Long Drive, Short Trip

I ended up having a four day weekend over the Memorial Day holiday. So I decided a few days prior that it would be fun to drive to ND and see my Dad and Beverly. My brother Kevin and his family were planning on being there as well. I hadn't been there since last November.

After rising fairly early at 5AM, I put my travel items into my Escape. I had yet to water all my flowers before leaving for 4 days. I had high hopes that it would be enough until my return on Monday night. While tending to the flowers directly in front of my house, I caught a whiff of the Korean Lilac that sits at the end of my porch to the west. I knew it was blooming but today the wonderful scent from the blooms seemed to be at its peak. I wondered over to look at them and they were beautiful! So I got my camera from my purse and snapped a couple of pictures because I knew they wouldn't look like this next week! The plants in my less-than-a-year-old landscaping have flourished this spring. And the Korean Lilac was gorgeous!

My Korean Lilac on Memorial Day weekend....sooo fragrant with pale purple flowers!

Hoping that I hadn't forgotten to do anything before leaving home, I climbed into my ride for the next 12 hours (give or take) and headed for the gas station. I left Omaha around 7:30. It was a nice day for a drive and I hoped the wind wouldn't kick up it's heals to make it a longer exhausting trip. I found road construction within the first 1/2 hour of my drive....the first of many areas along the way.
One such area was in ND where the speed limit was reduced to 45 MPH. It happened to be over the bridge by the Garrison Dam. I was able to take pictures of the very blue water. It was pretty!

Driving over the water by Garrison Dam in ND

Near Garrison Dam

I arrived at my Dad's farm at 8PM. When I drove into the yard, Dad was in his Bobcat mowing the grass. He came in after I got there. Bandy, Dad and Beverly's dog, was barking inside when she saw me drive up. She saw me through the patio door windows and made sure the whole world heard her!

We stayed up fairly late visiting before heading off to bed.

The next day, around noon, my brother's family arrived from Dickinson, ND. They had stopped at the floral shop in Tioga to pick up an arrangement that my sister Cathy, in Oregon, had ordered for our Mom's grave. We all take turns each year supplying the flowers for Memorial Day and this year it was Cathy's.

After eating some lunch, we drove to the cemetery to decorate her grave and visit other graves of relatives and friends. (click the photo to see the pretty details up close)

Others had been there before us and left their own flowers in her memory. Thank you to whomever you are!

Surprisingly, the mosquitoes were enjoying our visit as we strolled through the grounds. Even with the wind blowing, they were in full force in search of a bite!

Flowers from Dad and my siblings and I.

Visiting my Mom's grave.

The flowers from my siblings and I.

The grass had been trimmed up and looked nice as we walked around. We visited the graves of our grandparents and extended family members that rest there. Beautiful flowers, trinkets and landscape lights adorn many plots. Very serene and yet bittersweet at the same time.