Saturday was a lazy day. Dave took Pete to the airport bright and early. We hung out at Griffen Park in town, but on the Missouri River. After church, we had a chicken dinner at Don’s and all went to Zesto’s for ice cream, a must do in Pierre, SD.
Don has been telling us for years that we should spend July 4 in Pierre, so we decided to stay longer. We started the day, Friday, with the parade in Ft Pierre. Don had his favorite spot, so we met him there.
Sherri and Bobby Hansen, Mr America
back-Bobby and Sherri, Garrett, Bev Glen, Claire and Heidi Crawford, Mary and Don, front-Memphis and Katie Murphy
Mary, Bobby, Bev and Don
We spent the afternoon at the state park on the Missouri River near Oahe Dam. All of Don’s daughter’s and spouses were there with Memphis, Garrett and Claire, along with Beverly.
Claire, Sherri and Katie
Sherri sharing a cigar
Heidi's turn
Dave and Memphis
Don, Garrett, Heidi and Glen
That evening, we all met in Ft Pierre to watch the fireworks. The rodeo had fireworks after their last event. But there were several private displays that were amazing all along the river. We were on a hillside taking it all in. Katie had picked up some fireworks to enjoy with her daughter, Memphis. But I thing we had more fun with them.
Memphis wasn't too sure about those fireworks
We said our sad good-byes that evening, as everyone was heading their separate ways in the morning. Katie planned to stay longer with Don for a few days. It will be such a change for their family without Linda's presence. I just hope we can help ease that burden in some way.
We spent most of Wednesday at my brother Don’s house. It was emotional to greet everyone after the loss of his wife, Linda, and their mother. Pete flew into Pierre that day. After picking him up, we had dinner at Don’s with food provided by friends. Don was having a plumbing issue at the house, so he and Dave took care of it before the house was full of guests.
view of Missouri River from our hotel
Bobby and Sherri with Memphis, Don
McKenna, Mya and Melanie Krause and Bev Krause
Claire and Garrett Crawford behind Dave
Kevin Krause and Peter Roth with Heidi Zeller Crawford behind
First cousins, Peter Roth, Katie Murphy, Sherri Zeller Hansen, Heidi Crawford, Kevin Krause
We spent some time at the Lutheran church on Thursday. Pete was able to practice with an accompanist for singing at the funeral tomorrow. The rest of us set up tables for the meal after the service. Back at Don’s, my sisters and I provided and served a taco dinner at Don’s house.
Bobby and Sherri Hansen, Memphis Murphy, Don Zeller, Clair Crawford
state capital from the church
There was visitation and a prayer service at the church that evening. People were able to share memories of Linda. There were so many loving memories shared about Linda. She really was an amazing woman.
Our son, Pete, posted the most beautiful message on Facebook to their family. He was OK with me sharing that post. He put into words what so many of us were thinking.
"Linda Zeller, I never grew as close to you as I would have liked, but I love my uncle and cousins and their kids and my aunts and uncles and my mom and all the family you had around you. I've met your family and grieved with them. I know how much everyone around you loved you and knew how kind and loving you were. I feel their loss so heavily it is unbearable. I hope you are more than at peace and I am thankful that in your last hours you were surrounded by loved ones. I haven't known how to express myself at your passing, but I hope my being there for my family will do. I'm not much for praying, but if anyone would like to pray in any way for my aunt and my family, I'm sure they would be received warmly and I would be grateful."
We also had a nice time visiting with several of our relatives that attended. We returned to our hotel and visited a while longer in the lobby.
Dave
with Sharon Zeller, Kevin Krause on fireplace. Chairs clockwise at
12:00 Jerry Zeller, Jim Moore, Tom Zeller, Peter Roth, Mary Roth, Janice
Moore
Linda Zeller’s funeral was Friday morning. Pete sang Ave Maria and On Eagles Wings. He did a beautiful job. It really meant a lot to the family to have him sing. And he was glad he could be there for them. Again, it was nice to visit with family and friends over lunch. We just wish it was under different circumstances.
Peter Roth, Sherri Zeller Hansen, Heidi Crawford, Katie Murphy, Kevin Krause
Siblings in age order Don Zeller, Beverly Krause, Jerry Zeller, Janice Moore, Mary Roth
That evening, we met at the Cattleman’s for dinner with family. Then we returned to Don’s to visit longer. Pete’s generation enjoyed sharing adult beverages and stories. They haven’t all been together since 2007. Pete would have been 20 at that time.
beautiful view of the Missouri River
Don's family-Ben Hansen and girlfriend, Jaxon Zeller Thorsen, Savannah and Ashley Hansen, Bobby and Sherri Hansen, Garrett, Claire, Glen and Heidi Crawford. Don, Memphis, Brad and Katie Murphy
cousins singing the Zeller drinking song (second generation)
6-27 Sunday. We spent some time at the Crawford farm with our niece, Heidi, husband, Glen, and daughter, Claire. It was nice to see them in person and share our condolences for the loss of their mother, grandmother. Then back to Janice and Jim’s for pork carnitas. Janice is also a good cook.
6-28 Monday. I was able to connect with a friend from Miller, SD for coffee. Nancy Augspurger Carlson lives in Aberdeen, but we have been friends since grade school.
Mary and Nancy Augpurger Carlson
Then we drove with Janice and Jim to the farm of close friends of theirs east of Aberdeen, the Ogren’s. In their retirement, Janice and Jim have been helping them with their cattle. We also picked up a high schoolgirl that wants to become a veterinarian. So she wanted the experience.
The plan was to vaccinate 200 head of cattle. First, they set up a corral in a pasture. Then they herded them into the corral in batches. They had to separate the calves from their mothers. Then they sent 5 cattle at a time through a shoot. Here they would vaccinate them with artificial insemination production hormones to help with fertilization. They removed the CIDR, “Ceeder”. This helps regulate their menstrual cycles so they will all be fertile at the same time. When they were done, they moved them to a different pasture. After 66 hours they will artificially inseminate them. Quite a production.
Janice and I helped load the syringes and deliver them to the person injecting them. Janice made treats for the guys. We discussed later how easy it was for her to whip us bars for them 2 days in a row. Dave said her number one goal is to please the boys.
sisters Janice and Mary
Janice with loaded syringes
handing off syringes for injection
cowboy Dave
great wrap on the hay bale
After we returned to Aberdeen and cleaned up, we met Glen and Garrett Crawford at Buffalo Wind and Rings for dinner.
6-29 On Tuesday, we drove to Watertown to watch our great niece, Claire Crawford, play golf in a tournament. She is a 7th grader and very good. Dave was reminiscing about golfing on this course when he was in high school. It’s larger and nicer now. After walking a few holes with Heidi, we went to the Franken’s for a late lunch. We met Tom and Lesa Franken in Germany in 1978 when Tom and Dave were in the Air Force. We had a great afternoon on their deck. Always fun to catch up with them.
Mary and Dave, Lesa and Tom Franken
Dave and Tom Franken
Mary and Lesa and photo bomber
Next, we drove to Miller to see Joe and Gail Zeller for dinner. We picked up dinner at a local “drive-in”. I can’t remember the name, but it used to be the A&W root beer stand I worked at in high school. We sat and visited until about 9:30. It’s easy to visit that long with them, but we also wanted to let the sun set so we wouldn’t have to drive into the sun. That put us into Ft Pierre at the AmericInn kind of late, but we had reservations.
Gail had this made for Joe by our cousin Ken Schaefer
On Friday, Dave, Alice and I drove to Le Sueur, MN for the day. While moving, Alice put together several things about here husband, Hap, to take to his oldest son, Joe. We planned to meet Joe and Jean at their house then go out to lunch. The large envelope included pictures, newspaper articles, awards, and other memorabilia. It was so fun watching them go through it together. It was much better than if she had mailed it to them. They really appreciated receiving the package.
Jean, Austin, Alice, Joe, Theresa
Their daughter, Theresa, and her son, Austin, joined us for lunch. Austin brought Alice a bouquet of flowers. So sweet! He really misses her.
seated Joe, Alice, Jean, standing Theresa and Austin
After our good-byes, we drove to our friends, the Clausen’s in Apple Valley and spent the night. We had dinner at Moscow on the Hill in St Paul.
Saturday. We had a great breakfast, as always at the Clausen’s. Joe and Erin love to cook. They are in the process of selling their home and moving to a townhouse in Woodbury. They will no longer have a mortgage and hope to join us in the sailing life someday. We drove back to Cumberland to take Alice home. After our good-byes with Alice, we drove to my sister’s in Aberdeen, SD, Janice and Jim Moore. We thought we’d get a room along the way, but everything was full. So we arrived close to midnight without hitting a deer!
6-21 Monday We drove the last leg to Cumberland, WI today. We had a tour of Alice’s new apartment complex. Very nice. She has been having trouble with her mobile phone, so we took her to Verizon to get things straightened out. That involved getting her a new phone. We picked up early dinner at a Thai food truck which was awful, very disappointing. We had Alice pack a bag and go to the Holiday Inn with us. She and I enjoyed the pool and the HOT hot tub.
6-22 Tuesday We went back to Cumberland and went grocery shopping at Louis’s meat market, a must stop in Cumberland. Alice had a new electric grill on her deck and wanted us to break it in. We bought steaks and sausages for tonight and frozen lobster tails and scallops for another night. That afternoon, I bought a new phone at the Verizon store. About a month ago, my phone was not responding to some of the keys as I was typing. We decided to try a refurbished phone for the first time online. I received their phone for $300 and had to send mine in to them. They credited us $100 for my old phone. Not soon after receiving it, I was having issues with the camera. The picture would move, kind of wavy. We researched that and found out there are magnets that stabilize the camera. If the phone has been dropped a lot, they can dislodge. We had them send me another one, but it wouldn’t arrive before we left. So I dug out my underwater camera to use as a backup. We found out at the Verizon store that they were having a promotion for new phones with a $500 credit for the old phone. I didn’t think mine would qualify, since it was a refurbished phone bought online, but it did. I ended up with a new phone, but we’ll be out the $200 I spent on the refurbished phone. I’ll have to send the one back that is sitting at the marina waiting for us to be able to get my money back from them. Lesson learned. Not sure we’ll get a refurbished phone in the future. Dave was the grill master at Alice’s that night. Dean joined us for dinner and Debbie stopped by after we ate.
Alice Ziebarth, almost 90
Debbie, Alice, Dean, Dave
Mary, Alice, Dean, Dave
6-23 Wednesday Dave and Alice went back to Cumberland today. They grilled the lobster and scallops. Unfortunately, I stayed at the room sick with food poisoning for 24 hours. I had snacked on a grocery store seafood salad before bed last night that we had bought on Monday. That was the only thing I ate that was different from Dave and Alice. Bummer!!
6-24 Thursday. I felt much better today. We went back to Alice’s and made our own seafood salad sandwiches on pretzel buns. Dave called them Pub Boys instead of Po’boys.
Thursday 6-17 Since rental cars in high demand, we secured a car right away. We prepared our boat to be left in the marina and planned for a road trip. We found out Linda’s funeral wouldn’t be until July 2 with the logistics of leaving Tennessee and going back to South Dakota. So we planned to see Dave’s mother in Wisconsin first.
6-18 Friday We left Brunswick, GA mid morning. There was heavy traffic most of the day. We stopped in Canton, NC, past Asheville, but before the mountains of NC/TN border. We were lucky to find a room at a decent price. Past here, they have high tourist rates. I decided to make our reservations for the Holiday Inn in Rice Lake, WI. I thought I was talking directly to the front desk. The Holiday Inn was booked, and the man I was talking to booked us at another hotel in Rice Lake. When we looked at the e-mail confirmation, there was an additional $300 charge. Somehow, I was talking to a scammer booking agency. We called them back and were able to cancel our room with a full refund. And we were able to get rooms at the Holiday Inn that we wanted. Really check who you are talking to when making reservations.
6-19 As we were looking for a local place for breakfast, the low tire pressure light came on in our rental car. We decided to get it fixed before leaving the area. We got a couple recommendations from people at the restaurant. As my dad used to say “good old American know who”. We found a place that removed a nail and repaired the tire right away, on a Saturday! It cost less than $20. It would have been more of a hassle to go through the car rental company. Made it to Franklin, IN that night. We stopped for dinner before checking into our hotel that I booked online. After eating, we drove to the hotel. They didn’t have our reservation, and the receptionist wasn’t very helpful. After quite a lengthy discussion, we realized we stopped at the wrong hotel. Ours was about 30 miles north. That should have been one of the first things they should have asked us. But it was our own fault. That’s 2 room reservation mix ups. I guess I’m a little off my game.
6-20 Sunday I found a nice Catholic Church this morning in Franklin. Pretty little town. We stopped for lunch at Lake Leroy, IL at Roraine View State Park. We planned to have a picnic by the lake, but found an awesome cafe on the water. What a great way to get off the road for awhile.
Later that day, we were just south of the Wisconsin Dells and decided to find a local restaurant before we hit the tourist traps. We found the perfect place, Remi’s Thirsty Moose in Poynette, WI. We were their first customers with their Indoor seating since the beginning of covid. We had duck wontons, wings, and shared a burger. Everything was made from scratch and delicious. We may have to plan this stop into our travels in the future. It was on a lake, too. It was raining, so we found a room at the Wisconsin Dells exit rather than continuing north another couple hours to Rice Lake, WI.
June 5. There was an Art Walk downtown Brunswick today. 2 blocks were blocked to traffic with vendors spread out in the parks and the streets. Pete and a friend performed in one of the squares. They had a woman join them for part of the time. They had never played with her, not even practiced, and sounded great together.
During early June, Dave worked on replacing the port windows in the boat. 4 of the 6 were loose. He originally thought he’s reseal/attach all 6, but has backed off to only the 4 that are loose. He was using a special saw that he ordered just for this job. It has a blade that would go between the window and the hull. It was terribly noisy. While he was in the aft cabin, he turned on a fan we have mounted there. It started making a terrible squeaking noise. I heard Dave call out from the aft cabin “I’m going to run this saw to cover up the squeaky fan!” TeeHee! I did the prep to clear out the area and clean up. Now we have 4 windows taped with protection on the inside and out.
The new tool is an oscillating multi tool. It has lots of attachments and get into tight places. Cutting, sanding, shaving, buffing, etc.
We took our Portland Pudgy out for a ride to check out the outboard motor. While we were at dock one and the marina office, we decided to see how many people the boat would hold. Lots of fun characters in this marina.
6-14 We spent some time on a neighbor’s boat discussing being crew for him. He is moving his boat from GA to Rockport, MA. He plans to go offshore for 4-5 days to Block Island. He will have one other guy as crew along with me and Dave. We were pretty excited about making the trip for the experience and fun.
6-15 I spent the day planning meals for us on the passage to MA. But that evening, all of our plans changed. My brother Don’s wife, Linda, suffered a heart attack with an aortic dissection and didn’t survive. Words can’t describe the grief and sorrow. She was such a caring, loving person and will be greatly missed.
We cancelled our sailing passage and started making plans to head to South Dakota.
