We are t-minus two days from my departure for the lakes and counting down.

For those not in the know, I’m heading up to the Boundary Waters on Thursday. It’s the first of what I hope will someday be many trips to the allegedly wonderful area in Minnesota’s North Woods. In fact, if the scenery is as beautiful as I’ve been told, I may just set up my tent and stay there for good – coming back to the Twin Cities in August for my wedding, of course.

Editor Mathias Baden, freshly returned from a vacation to Florida, came into the office of the Jordan Independent this morning and commented that he hoped this weather stuck around for a while.

Amen to that!

After living in Minnesota for almost three years, I’m finally getting around to some of the things on my “Becoming a Minnesotan” to do list. I’ve already checked off a visit to the Spam Museum, so now I’m making an effort to understand baseball and pretty much crossing off or trying to understand everything on this list: http://www.commonplacebook.com/jokes/you_know_youre_a/you_might_be_a_2.s....

But this summer I’ll be doing something that I’ve wanted to do since I was in high school, and something that is distinctly Minnesotan.

Not much talking this week on the site. Does everyone but me have the week off? Am I the only one not enjoying a vacation – at least a vacation from the computer?

I’m going camping this weekend, and I can’t wait – almost literally. I really am having a hard time concentrating on work today because I am so excited for the camping trip.

Holy cow! It’s August already?!?! What happened to my summer?

Today, I’m going to be embarking on a journey – a journey into madness. Well, a journey that will likely cause me to go mad, anyway. I’m headed for Illinois.

While I was on vacation, I broke my watch.

I realize now that I didn’t make a final post about my last two days of vacation.