Day 3

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Hey,

Yesterday was a great day. We stayed in Madison Tuesday night so we could get up and see the University of Wisconsin. It was a beautiful campus with student houses right on the lake. The girls think they would like to attend U of W, I am just glad they want to go to college. We walked around the campus and were able to get in and see Camp Randall Stadium, very impressive.

Our next stop of our tour of Big Ten colleges was the University of Minnesota. Thanks to Tech. Help Jason for giving us directions to the campus. Just outside of U of M we remembered they played football indoors at the Hubert Humphrey dome. Upon arriving to campus and also realizing it is a urban university, we discovered that parking would be limited, especially with a camper.

The good news is that U of M is building a new outdoor stadium so we were able to keep our streak alive of seeing
Big Ten stadiums. Nice campus but we were limited to seeing it with the 28 feet behind us. We eventullly found a parking spot on the street, and we only had to feed 3 meters.

Soon after leaving Minneapolis a light came on the dashboard. This is the equivalent of hearing a siren or whistle, or being sent to the principal's office..................not good. The message was "transmission fluid hot", we pulled over to let it cool down, which was easy since it was 93 degrees and we were in rush hour traffic leaving the Twin Cities.

We made it to Fargo, "Don't you know?" and found a campground at 10:30 pm. We were all stressed and tired. Long story short, if you see the next picture you will notice something is missing in front of our camper. That is correct, our suburban is currently in the good hands of people of Gateway Chevrolet. They have ordered and will install our new transmission and we will be on the road by 2:00 pm Friday. Upon asking how much this will cost, they asked, "How much you got?" In order to off-set the cost, my sister in-law is having a bake sale at Rolling Hills Pool and tonight at the swim meet there will be "Split the Pot" to bring the Starkeys' home. jk jk (just kidding)

The next picture is what I do best when I get stressed....nothing like coming back fatter than when you left.

The overall good news is we are in a great campground, our truck is being serviced about 8 miles away at a dealership, and everyone is doing OK.

In the immortal words of Tom Dannis "The intense moments in life are what you remember"

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Comments

[Michael]

end of vacation ploy
No-No-no- you do this at the end of the vacation, when you have to go back to work, but can't, cuz the Suburban is in the shop! Glad to hear that all is well in spite of the car.

[Aimee Dunn]

Greetings from the Dunns!
Hi Starkeys! It's been great reading your blog! Can't believe the truck had problems! It just helps to add a little drama to the blog!! Your pics have been great - keep em comin! Girls - you disappoint me with the license plate challenge! Don't let you dad beat you! A helpful hint (don't share with your dad) - always be on the look out for new plates in parking lots. That's where we found a lot of them! We've been in Orlando (the girls and I) and we're on our way back home tomorrow night. Enjoy your trip and keep the blogs coming!! Aimee

[Rhonda @ AIC]

Maybe you jinxed yourselves
Watching National Lampoon's Vacation may not have been the best idea. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the rest of your trip is eventful only in the best ways.

[Sandy & Gordon]

Moments to Remember
Ahhh, we think there are more stories we could swap, some of which you may have heard before. This is where real character comes into play, and when you try to enjoy the rest of the trip knowing it will take an additional year to pay for it. Just chalk it off as more glittering 'Moments to Remember"

[Helen & Jim Schultheiss]

OMG...sorry to hear about the suburban...that stinks...but look at it on the bright side...it's one less thing to worry about the rest of the trip :) The camper will probably tow much better now. I have found that "it's always something" when you are towing... I love reading your blog...it was a great idea! And the 3 meters thing just cracked me up. Have fun in Fargo!

[Guess Who]

Truck Troubles?
We are back...happy to loan you the diesel....ha..ha..ha... OK not funny from where you are sitting..... but you should be back on the road by now right? Glad you are all well and we look forward to your safe return. Is Sparky jogging every morning for training?

[Carol Dannis]

Great to hear from you
Hi Amy, Shawn, Rachel and Emma So glad your SUV is back in commission. We were out of town for the weekend and got back and heard nothing from you so of course your Dad was very WORRIED. We are so happy to know you are enjoying Glacier so much!! Rachel and Emma, you are the best--enduring the LONG car trip to Glacier. You know I would have been sleepingl Love to all of you Mom (Grandma D) Love to all of you Mom (Grandma D)