From October 16-22, we and our daughter Ellen visited the Blomquists in Shorewood, Minnesota. As a special treat and surprise, our granddaughter Miranda flew in two days later!

The Blomquists’ house is chock full of kids right now, so we guests stayed in the Bird House Inn in Excelsior, which is only a few miles away. We enjoyed that experience: the place has an interesting history, it’s located near Kowalski’s Market and the cute little stores in Excelsior, and the entrance to a regional trail is only a half block away. Plus the innkeeper, Dave, and the other guests were friendly and fun to talk to.

The kids were all off school for Minnesota’s state-wide in-service training (it’s called MEA, Minnesota Educator Academy), so we all did fun field trips like dinner at Lago Tacos in Excelsior and Lola’s Lakehouse in Waconia, hayride at an apple farm, a boat ride on Lake Minnetonka, and a visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. 

It was a fun visit!