Easter in Decorah

Sophie is sick to her stomach and tossing and turning in bed next to me. She’s made frequent trips to the bathroom and I’ve been up now since 2:00 AM wondering how I’m going to get the kids home driving by myself.  I also rolled over into a wad of used gum stuck to the sheets that she evidently enjoyed right up until she fell asleep last night.  I think the Easter candy really did a number on her despite my multiple warnings to stop eating the stuff.  She assured me that she only ate “one Peep”.  Regardless, it gives me some time to write a little about our most recent adventure.

 I was lucky enough to have the kids over Easter weekend and decided to take advantage of the time and travel to Decorah to visit Michaela at Luther College. She was thrilled to see us and it’s been a joy to see the kids having fun together. Michaela is spending extra time manning KWLC in the absence of most of the other school DJs and the younger ones are excited to be sitting in the station with her learning how the whole process works. Actually, I think I’m just as excited as the kids are… Maybe even more…..  Michaela handled herself very professionally when she had a minor radio emergency present itself in a dropped signal from the local Lutheran church that was providing an audio feed of their Easter morning services.  Michaela quickly sprung into action getting on the air and providing soothing classical music as a temporary fix while she frantically dials into the church’s kitchen to get in touch with an usher.  A mere 1 minute later and we were back LIVE!

 We arrived here in Decorah on Saturday afternoon after a daydreaming driver made the wrong turn at Dodgeville and added another hour to the already five-hour-long drive.  I can’t wait to have some driving relief in a few months when Emily gets her license although she has a lot more driving to do before we are able to realize that day. Unfortunately, my recent misfortunes have also presented a new challenge in that I no longer have an “easy to drive” vehicle for her to train.   My 2010 Fusion hybrid was totaled after filling full of water after my accident last week. The pickup truck and van certainly aren’t starter vehicles. Funny visions go through my head of Emily walking into the DMV for her driving test and walking out with the instructor to a Ford F-250 diesel pickup truck complete with a plow (because at this rate we still may have snow in July!). Perhaps I will have a solution at that time…. In the meantime, until I have a better idea about my future, I plan to start commuting with my big truck facing potential $4+/gallon diesel prices this summer….

 Upon our arrival in Decorah, we stopped by Brandt Hall at Luther to pick up Michaela and then headed to the Hotel Winneshiek. The weekend was spent primarily outdoors at Malanaphy Springs and Dunning Springs. We enjoyed a picnic as well as an easter egg hunt on the Luther campus with our own decorated Easter eggs.  We had dinner at Mabe’s Pizza (of course) and also enjoyed a local sports bar and sushi place.   Sugarbowl Ice cream and even the Whippy Dip was visited!  One of my highlights was visiting the Decorah Eagle’s Nest just south of town.  It is a national sensation and we even called a friend to watch the webcam as our van as it drove by.  Yes, we are very nerdy….