Will's 16 Year Trip

From the file of "Better Late Than Never," I bring you Will's & my trip honoring his 16th birthday . . . two years late! 

I didn't have a firm plan in mind . . . at all. 

I wasn't sure where to take him, or what we would do. I did know that I wanted to take him fishing, as we were planning on doing for his 8th grade graduation trip (in 2020) -- until a kidney stone sidelined our last day and landed me in an ER. 

Becki mentioned the Twin Cities and I got researching. I found a very beautiful park and area near Taylors Falls, Minnesota (about an hour north of the Twin Cities), and then everything fell into place from there.

On the drive up to Taylors Falls, Will and I stopped to see the giant orange moose. We also managed to bushwhack our way into the woods to find a letterbox that has withstood the test of time for 14 years!!

Captains Log; June 2, 2024: Christmas Tree spotted at Arby's. 

Becki texted me, asking to send a picture of us "looking sad," because she was going to get Whiteys and we couldn't have any. I'm pretty sure she said that these were the most pathetic attempted "sad face" pictures ever. LOL

The next couple pictures were taken while searching for a couple more letterboxes. I'm fascinated by interesting last names . . . and Will and I found a birds nest with babies in it right above where a box was hidden. We never did find the box, and we were careful not to disturb the nest any more than necessary. We were being watched VERY carefully by momma bird who perched herself on a nearby headstone. 

Something new to us: Airbnb. We've never looked into Airbnb as an option before. I found this very cute, and very affordable, place for rent in Taylors Falls. Instead of explaining to the hosts that this was Will's 16th birthday trip, and that he's now 18, I just told them that it was a graduation trip. We were greeted with this sign. So sweet. 

We brought an assortment of games, and played every evening. 

One night Will told Becki and I that he was thinking of getting into metal detecting. Later that week a detector showed up in the mail (he had ordered and bought himself). I contacted Steve, a friend of ours who lives up in the greater Twin City area, who has detected for a while and has a collection of interesting finds. 

Steve was more than willing to meet us at a city park in Osceola, Wisconsin to get started, he also secured permission to detect at an old farm house nearby. Steve and his friend, Doug, met us on the morning of Day 2 and helped teach us the ropes. Steve was so kind as to have an extra detector that I could use.

One of my favorite shows is called Detectorists, a running gag is they find pull tabs. I chuckled to myself as the very first thing I dug up was, in fact, a pull tab, followed by a dime. 

After spending some time in the park we moved on to the farm house. 

Steve dug up this cicada larva. Being harmless (and not slimy), I had no problem picking it up for a closer look before replacing him in his dirt cocoon.  

Siesta time. 

Doug was the big winner of the day. He found a few Mercury Dimes, and other older coins, and a cool old bell (that would go around the neck of a sheep, or dog) that still rang. Steve found a cool gear and horseshoe that still had bent nails in it.

Here's everything I found. Nothing much, except the cool token near the top of the next picture: "National Hero Admiral Dewey." 

Will and I are so appreciative of Steve and Doug for taking a good chunk of their day in teaching us the art of metal detecting! After we parted ways, Will and I headed to a nearby drive-in for a late lunch/early dinner. 

The forecast for the next day was calling for rain in the afternoon. So, we planned to start our day fishing and then hit the Mall of America that afternoon.

We headed out the backdoor of our Airbnb and walked down a straight path that lead to the St. Croix River. Unfortunately the river was in flood stage and there was no real way to get down to it.

Just down the road from our Airbnb was Lions Club South Park. This seemed to be a good spot to do some fishing. As previously mentioned, the St. Croix was in flood stage.

Not long into our fishing expedition, Will came up to me and apologetically told me that fishing really wasn't his thing any more. No big deal, our interests do change over time. So he pulled out this outdoor chess set that he had bought and we played a few games of chess. Not going to brag, but I nearly won the second game. 

After a thorough beating, I drove us down to the Mall of America. Of course the Lego Store was the most alluring of all the stores -- especially since new sets had recently hit the shelves. 

Sadly the American Girl store had closed. Not that we wanted to go in, mind you, but I have fond memories of the girls enjoying it when we came here years ago. 

After the Mall, we headed to Cabela's. 

They had quite the display of taxidermied specimens, as well as a huge fish tank that can be viewed from either side. 

After we left Cabela's, the rain was still holding off. We went looking for a few more letterboxes that were planted by MC Bear, a dear letterboxer who passed away in 2021. We had a few successes and a few misses.

As we headed to find one more box before grabbing dinner the weather changed. The promised storm was bearing down on us. 

We decided on pizza and called in our order. As we drove the clouds overtook us.  

As we pulled into the parking lot the skies opened up. Torrential is the best descriptive word for the rain we experienced. I waited in the car for a few minutes hoping it would subside, it didn't. I made a run for it, after securing the pizza I ran back to the car -- drenched. We drove back to the Airbnb and enjoyed our supper. The clouds had passed and the sun came out again . . . but exhaustion set in.

The next day we were to 'check out' and drive home. I had no plans for the drive. Becki had texted me the night before with an idea, a very cool cave in southern Minnesota. I was interested in going there, but it sparked a memory of another cave that I wanted to do for years . . . one that Becki had told me that she would never do . . . Spook Cave in McGregor, Iowa.

The Spook Cave campground is well manicured and peaceful. What a beautiful day! 

Why Becki said she would never go in Spook Cave: its a boat tour through an underground cavern. Below is the group that went before us.

Will and I got our tickets and waited in the holding dock for our tour. Meanwhile, a pair of swallows swooped in and out, taking turns in bringing back nourishment to their youngins. 

There were several spots that we had to duck down because the roof of the cave was so low.

I even found myself practically laying on the floor of the boat.

The cave did open up, offering great views of the underground. 

There were several spots within the cave that water would drip down on us, as evident by the shirt of the guy in front of me.

All in all, we had a wonderful time together. Will and I letterboxed, metal detected, hit the Mall of America and Cabela's, fished, played many games, and survived Spook Cave.

I'll hold dearly the memories that we made together on this trip. I love you, Will, and I couldn't be more proud of you!!