Day 6 and 7

Let me first start to say that I'm sorry to have skipped a day. And did not write in my journal. But I hope to be excused when I say that even on holiday I still need to enjoy my weekend.

On day 5 we arrived on the campground in Minneapolis, and found an rather deserted campground. A few RV's and some fifth-weelers had also had the urge to go out and camp. Remember as of April 1st the season starts, and there are die-hard’s out there. And we found ourselves in between the die-hard campers. In all honesty the campground was wet and the paths to walk on were a big soggy... And with the snow still scattered around the campsite, it felt more like a swampground then a campground. But we endured! We booked for 2 nights, so we would do 2 nights! So we were already surfing the dark corners of the www where the campers go to find our next location to spent the next night after these 2. Which we found in Sioux City. Suus needed to get to some warmer weather, so see could charge her little battery, and prepare for the still long, but much anticipated journey ahead. Sioux City showed a promising 22°C/ 65°F, hence the choice.

But as said we still had to do the 2 nights as  planned in Minneapolis. The first night was not a promising one. During the day the sun had chosen to stay hidden and a light drizzle kept our spirits up. Then at 10PM/22:00 the drizzle started to pick up and a proper rain shower started to fall. Which continued during the night. In the beginning it is quite a pleasant sound, and has something cosy. But after half an hour, and 2 beers that pleasant sound starts to be a little annoying, and when it continues through the night it takes some getting used to. But we managed to catch some sleep despite of this.

The next morning started as every other, getting up making coffee and having breakfast. And lucky as I always am, Suus took it upon herself to do the original American breakfast. PANCAKES!!!! I took it like a man, and finished my plate!

Luckily for us the rain kept going through the night, and was there to comfort us during our breakfast. Only one thing to do.... get the F out of there in to a warm and dry place. Long before we went Suus had posted on the Lammies Facebook page that she would be coming over to the US and got some really positive feedback on this. Sister Lammies that would like to meet up when possible. So we started putting them on the map, along the route we were about to embark on. And doing this a route became obvious. We would see if it was possible to meet up with some of them. One of the cities that popped up was Minneapolis, so I started to google "TOP 10 things to see in Minneapolis". As coincidence would have it the largest, biggest, most outrages, most spectacular and most wonderful thing of the whole of US would be there... But enough about me. :)  It is "The Mall of America".

We unhooked power and water from our home on wheels, and headed for the Mall. It's one of those things that you must have seen. If you are in the neighbourhood, you cannot pass by without a visit. So we, being tourists went to see the mall. Driving up to the mall we see a huge building which promised us a heavenly shopping spree. We got all our cards ready to go..... and entered the building. One of the first things you will notice coming in, either from the South, North or whichever entry. The indoor Nickelodeon amusement park.

We picked up a map, and first things first. We had still to have some lunch. Unfolding the map it became clear, food???? 2 stories up. We took the elevator and as soon as the doors open you find yourself in the middle of all possible breakfast / brunch / lunch / dinner / snacks you could think of. In all styles, and from all cuisines and corners of the world. If you were not hungry you would be, the smells..... We had a bowl of noudles and found a table to eat. After lunch it was time to go hunting for the things we did not need. But soon the excitement changed into a feeling of it just being a mall, yes a big ass mall, but a mall never the less. We did enjoy it and visited a lot of shops. We even found a Carlo's bakery, the one from TLC. We had to take a picture. I walked in and asked if I could speak to Carlo, but he wasn't there?????

But all in all we left feeling a bit disappointed, and empty handed. We did not buy anything, can you believe it?!?!?! We left for the campground and 40 minutes later we were "home". I parked the RV in the swamp and Suus swirled a pizza in the oven. We were done for the day. Exhausted we sat at our dinner table and started to plan our next exiting event. Suus had agreed on a time and place for the first meet up with a American Lammie.

Next morning and the rain had kept us awake the majority of the night. Yes going camping and having the sound of rain on your RV does sound romantic.....you snuggle up against each other....keep our bodies warm, pressed tight to each other.... but believe me after 36 hours of rain and snuggling up, you just want the rain to stop. And fortunate for us it did.

We took a shower got dressed and headed out to a place called "Perkins", to meet up with Jill Schoonhoven Beithon. We would have breakfast together and the ladies could meet. Little did we know that it would turn out to be this wonderful loving lady that we were going to meet. She already seen us pull into the parking lot, since we are a bit hard to miss with the RV. And she was waiting for us at the door. A big big big hug as we came in made us feel really welcome. And it was just that. We spend a good 3 hours and got to know Jill, lovely Jill I might add. You rarely come across people that show real interest, and she did. As a lammie you usually get the well-meant "how are you feeling?", or "how are you doing?". But when a sister lammie asks........ And when there is a second connection on top of that, it is really special. The ladies talked and talked, and not only about lam. 3 hours passed by if it was 30 minutes. The waitress came to our table 3 times, wanting to take our order, But we had not even opened our menu's. There was so much to talk about. Holiday's, children, husbands. Yes Pete, you and me both!! On the fourth try of the waitress we did manage to order our food. Only for the ladies to go straight back to were they left of before the waitress came. We finished our breakfast and just as the waitress had cleared our table an elderly woman came to our table, demanding of us to have a bit less fun. With a smile and a gentle tab on my shoulder with the newspaper she was holding. She told us "I've even enjoyed my breakfast better, because of the joy you were having". And there you have it, Jill said. the real Minnesota kindness. Little did she know that she herself had been just that for the last 3 hours. The real Minnesota kindness for us has a name, Jill. A friend for live!

Unfortunately the time to say goodbye had come, and after a brief sneak peek inside our RV we went our separate ways again. But knowing that one day we will meet up again. Be it in the Netherlands or at the next Lamposium in 2020. We headed for Sioux City and leaving Minneapolis and rainy Maple Grove behind us. And while we drove away we both felt that we had just gained a wonderful friend.

We were ready, ready for the sun. The so much needed sun for Suus, for her body to warm up and to feel a little less pain and a bit more relaxed. Half an hour later the sky cleared, the sun started to push it's rays down through the clouds and before we knew we were getting out our sunglasses, cracking up the volume of the radio and singing along to the songs from our playlist. Rumour has it that there is a little video of us singing along to our favourites. However, I believe it is only a rumour. Who knows.....

We made one more stop along the way. At a place called "Village of Yesteryear". It is a little town of old buildings taken from the region of Rochester MN, and brought to this location to form a village. It was a pretty little town and it was nice to walk through. Seeing all the old buildings. We spend a good 30 minutes there and had seen all there was to see. You can see the pictures in the pictures section. We stopped to get gas, and something to eat. After that a 4,5 hour drive straight to the campground we are now at. We booked it for 1 night, but I think we will do a second. Suus is now sleeping after a long but otherwise perfect day.

Oh, before I sign off. 2 records got broken today.

1. We have done our first 1000 miles. (Yes the picture shows 1030,5 but the 30,5 was already on when we picked it up)
2. We have had our highest altitude for now, 1634 feet. (Rockies still to come)

For now I will join Suus and have a well deserved good night sleep.