Hello everyone!

We had some internet problems during the trip, and I haven't been able to post since last week. I kept a few notes and decided that it would probably be best to post trip 411 in several posts. So here we go...

Amy and I left Raleigh-Durham Thursday afternoon en route to Minneapolis on a packed-out flight. I have to say that our flight was probably the best I've ever been on. It was really smooth, which is a great thing. I'm a pretty nervous flyer. Thanks, Northwest Airlines!

Beside us, there was a woman who had left her husband and children in Minneapolis to visit family while she attended PA school in Chapel Hill. She and her husband already have two children and a third is on the way, and they were looking forward to getting back to their home in Colorado Springs. More about her later...

We got our rental car--a Malibu Hatchback (I never knew there was such a thing)--to grab a quick bite before settling in at our hotel. We hit the Macaroni Grill in Burnsville, MN, and met our server. He's from Minnesota, but spent many summer months with his grandparents at their beach house in Mississippi. I told him that my family was originally from Mississippi, and he asked how my family made it through Hurricane Katrina two years ago. I told him they came through fine, and then he told me that his grandmother died in the storm. He said her death was somewhat of a morbid local interest story in the Twin Cities, as she was the only Minnesota resident to die in the tragedy. We spent the rest of our time at the restaurant talking about "stuff." We told him we were in town for a wedding. He knows I'm a pastor, and I'm praying for him. Don't ever overlook opportunities to talk to people; everyone has a story.

By the way... the bread and peppered olive oil at Macaroni Grill is awesome.