Day 9 September 4: International Falls, MN to Minneapolis, MN.

 

Day started right with coffee at Dunkin. 1^st Dunkin in over a week. Our boat tour was scheduled for noon, so we took our Dunkin to the small town of Ranier and sat by the lake and enjoyed what looked like a beautiful day. After Rainer we headed to the Thunderbird Lodge and went for a walk while we waited for our boat tour. 30 minutes before our tour we noticed some dark clouds on the horizon. A check of the Weather Channel showed a huge storm heading our way. Sure, enough the captain showed up and said unless the weather improved it was a no go for us. We waited around for about 45 minutes and the weather just didn’t let up so we had to head out without doing the boat tour. On a positive note, talking to the captain who is recently retired and was just back from a stint training with America Corp. He said he felt he was a little old to fit in with the Ameri Corps group so I gave him the Team Rubicon pitch and my card, so who knows, maybe I recruited a new Team Rubicon Volunteer. We met a Vet in Fargo at dinner the other night, he served tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq and told Michele he was still looking for his sense or purpose. I missed the chance to give him the Team Rubicon pitch and I feel bad about that, glad I didn’t miss the chance today.

 

The drive to Minneapolis was about 5 hours and even with it being Labor Day, traffic was not bad. The hotel we are staying at tonight is the same place we stayed when we came here in June to watch the Red Sox and 2 years ago, Michele and I stayed here when she flew out for a short road trip.  This will be the only hotel on this trip that we stayed at before, but we really like it here in downtown Minneapolis, so despite the setback with the boat tour, it’s all good.