Dan Antion

Back from the Road – #1LinerWeds

I flew direct to MSP but returned via Detroit from Des Moines.

I have been traveling the past week, returning earlier today (Tuesday). I flew to Minneapolis, and after a couple of days there (some business, some fun), my brother drove us to Iowa. I had a wonderful time, ate delicious food, sampled a variety of beers and, most important, visited with people who are very dear to me. However, as I think many travelers would agree,

“It’s good to be home!”

This post is part of Linda G. Hill’s fun weekly series One-Liner Wednesday. If you have a one-liner, I’d encourage you to join in on the fun. You can follow this link to participate and to see the one-liners from the other participants.

This is Delta – at least it’s a familiar sight.
On our approach to MSP.
It was warm enough in Minneapolis to drink and eat outside.
Brothers, but different taste in beers. Lager v Porter.
Beef Stroganoff. This is a dish I will try almost anywhere.
This amber was pretty good.
A dark beer dedicated to the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The mother load of cranes, outside of Ames, IA
Awww, we had to stop for a train on our way to lunch.
That’s Fester – one of my niece’s cats.
“But I’m sleeping on this. Can’t you leave it here?” That’s my brother’s cat, Sundance.
I flew direct to MSP but returned via Detroit from Des Moines.
Here comes my ride home.
A little too many reflections, but I like this picture.
Not my best decision. Skip the crowded restroom near the gate and use the one near Baggage Claim.
Maddie tempting me with a toy.
I brought Maddie a watermelon slice toy. She usually tears a small hole and removes all the stuffing and the squeaker.
Maddie performed a laparoscopic squeaker-ectomy on her watermelon slice.
It’s windy, but we’re going to sit for a while.
I had several good breakfasts in Minneapolis and Iowa, but I’ll be happy to be back at the counter at Maddie’s.

70 comments

    • Thanks Maggie. The trip was fun. I love taking pictures of things at airports, but I don’t want to seem to be making a fuss about it. There is a plane in there, somewhere.

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  3. Hi Dan – it’s great you get to see your brother at times when you’re away and then able to meet up with other friends and family … but being home is the best – look at the welcome from the four leggeds! Happy times and an excellent one-liner Wednesday – cheers Hilary

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  4. It sounds like you were able to mix business and pleasure which is a good thing especially when it includes a family visit. :-) I love seeing Maddie, but not the restroom under renovation sign. I had to chuckle because that is not what a person wants to see when they have already ‘waited.’ :-)

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    • Thanks Judy. That has been my “secret” all the years that I’ve traveled. The restrooms near the gates are so crowded after a flight. I head straight to baggage claim, use those facilities and I still get to the belt before my bag. This didn’t work, and – you can’t reenter the gate area!

      The trip was great, and Thursday to Tuesday worked very well for flights.

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    • It’s funny that you say that. I’ve had some long layovers there, and I’ve been very happy with the food. In fact, I almost always get a Fish Taco at a bar next to the gate area when I’m waiting for an 8:00 pm flight back to Hartford.

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      • It was late at night and we were bone weary from snow storm rebookings. We didn’t have much hope but I ordered shrimp scampi with linguine at a bar and grill. It was wonderful. Who knew?

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  7. A few comments:
    1) Welcome back Mr. Traveler
    2) If you had told me you were in Minneapolis, I would have turned northwest and waved.
    3) Your brother has good taste in beer. Porter is one of my faves.
    4) Motherload of cranes? No, you missed that when they were rebuilding a major bridge here. I counted 15 cranes in all, within a short distance.
    5) Maddie’s watermelon toy antics remind me of a time I came home and had a catnip mouse disemboweled on the bed. It’s that “killer” instinct they have. Or they just like tearing things apart. I don’t know…

    Have a great Wednesday and breakfast, Dan!

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    • Ha ha – Thanks from the Southeast. Maybe after I retire, they’ll be an opportunity to meet for a beer (you and my brother can have porters) somewhere in between your place and Minneapolis.

      The problem with highway cranes is they never let you stop to get close up photos. 15?, I would have faked a breakdown for that.

      I guess it’s their instinct at work. Today, Maddie is playing with the empty, inside-out shell of a watermelon slice. She’s carrying it around like “my toy, my toy,” even though most of her toy is in the trash. It’s why I buy the cheap toys at PetCo,

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  8. If you were in Minneapolis on Thursday and Friday, you were in the same city as my husband. Maybe you met each other at the airport and didn’t even know it 😉

    I like the photo of Maddie following the disemboweled squeak toy. She has a smug self-satisfied look on her face that seems so appropriate after the toy incident.

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    • I thought the city seemed nicer than the last time I was there ;-)

      Maddie takes those toys as a challenge. We have to remove the squeaker before she swallows it, which always makes her a little sad. She’s so funny because she just tears a hole in one end and removed everything through that hole.

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  9. Good food and good peer – sounds like the perfect trip! I was never in Iowa and only visited Minneapolis once, but I want to go back. When we asked our shuttle driver for suggestions about a place to eat, he told us TGI Fridays. When we said, “No, we want to try someplace local,” he thought for a while, then said, “I’m still going to go with TGI Fridays”. I know there are great places to eat in that town. I need to go back and find them.

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    • They have a couple older steak houses. We ate at one last year, and it was very good. We were going to try the other one this time, but we had a flight of beers before settling on the one we wanted to drink. That bar was a short walk from our hotel, so we decided to eat there. The next day, we stopped in a pub near our hotel and replayed the same process. Both were excellent.

      I always try to eat at place I can’t eat at home, even if they are chains. We don’t have a Red Lobster near us in CT, so we’ve gone there in Iowa.

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  10. In no particular order:

    1. Welcome home.
    2. The Addams Family
    3. The food looks delicious.
    4. It s wonderful to travel and wonderful to have people and a place you love to return to.
    5. Happy Wednesday.

    janet

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    • I don’t know how you managed, John. I traveled like that for 6 years and I was happy change jobs to one that had me on the road several times per year. For the last 10 years, it’s been more of a once-a-month thing. It’s slowing down now and I look forward to when it’s leisure travel only.

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  13. Biscoff’s!! #1 Grandson and I love those! I dip mine in my tea.

    You cracked me up with ” Crane Motherload!” then I thought, “he hasn’t posted a crane for awhile”.

    Diva Dog used to disembowel her toys for the squeaker too. I miss her.

    Fester is a beautiful black cat.

    The food and beer look good and mixing business with a family visit are the best! Glad you made it there and back again safely.

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    • Thanks Deborah. It’s great sharing a favorite cookie with your grandson. I’ve never tried dipping them in tea (until later tonight).

      I have some other crane photos from this trip. There are some active construction sites now in Hartford, so maybe I’ll get some local ones soon.

      Maddie’s practice with her tolls is annoying, but I can understand how I could come to miss it. I miss your stories about Diva Dog.

      Visiting family is the only kind of travel I want to do going forward after I retire. I will still visit with the business associates in Minneapolis, because they are also great friends.

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  15. Great one-liner, Dan. It is always good to get home after a long trip (or short one!). I’ve never been to Minneapolis, but it is on my list. :) Welcome back and thanks for including readers in your journey!

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  16. Welcome home Dan! I’m sure the Welcoming Committee was at the door waiting. Fester and Sundance are both beautiful cats. Great names too. Sundance and MiMi seem to have a lot in common in the joy they exhibit being woken up by your camera!

    Murphy was so happy to know that she isn’t the only fur ball who removes the stuffing and squeaker from all toys. Sigh…..

    How nice you had the opportunity to mix pleasure with business on this trip.

    I love the reflections picture. The more I look at it, the more I see!!

    Glad you had a safe trip. You have a lot of walks and brushing and scratchies to make up for!
    🐾Ginger 🐾

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    • Thanks Ginger. It’s comforting to know that other dogs also go full-on to rid the world of squeakers. Maddie has been carrying the empty shell of that toy around this morning. So proud.

      Sundance is the perfect mix of MuMu’s mouth and desire to be scratched and MiMi’s attitude when sleeping. Fester (and Gomez) are still kittens, fll of energy and bouncing like springs.

      I’m glad you like that picture. I was trying to focus on the plane, but I liked the way it turned out.

      Maddie has been walked, sat with (inside and out) and MuMu has been brushed. I avoided getting a picture of MiMi for this post, but I’m sure I’ll have one by Saturday.

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  18. I loved the pictorial of Maddie taking care of that watermelon toy. She did a fine job. You did as well in showing us your travel photos. Thanks, Dan. What did that 14 degree ESB mean on the side of the Amber can?

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    • Thanks John. Maddie has plenty of toys that she has left largely in tact, but new ones seem to get destroyed in one sitting.

      Until now, I had no clue what 14 degree ESB means. ESB stands for “Extra Special Bitter” The brewery is in Deluth, MN – maybe 14 degrees is the mean temperature :)

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  19. I’ll have to see if I can find Biscoffs around here… I’m not sure that a Delta flight is in my future. I remember a biscuit served on an Air Canada flight that I thought was the best ever. I even took a picture of the package to remember. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find them since, even online. It was nice to combine business travel with pleasure before I retired. Now, it’s 100% on my dime… but at least I don’t have to do the work part.

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    • I’m ready for the load to be all on me. Sometimes, mixing person travel works, but I’ve had bad experiences. A few years ago, the personal leg of my flight was canceled. My choice was to book at the last minute or stay, at my own cost, more nights in a 5-star resort. I flew on my own nickle. This may have been the last business flight that I take. I have a few more trips, but they are driving or AMTRAK.

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    • The cats are all sweet. Sundance is a bit of a pest, and the size of a small dog, but he’s precious. The train went by, but the gates didn’t go up. Another train was coming in the other direction. My lucky day :)

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  24. It is always so good to come home :)
    I love the travel pics. Really good collection. I love Fester, the reflections, the cranes, the outdoor table, and Maddie windblown.
    Also, Sadie also does that to her stuffies. Except Fernando, leopard, jaguar, I dunno, big cat. He is special, and quite small.

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    • I’m so glad I shared Maddie’s pic tearing into that toy. It’s good to know there are others ripping the stuffing out of things. When the wind is blowing, Maddie just sits and sniffs.

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