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Happy Tuesday!
I hope the weekend treated as good as mine did. In a nutshell, I did everything I wanted to do, which was unexpected. Not only did I get to have a very interesting (and hilarious) time with my parents, Cory and I made it up to Duluth as well. It was one of those weekends that goes by way too fast and you are more tired on Monday than usual, but it comes with the territory of having a great weekend. In the sense of the weekend, I am going to steal a fellow bloggers idea and update you on a couple of things I realized this weekend.
This Weekend I….
Was once again reminded about how awesome my parents are. Seriously.  They drove all the way up to see me for a night. Yes, I said that correctly. They drove 3+ hours to hang out with me for an evening, take me out to supper, and gave me quite a story to tell. I think they secretly knew I really wanted to see them, so they made it happen.

I realized that my dad should never pick out hotels. Due to many sporting events in the area and the last minute decision to stay the night, hotels were full to capacity. My dad found a hotel that had rooms open. Many many rooms open. Now on such a busy weekend, this was very strange, but he booked it and it was something else. It reminded of the hotel in The Shining. Long long hallways. Peeling wallpaper. Boudoir motif. Floral curtains. Unheated hallways (did I mention that they were long?). And to top it all off, my parents asked for a Jacuzzi suite. What they didn’t know was that this ‘suite’ was at the opposite end of the hotel. Where no one else stays. Where people wouldn’t hear if we screamed. This hotel was also a double for dinner theater and a lounge straight out of 1920. Back in the day, I am sure the hotel was hopping and was the place to be, however, in the year 2013, it just has a haunting feeling like someone could have died in the room we were staying in. Now, most people would have left, but not us. What we did find was a gem of a pool and peace. The pool area was something you would see in a magazine (historical magazine). It was elegant, clean, and the hot tub was deeper than most pools in hotels and it was fantastic. Add a couple glasses of sangria and we have a recipe for a fun relaxing evening. We also went to the lounge, had a couple jack and cokes, played cards by the fire and played a little bit of pool. It was refreshing, exciting. The kicker to all this: We will probably stay there again. My parents never disappoint and we had us an adventure! (It would have made you proud Sara!)

Cold Hallway to main lobby. I should note that we had to walk down another one of these before we actually made it to the main lobby. And the we had to walk down two more to get to the pool area. Need I remind you that the halls were unheated.


I noted that the word home has changed for me. I still referred to Duluth as home. I have gone back a couple of times and it has felt like home still. This weekend, it changed. While I had fun and it was so good to see people I haven’t in a while, I realized I didn’t fit in as well. I know where things are and still have my favorite restaurants, but it is no longer home for me. It was a very bittersweet feeling and I am still not sure how I feel about it. I still have a sense of longing and sometimes question the big move we did, but friends have moved on. Friends have changed. While it is nice to talk and catch up, the sense of belonging just isn’t there. I think it is time to grasp that I am no longer one of them, but merely a good friend who is visiting. 

I came to the conclusion that it is time for us to go on a trip. With the baby talk hovering around every conversation, I feel like I need one more trip of freedom. One final hurrah where I can sleep in as late as I want, have one drink too many, and stay up all night because I choose to. Can we afford anything like this? Nope. Will I be looking at places to go and dreaming of the possibilities? Sure thing!

I hope the workweek passes quickly and the weekend gets here soon! In the meantime, enjoy the last two pictures. One of them is better than the other (I think I love my cat too much).
-Cheers!