Traveling with the Muirs

Well, we were out and about again today. It's been a lot of fun. I've said it before and Ill say it again ... I love hanging with Max. I wanted Max to see the Amusement Park at Arnolds Park (Lake Okoboji area). And I knew it would be a lot more fun for him without hundreds of people (and screaming, excited children) in his way. That was our goal for the day.

We drove through Spencer. It's been 25 years since I've been there. I lived there and worked at Grace United Methodist Church there from 1982-1984 before we opened Insty-Prints. We drove into town and I had only vague memories of the place. I really drove around that area every day for 2 years? My memory begs to differ. Sigh ... After a short period of time reminding myself that I am getting old and 25 years passed way too quickly, we left town and headed north.

When we got to the Arnolds Park Amusement Park, Max was thrilled. It was so similar to an amusement park that he grew up with ... but this one has been restored. It's just awesome. When I was there in the early 80s, we fully expected that the thing would be torn down, it was deteriorating and had very little traffic. But, it has been restored and since then has been named a historic site. It is gorgeous. And filled with memories for a lot of people, I'm sure. There weren't hundreds of people there, but even today, with the park closed, people were riding bikes, walking, running, roller skating or just wandering through with their families.

Then a short jaunt to Spirit Lake and back through Arnolds Park and down to LeMars for the night. It's been a peaceful, wonderful day. We're in the Ice Cream Capital of the World and I am probably not going to get any ice cream. How sad is that? Oh well ... that's ok. I can get Blue Bunny ice cream in Omaha if I want it. But, we'll see what happens in the morning - who knows where we'll end up for breakfast!

Max will be posting pictures from the weekend as soon as he can get them processed. I can't wait to see what he's done! You can check all of the rest of his photos here!