Anniversary Lottery
This weekend Lauren and I celebrated our six-month wedding anniversary by journeying back to the Glanzer farm. We even bought each other gifts to celebrate the occasion on the drive home—$30 worth of lottery tickets each! We are both mildly temporarily addicted to buying a lottery ticket when we fill up with gas or go to a grocery store, so what could be more fun than a half hour of scratching tickets? The passenger side floor mat was caked with silver ticket shavings by the time we hit the border. I had “won” $12, and Lauren $11. I cashed in my winnings for more tickets and “won” $2. I have yet to cash that ticket in, and Lauren is yet to cash her winnings in.
Meeting Hadley
The real purpose of our visit, however, was to visit our new niece Hadley, born to brother Alex and sister-in-law Ann on April 1. Little Hadley Elizabeth Glanzer was pretty quiet for our visit to their house in Willow Lake, sleeping most of the time. Lauren knitted a few things for Hadley, including a big blanket. I bought Hadley a tiny Twins onesie from Target Field.
Lounge Sale
Before our visit to Hadley, Lauren and I stopped by the Willow Lake Lounge for a healthy lunch of deep fried chicken strips and popcorn shrimp. We were damn near the only ones in the whole place. I told the owner of the bar how it was also my life’s ambition to own a small-town bar, and he immediately propositioned the sale of the Willow Lake Lounge to me. “A young couple like you two is all this place needs!” he said. Sadly, we decided to pass up his offer.
WLHS Dirt
I also had a chance to visit with old principal/football coach Bill Stobbs, Alex and Ann’s next door neighbor. It turns out after 35 years at WLHS, Stobbs is retiring at the end of the year, and who better to take over as the new principal than his daughter, Laura! It was very interesting getting the latest scoop on the old school. I was surprised to hear the enrollment for K-12 is over 200. With six babies born in town already in 2010, maybe one day Willow Lake will have its own sports teams again. Stobbs also told me the only teachers who are still at the school since I was in kindergarten are himself, Mr. Ehrke, Mr. Kruse, Mr. Meyer, and Mr. Kinder, but as the janitor, not English teacher.
Trip to Huron
What visit home would be complete without a trip to the smokiest bar in my city of birth, Huron? The family went out to the airport for dinner and then continued the night with a trip to the Sportsman’s Pub for some karaoke. I was the only family member brave enough to sing, belting out “Louisiana Saturday Night,” “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” and “Swingin'”. Lauren then joined in the fun as we did a duet of “If I Had a Million Dollars.” There was one other local grungy guy named Munchie who was a fixture in the karaoke rotation. We all made fun of him, but damn did he ever give it his all, especially when he did “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. Lauren and I made sure to throw our smoky clothes in the wash as soon as we got home so we wouldn’t stink up the car on the drive back Sunday.
Trip Home
Before leaving Sunday, we were visited by the Bells of Doland for lunch. Then we packed up the car to the brim with boxes of frozen beef products to deliver to co-w0rkers who purchased some authentic Dick Glanzer cow. We needed to stop in Watertown on the way home so Lauren could finally use her Knit Nook gift card she got for Christmas from Alex and Ann, but after 30 minutes of browsing couldn’t make up her mind and left with nothing! On the way home, I estimated I passed 25 cars, most of them driven by elderly people out for a leisurely Sunday drive. After stopping off in Glencoe and Waconia to deliver meat, we stopped and visited Lauren’s parents for an hour. We then capped off our weekend with takeout from Biryani, our all-time favorite Indian place. We ate it at home and then I played MLB 10: The Show, which I bought from Alex for $35.
And that, my friends, is what I did this weekend.
Don’t Forget Gary!
For those of you who may have thought I only posted one blog today, check below for my investigative report on the mail delivery in a town located right on a state border!
Weekend Gallery
See some images from the weekend below in this slideshow!
Ryan Glanzer Blog 