing of the bumper.  After that we drove the truck back to Monika's mom's house to pack up some things for Minneapolis.

Our plan was to head to Minn/St. Paul the next morning and stay at our friend Jim's.  He was letting us store some things (futon and important papers and such) at his house; and we'd spend a week there looking for an apartment and getting to know the area better.

Dec. 5th - Dec. 18 - What to do, what to do...

With a hot cup of coffee and some fresh doughnuts, we headed for the wide open road - again; I don't  think we ever going to stop taking road trips.  This time we took our reliable 4Runner which was packed with things for Minneapolis; and took a 7 hour drive to the Twin Cities.

We spent a week at Jim's to gossip, tour the area, and search for an apartment.  And, we even ran some errands for Jim at the Mall of America.  Heh, it's the least we could do; he was housing us.

We found a large studio, which accepts cats, in St. Louis Park which is a suburb just west of Minneapolis.  It's only about 15 minutes from downtown Minneapolis and only 5 minutes from a couple of lakes and biking trails.  We got a 6 month lease starting Jan. 1st 2002, since our plan is that once we find jobs; we'll find a home near are jobs...that's at least what we hope will happen.  

We eventually returned to Chicago since we had  several weeks until we could move in to the apartment.  This gave us a chance to see and say goodbye to our friends and families; and we also had a small party at Mary's to celebrate our return/going away.  We had two magnum-sized (2L) bottles of Mumm Napa Valley sparkling wine and some homemade mead (honey-wine) to enjoy.  Thanks goes to Greg W. for helping us make some awesome-tasting mead with 16-18% alcohol.

And better late than never, we and our brave guests, finally ate our saved wedding cake top.  Granted we were about 2 months late, but it had to be done.  And surprisingly, it tasted pretty good; it just needed a little "liquid" to wash it down.

Here are some pix from the party...

Monika's brother Greg enjoyed the party so much that he made new friends which he later woke up with.....check it out.....

Poor, poor Greg.....

Well, we'll be adding a few more things to the web site to wrap things up about our journey.  In the meantime, we want to thank all of you have dropped in to see what we were up to.  We hope you all enjoyed our stories and picked up some ideas of where you may want to visit or perhaps even relocated too. 

Back to Top