Sun was Shining at Gooseberry Too!

Doing well again this morning....not as tired as yesterday, and have been up and moving for almost an hour now.  I sent out a request for a driver to take me on some errands today, and Patty Tkach quickly volunteered, and she will pick me up at 11 a.m. to do that.

So back to the missing days of this week.  Monday was spent mostly at Gooseberry Falls.  We started in the visitors center....found Gene's plaque and then went to the counter to find out the exact location and where to park to be the closest.  In retrospect, I think we should have parked in the campground and walked to the lake from there....it would have been a lot less walking.  Any way, we first walked over to the Falls and took some pictures there, but only hit one level, as what goes down must come back up.  Going down is also so easy for me....but coming back up is a real effort....not only for me but for Judy.  Lois didn't even make it all the way to the falls.  She found a bench to rest on, and waited there for us.  After we headed back to the car, and drove down to the parking lot the lady in the visitors center told us to park in.  We headed to the lake along the lava rock beach or area near alot of picnic tables, but didn't see any benches.  Lois parked herself at one of them, and the rest of us started wandering in different directions trying to find "The Bench". Soon we figured it had to be quite a ways to the West or South (you need a compass up there cause the coast line runs at an angle from SW to NE, and you really think you're going straight N) of where we were, so we started walking....Bonnie in the lead, and finally she yelled back that she saw a bench....we didn't know if it was "The Bench" but it was a bench.  So I picked up my pace and when we got to it...we saw another one a little farther down, but once I got to "The Bench" I knew it was the one.  I took lots of pictures, including this one Judy took of me on the bench, but she was holding the camera crooked, so it looks like the bench in going downhill and me along with it.  It really is on level ground...or rock.
From Gooseberry we started up the coast to Split Rock Light House, but not only do you need a State Park Sticker to get into the parking lot, they charge an admission fee to get into the visitors center.  All of us refused to pay, and left. (Drat #3)  So we then decided to head back to the Lodge, and find some dinner....we checked the menu at the Lodge dining room, and after getting back to the room....we decided we would drive into Two Harbors and maybe eat at the Black Bear Grill.  But by the time we were about to leave, my stomach wasn't feeling so good, and I decided that they should go ahead without me.  So I took a nap, and then ate some of the snacks we brought along with us, and drank an Ensure.  When they returned, they hadn't left the building....they ate at the Lodge.  The Lodge had evening bonfires, (and supplied everything to make our own S'mores) and I was feeling better, so we went down for that.  It was a beautiful evening, and sitting around the fire I was reminded of all the campfires we sat around while camping at Gooseberry and the many other places over the years.  Anyway it was late by the time we got back to our room, and we got ready for bed.  I don't remember who it was...I think Bonnie went to the bathroom and tried to flush the toilet and it overflowed all over the floor and we quickly tried to call for help, but there was no one at the front desk, and they had a message on their answering machine that gave us another number to call, and that person who answered said he wasn't the right person either, and that there was nothing he could do about it.  So Bonnie got dressed and went down stairs to see if she could find someone, and there wasn't a person in site....everything was locked up tight. (Drat #4) So we threw down all the towels we had, and resolved that if we had to go to the bathroom during the night we would either go downstairs to the public restroom in the Lodge, or we wouldn't flush or use toilet paper. (Drat #5)
The next morning, we had to call and retell the story and someone (the same man that had plunged for us on Sunday) came and fixed it he thought.  When we went to the front desk and asked to speak to the manager, she wasn't available, so we had breakfast and came back and finally talked with her.  She apologized and gave us one night free off our bill, and moved us to a different room just for good measure.  She explained they always close the front desk at 10:30 and she would find out what number they were giving out and make sure the right person got the emergency call.  We later found out that the flood caused damage to the ceiling over the bar area, so it was going to cost them a lot more than our free night.
More tomorrow....must get dressed....this took me a lot longer than I thought it would.  Love and Prayers, m