Pretty As a Peacock

This morning is as "pretty as a peacock," with the rising sun aggrandizing every color in the neighborhood.  I'd say this is Iowa summer weather wearing its Sunday best.

We came back last evening from an impromptu mini-vacation to the Brainerd, Minnesota area.  The reason for the trip was to check out a boat we found on Craigslist, the ideal replacement for the one we sold a couple of weeks ago.  Brainerd and Nisswa are two Minnesota towns that grabbed our hearts almost 50 years ago and kept us in their grips ever since.  So, for us finding a boat up there was a double-whammy opportunity for fun.

After checking in to a Super 8 motel Thursday afternoon, we took a nostalgic drive to our favorite resort and found "our tree."  The small tree we watched change color every September on our anniversary all those years ago was a small maple, umbrellaed by the forest.  The years have made it taller, while the years have made us shorter.

On our drive up, we agreed that the possibility of us coming home without a boat was greater than us driving home with one trailered behind our Escape.  It was our way of coping with possible disappointment.  Craigslist is an arena for scam artists and shyster deals.  But, I'm happy to report that Craigslist has now twice proven itself a bridge to new friendships and safe shopping.  We made arrangements in advance with our bank to have money wired to the sellers' bank should a purchase pan out.  After the deal was agreed upon, we the buyers and sellers went together to the Wells Fargo Bank to have bank officials navigate the transfer of money from our savings account to theirs.  That was recommended as the best way to assure the sellers a sound transaction.  Counterfeit cashier's checks, money orders, personal checks, and cash are rampant.  The unwritten rule for online shopping is "trust no one."  In fact, trust raises a red flag identifying the non-savvy, easy scam target Craigslist shopper.

We christened our boat The Miss Cassie.......cuz she comes to us from Cass County, Minnesota.

Our Super 8 stay was pet-friendly, with wonderful breakfasts included.  A bowl of tasty oranges and apples were always available to the motel guests.  The make-your-own breakfast counter offered coffees, breads or English Muffins for toast, bagels,  hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, orange juice, make-your-own waffles with syrup or jam, oatmeal, Kix and Raisin Bran, and cinnamon rolls.  To be perfectly honest, the last three days elevated our Super 8 ratings to a new level.  Our room was spotless, for being pet-friendly, and the personnel was efficient and courteous.

We came upon garage sale and yard sale signs on many back roads hiding modern-day lake homes...I call them secluded mini mansions.   My yowza purchase was a stack of 10 North Country magazines for 10 cents apiece.   Not only was it a bargain, but a way for us to savor the north woods while sitting here at home....wishing we were up there.

Our little Emma loves traveling and wins a gold medal for her behavior on this get-away.  I guess after going with us everywhere for the last 11 years, she's bound to be self-adjustable to new environs.  I gotta say, though, she had a bit more wiggle in her butt when we got back home.  Like the rest of us, she loves to go on trollies, but loves the feel of her home.

Long story short, I have a boat in the yard that's pretty as a peacock and an antsy husband excited to become intimately acquainted with Miss Cassie.  As for me, well, I'll patiently wait to go on the water with her, cast my line, and predictably reel in a whammin' whopper.  I talk B-I-G about my fishing finesse, but isn't that what fishermen are supposed to do?