Minneapolis

Minneapolis was so much fun! We spent a whole week on that part of our journey (whether actually in the city or with our friends from the city at a lake house up north). Dad came to spend some time with us--yes, it'd only been 3 weeks away from home and we already had him come visit. Mom will be in Montana in just over a month too, and I like it!

It was a 5 hour drive from the southern farm to Larry's lake house. Dad's friends from college, Larry and An

dy and Larry's son, Ben and Dad were

all there waiting for us. Andy, Dad, Pramod and I all went/tried to water ski--dad was the only one able to do it, and tubing. It was Pramod and my first time doing either and we both loved the tubing.

We all stayed at Larry's house in Minneapolis--Larry was a great host and we really appreciate him taking us in and we enjoyed his company! On our first day in the city, we rented bicycles--which is a really great way to get around and see the city. On that day we saw a sculpture garden, we went to the top of some really tall building, we had a picnic lunch by the Mississippi, and saw some other views from a theater.... sorry, when Dad's around then he's the one who knows what we're doing and I don't pay much attention to the names of things or places. Dad left the next morning, but he was there long enough for us to enjoy his company and for him to get us settled in this place where he once lived.

Pramod and I saw the Mall of America which is HUGE. Besides being so big, there are a bunch of cool things in the mall besides the usual clothing and accessory shops. Of course, there are the rides in the middle of the mall, there was a Lego station which had giant Lego figures, there was a store called MagiQuest, which I just googled and found is an online action game. I'm not quite sure what was going on, but it seemed like there were little quests and the people who worked there were all dressed up and acted in character--which as some of you may know, I'm kind of into. There were a couple of board game shops that carry the latest board games (ex. Settlers of Catan and Agricola), a hobby shop that we saw with RC airplanes and cars, and there was even an old-timey photo shop with costumes to dress in for the pictures. I kind of wish that Pramod and I had taken one, but we'd already spent a shocking amount of money on our trip so far, so we're not going for any frill at least for a while. I'm sure that some day we'll do it if we really want to.

The last day that we were in the city, we rented a kayak and went around Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, and that last one that is also connected. t was so beautiful and nice. I love the fact that Minneapolis is a city and

there are lakes all over the place

That night we had dinner with Lotte-a friend of ours who has lived in CA, just moved to Minneapolis, but we know her from the last time I was in India (2 years ago now!). We also met her husband, Trac. It was really great to see them!

Sadly, we didn't see Jonathan GH. :( Sorry Jonathan! I was a flake and we never made it happen...

So that's our detailed trip of Minneapolis.

Day 2 at farm 1

Today we woke and had breakfast together at 8 am. By that time, Doug had already been up for 3 hours and had finished the morning feeding and milking! We decided that the kids (the baby goats) needed a walk, so we took 11 kids out of the barn and they didn't want to do anything except go back inside. They like to be together, so if Pramod went into the group and started running towards the rest of us he could usually encourage 1 or 2 to follow him, and that might bring another goat. However, once they saw the large group back by the barn, they usually ran away again. At least they got outside...

Since the goats were all set for the time being, we went to work in the huge garden. There are about 15 plots the size of our garden at home and the plants are thriving. We did a lot of weeding and covering the weeded ground in between the plants with paper and mulch from the goats' pens.

I haven't been so dirty since I was little.

After 4 hours in the hot sun, we at a huge lunch (that's something I haven't mentioned--the food is so good here!), and went swimming in the Mississippi with Justin, the other WWOOFer who came on the same day that we came.

At around 5 pm, it was goat work again. It's nice to have an activity that is repetitive and daily, so that we can work and know what we're doing which feels like we're being productive and helpful rather than burdensome. Once again, I'm really enjoying these goats.

Kara Kahl Farm - Minnesota

Arrival at Kara Kahl Farm in southeastern Minnesota. We crossed the Mississippi river in Wisconsin on our way to Houston, MN. The place is so beautiful! Tons of corn farms and the land is so green--not New Hampshire green but greener!

When we first arrived, Doug came to greet us and showed us around our basement suite which included our own bedroom, bathroom and living room - the perfect amount of privacy so that we don't feel like we're imposing too much on their lives.

Pramod and I were then taken to the barn where we met the goats andlearned about the feeding and milking. Doug and Mary have about 40 goats. We both milked the goats and had some trouble at first, but eventually got it -- but slowly. Most of their milking is done mechanically with a vacuum, so we haven't had much opportunity to practice this skill. I really like the goats a lot.

Chicago

Pramod and I just left Chicago and we had a wonderful couple of days! We stayed with Daren--a friend of Pramod's from Daren's trips to Mysore--and Lance, who were great hosts.

City seeing: we drove around to see some of the sights, we went to the Museum of Science and Industry (which was awesome!), and we visited the Indian area of the city. I wanted just about every sari that I passed.

Pramod and I also went to a yoga class at Moksha Yoga--Daren's yoga studio. We did a Mysore style yoga class which was amazing. It was so great to practice in such a large, beautiful, bright studio with a bunch of other serious practicioners. I can't believe there were so many who wanted to do a Mysore style class (meaning totally self led with minimal instruction from the teacher). The teacher was also great; really good adjustments.

Chicago was very nice and I'm sorry that we had such a small amount of time there. We've been discussing spending a few more days in the city on our way home in December!

Calendar

Yes, there's some date overlap -- click to see a larger image.

Drive to Toledo, OH

Last night we had our 4^th of July celebrations in Washington DC. It was awesome. Erin took us to a party with the other members of LVC where they have a roof deck. It was really cool because people were lighting off fireworks all over the place. Sitting on the roof deck, we could be facing any direction and see fireworks shot up. It was just really cool.

Pramod and I are in Toledo, Ohio. I can't believe what a beautiful drive it was! There were places in Pennsylvania where we were driving along the side of a hill with incredible views on the other side (sadly, I slept through most of that). In Ohio--we saw a ton of corn fields and a few wheat fields. I have never seen wheat grown and it's so shiny! The prettiness made the drive go a lot faster and it made us really excited to start farming (though the heat is a little scary).

I guess that's all. To Chicago tomorrow.

Washington DC

Pramod and I have now been away from home for a week. I obviously haven't written very much, mostly because this part of our trip is kind of a prelude to the next 6 months. It isn't what I had really intended to blog about. I really like Washington DC. Pramod and have have had a really nice time visiting the Museum of Natural History, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the zoo. We also tried Ethiopian food--so good!--and their style of eating is similar to Indian which is fun. We have 1 more full day here and a couple more nights and we're open to suggestions if anyone has any ideas about things we must see while we're here.

I've been taking this teacher training course and I'm really excited to start teaching! The level of musicianship here isn't something that I will ever get to, but I also don't believe in making 6 year olds practice for 3 hours a day either. I just hope that I can hold on to this excitement for the next year when I can actually try teaching.

We've decided to change the plan a little bit. Instead of leaving on Tuesday and driving an 11.5 hour trip to Chicago, we're going to leave on Monday and spend the night in a motel in Cleveland, Ohio, which I believe is a little more than half way to Chicago. The trip here was supposed to be 8.5 hours, but due to the traffic going in and coming out of New York, it took 11 and that was too far for us to drive in one day. We'll still be able to spend our 4th of July in Washington DC with my gracious and wonderful host, Erin.