Today we embark on the first trip of the summer, a quick jog to the north for a weekend in a lakeside campground. We’ll have a cabin, and we’ll be surrounded by families from our church, which has rented the entire campground. They even feed us! Very nice. (Of course, this means I’ll be posting for both Saturday and Sunday later on Sunday …)

This will be the warm-up to our summerly South Dakota adventure the following week. First, the Polo All-School Reunion in Jodi’s tiny hometown. Then, a beef, beer and guitar fiesta at Jinglebob’s (Remember the other nickname I had for you, JB? Our discussions during the Colorado trip have made me self-conscious about using it.), with Hubba and Deacon Tyler in attendance, among others. Then we’ll kick around the hills, stay in the lap of luxury at Jodi’s folks’ place and enjoying the Piedmont Fourth of July Parade. With any luck, the riding steer and spray-painted goat will both make an appearance.

Of course, neither of these trip compare to a couple of friends of mine: one of our student workers headed to Peru, and a former colleague from the University of Minnesota Crookston is moving to China to teach English and spread the Word. Wow. Safe travels!