My Last Vacation - A Staycation

From July 21st-25th, Olivia and I went to Grand Marais to take a photography workshop with Layne Kennedy. We both received scholarships from North House Folk School which enabled us to take the workshop. I posted 11 photos from the workshop in another post HERE.

More recently, I've changed my vacation focus from going somewhere to simply enjoying places and doing things that are within easy driving distance from my home...a Staycation. Below are some of the things I did for my two-week Staycation.  

4-H Dog Show 

On Saturday, July 31st, I didn't go to the 4-H Dog Show since Olivia was getting her 4-H projects judged at the county fair. However, after the show was over, I got to enjoy petting and talking with the owners about their dogs who were in the Dog Show. 

Some were happy with how their dogs did while others were disappointed that their dogs didn't quite stay as focused as they should have been while in the show ring. Even if they were a little distracted, they made up for being super friendly and happy dogs...like the one below.

Noerenberg Memorial Gardens

The next day, on August 1st, we went to Noerenberg Memorial Gardens in Wayzata on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. Minnesota is in the middle of a drought, yet the gardens were still colorful, varied, and beautiful. There were a lot of purple flowers, like these Nodding Onions.

One of my favorite flowers, foxgloves, was found throughout the garden.

There were mounds of grasses with striking colorful tops in shades of pink. On iNaturalist it is identified as Natal Grass. 

From a distance, the Globe Amaranth looked purple. It wasn't until I got up close that I noticed the tiny yellow parts on them.

Washington County Fair

On Wednesday, August 4th, we went to the Washington County Fair. It was the 150th year of the fair so there were special historical exhibits throughout the fairgrounds. 

This was the first year that I didn't have something in the Needlework category. However, we went in the building and enjoyed seeing all the quilts and needlecraft projects. 

The girls stopped at one booth and designed buttons that were made for them on the spot. 

I liked seeing the fresh herbs. This one caught my eye because the flowers are all purple and they are not your typical herbs. This person has exhibited before doing a similar concept and always places well.

This year there were some cute entries in the "Dress a Potato" contest. Sophia noticed this little potato-cat.

We all laughed at the Bob Ross potato. It was really a clever entry.

Olivia and I entered six photos each in the fair. In this part of the Photography exhibit pictured below, it shows Olivia's rose covered with dewdrops getting 4th prize and my catkin caught on the barbed wire fence as getting 1st place.

My photos had a range of ribbons - from 1st (the bottom image of Rattlesnake Master in sepia tone) to 4th (the image above it of two pine trees on an island).

Olivia also entered projects and did well. She got a blue ribbon (1st prize) for her two canisters.

This year I entered ten pre-printed pictures that I colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. This landscape image took me a while, but it was worth it. It's my favorite one out of the ones I did.

After looking at exhibits, we headed to the poultry barn. I always enjoy seeing the variety of chickens. It reminds me of ones we used to have back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

There was a tom turkey who was putting on quite the show for the girls.

Out for Lunch 

On Thursday, August 5th, after Sophia donated platelets at the American Red Cross, we went to El Burrito Mercado in St. Paul. There's a restaurant, bakery, and grocery store.  

We each had a platter of food...way more than we could eat in one sitting. So, we had another meal with our leftovers. 

After lunch, we went to the bakery section and picked out four pastries to bring home to share with Olivia and Paige. 

Dog Walk 

On Friday, August 6th, I took the dogs on a walk one morning from 6-7 a.m. The weather has been hot and humid, so it is best to take them early in the day.

I watched the sun rise over one of the hills and open land.

Jungle Cruise Movie

On Friday, August 6th, we went to see Jungle Cruise at Lake 5 Theatre. It is an adventure-packed movie with the corny jokes that are typical on the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland. We all enjoyed seeing the movie and liked the storyline.

Fort Snelling National Cemetery

On August 8th, after dropping off Sophia at the airport, I went to Fort Snelling National Cemetery. My parents are buried there. At 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning, I was the only one there. Needless to say, it was very quiet and peaceful.

Barn Quilt & Visiting with Neighbors/Friends

On Monday, August 9th, Olivia finished her barn quilt for a customer.

They came over to pick up their barn quilt and we spent some time talking with them. They are such a nice couple.

Scandia Farmers Market

On Wednesday, August 11th, the Lions Club I'm a member of was at the Scandia Farmers Market. 

We had 200 free milkweed plants to give to people to plant at their homes to help monarchs. 

There were four different types of milkweed plants: whorled milkweed, spider milkweed, butterfly weed, and swamp milkweed. Whorled and spider have white blooms; butterfly has orange blooms; and swamp has pink blooms.

We also collected eyeglasses for the Recycle for Sight program, pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, and cash donations for the food shelf.

Carver County Fair

The last activity of my Staycation was going to the Carver County Fair on Saturday, August 14th. We enjoyed seeing the animals, especially the sheep. This one was sleeping.

Olivia enjoyed petting the goats. This one was very inquisitive and wanted to play with a latch on the wall.

We went a parakeet exhibit. In a large trailer, there were quite a few parakeets. To enter, you had to buy a stick covered with birdseed. The parakeets flew around the trailer, with some landing on our hands.

There was an exotic animal area and Olivia fed the animals some seed. This camel was super friendly.

We went to the llama barn. Some were resting, some wanted corn husks (provided at the door), and others liked to be pet.

In the vendor area, there was a Tesla that Olivia was able to sit in. I've never seen what a Tesla is like up close. There were lots of new features. Made me feel like I was driving a car from the 1910s.

We went through the exhibit buildings. In the hobby and craft area, there was an exhibitor who entered quite a few of these collage pieces. She took jewelry and create collages with them. In addition to this Halloween scene, there was a bunny (for Easter) and a snowman.

In another area, there were some barn quilts on the walls and this succulent horse topiary. I've wanted to do a succulent topiary and this has piqued my interest.

Outside the 4-H building, there was a big chalkboard heart that people could write words or names, or decorate in some way. 

I've never been to this fair before and it was a fun one to visit. It's located in Waconia - about 1 hour and 15 minutes from where we live. It was well worth the time to get there. We all agreed that next year we will go back.