notes from Terry Ann

Not the Minnesota Twins

I just returned from a trip to California with my daughter. We looked at a college, drove along the coast, and stuck our feet in the ocean. Sure beats Minnesota winter! On our last day, we were in San Fransisco and decided that it would be great to finish our trip with a meal at the Cheesecake Factory. So we asked Mavis to find one for us. She's our GPS, and you never quite know what she's thinking. Mavis guided us over the bay bridge and we ended up right in the middle of downtown. No Cheesecake Factory in sight. We went around a couple of blocks and Mavis took us right back to the same spot. Still no Cheesecake Factory. So we pulled into a parking ramp and asked the parking guy where to find it. He told us "Just cross the street and go into Macy's and way in the back there's an elevator that takes you up to the Cheesecake Factory." Sure enough, that's exactly where it was.

 

Look who was seated at the table next to ours - the San Fransisco Twins, Marian and Vivian Brown. They were sitting side by side and had just finished their meal. The twins were delighted to have their picture taken and made us promise to send them a copy of the picture to add to their collection of pictures from all over the world. Instead of staying in the booth, they got up and tried several spots to get just the right light for the photo.

The twins told us how they were originally from Michigan so they really appreciated how nice it was for us to have a vacation from winter. They shared some advice: "Don't let anyone tell you where to be - you need to choose your own spot. We chose San Fransisco".

A Multitude of Mailboxes

We're back from sunny Florida - I was amazed that our kids picked us up at the airport wearing no jackets. It was 41 degrees when we landed in Minneapolis and that's a heat wave for Minnesota in February.

Our first day in Florida, I snapped a picture of a mermaid mailbox, and she's not wearing a jacket either! Look at the green green plants - my mailbox has a pile of snow around it . . .

 

A few houses down from the mermaid we found her boyfriend.

 

Now why does the guy always have more clothes on? A few sea critters caught my eye next . . . here in Minnesota we'd probably have walleye, black bears, and moose instead.

   

We actually do have lighthouses in Minnesota - but not many houses with tile roofs. And certainly no pink flowers or green grass.

Goodbye snow!!

Yesterday we left snowy Minnesota for a long weekend in Florida! The first person I saw after we went through security at the airport had "Lynn's Tote" from Let's Do Lunch propped on top of her carry on! What fun to see a complete stranger with a bag from one of my books! As soon as the plane landed, one of the little kids in the seat behind us shouted "Yay! We made it!" My feelings exactly!