Ma and I did a trip to Hawaii last January. If I retire anywhere....it will be in Hawaii. But since that is a mere dream, I will content myself with being a die-hard Minnesota. While the county I live in is one of 4 in the whole state that actually does not have a natural lake in it, we have an abundance of flood control reservoirs and a few other large reservoirs full of fish. Then I have the Mississippi River and its plush backwaters within 38 miles of my door making for an easy trip.

I prefer the open water, but do the ice when we have it safe enough for travel. I spend as much time on open ice as I do in a portable. One of the big mis-conceptions about living here is that we do not ever get "used" to the cold, we simply are good at adapting to it.

If you ever find yourself in need of the services of the infamous Mayo Clinic, give me a little notice ahead of time. I can see the main building from my yard. I'd be happy to take you to the big river and show you a part of American that a lot of people miss.