Day one of our road trip was as pleasant as a spring day could be. We took our time leaving Little Marais and the North Shore. “Why would we ever leave our place?”, I asked. I had spent the night with the bedroom window cranked open to hear the surf sound full volume.
We arrived in Downtown St. Paul about a half hour earlier than I expected. We wanted to get pictures of the flooded Mississippi, but all access points and parking lots along Shepard Road were blocked off. By bicycle, you might have gotten down to the river near the I-35E bridge. There was no place to park in that stretch.
Onward to DesMoines, we stopped for the night at a Country Inn by Carlson’s near the I-35/I-80 interchange on the west side. You can’t beat the price, $89 for a two room suite, king-size bed, full size swimming pool, and free breakfast. For dinner it was an easy walk across the parking lot to a Cracker Barrel Restaurant. I had a catfish dinner, and expect to have more of that on this trip.
David Carlson
