June 4-11, 2019  Iceland

SteveandBarb Larson was traveling to Reykjavík, Iceland from Delta Terminal - Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (4300 Glumack Dr, Saint Paul, MN).

June 3 · Saint Paul, MN · 

Our adventure is in Phase II...Phase I was a blast...lots of good times with family. Minnesota weather cooperated very nicely. Thank you to all our Minnesota folks for the wonderful hospitality...we even got to spend a couple of hours with our cousins from DC. It has been very fun...moving on.

Awesome flight...just under 5 hours. The sun came up at 1:35 Central...and then a flyover of Greenland which we really didn't expect. Welcome to Iceland...land of fire & ice. 8 days to circle the island...weather is beautiful except for the wind...but we sort of expected that.

After arrival, we picked up our rental car, a Suzuki Swift with manual transmission, which neither of us has driven in years, but with a GPS for Iceland and WiFi built into the car.  This will become very useful in the days ahead.  We had arranged this tour ahead of time and will include a circle tour of the entire island.

We did some sight seeing on the way from the airport to our hotel in Reykjavik, found our hotel, and went to get some dinner. Finding a place to get dinner proved way more difficult that we expected, considering it was a weeknight. We went and got some sleep and the next morning, after the included breakfast, we were on our way on our circle tour, clockwise. Our first destination was Akureyri on the northwestern part of the island. So we spent the next 7 hours exploring the west side of Iceland and re-learning to drive a stick-shift.

May 28-June 3, 2019

We are starting our summer as we make our way to Minnesota:

SteveandBarb Larson

May 28 · 

We made it thru security...now it's a waiting game...our adventure begins — traveling to Minneapolis, Minnesota from Orlando International Airport (MCO). When we arrived in Minneapolis, we rented a Kia for a week. First stop was American Legion Post 435 in Richfield, Mn to meet Barb's cousin Tom, who is the drummer for the Rock Rangers, a classic rock band. We spent the next few hours listening to Classic Rock favorites, beginning with Bob Seger's Turn the Page.  It was a fun night. Then we drove to Mantorville where Barb's sister lives. We will be staying there.

The next day, we drove to Lake City to see my brother. We also went to lunch overlooking Lake Pepin and took a drive into Wisconsin.  Nice day catching up and sightseeing. It was a beautiful day.

The next few days were spent with family preparing for a couple of parties...one for us and one for our niece Katelyn, who was graduating from High School. We also stopped at the cemetary to honor Barb's & her sister's folks with some flowers, etc. Nice view from the cemetery of Red Wing Athletic field and the infamous motorcycle hill climb, first used in the 1950s...still there.

Then the first of two parties, a get together with all but 1 of our wedding party from 1969.  It was a fun night of reminiscing and telling everyone about our upcoming European adventure. It was so nice to see everyone, some we hadn't seen in years.

Then it was Katelyn's turn.  Great turnout at Sue & Brad's. Lots of family and friends who stopped by to wish Katelyn well. There was then a big party around a bonfire, where everything gets set on fire, from old dead Christmas trees to large wooded spindles and an old toboggan...then some fireworks and of course a few empty beer cans. Everyone had a big time.

Then it was graduation day at Mantorville High. In an hour it was all over.  Mom, Dad & Big sis as well as the rest of the family are very proud. She is off to Winona State College.

The rest of the day was spent opening cards & gifts and cleaning up.  We very much enjoyed our time with friends & family.  It is time to move on.