Camping

Two weeks ago we made our first Pennsylvania camping trip to the Allegheny National Forest which is about a 2.5 hour drive from Erie. Friday night we had beautiful and we had a large bonfire and Camilla helped us find some sticks to burn. Saturday morning we woke up early and cooked hobo potatoes over the fire and made coffee in a french press after boiling water on the camp stove. Then we strapped on our hiking boots and set off for a 9 mile hike which looped out to Allegheny Reservoir through the rolling hills. Part of the trail connected to the North Country trail with goes all of the way to North Dakota. We had a picnic lunch on the reservoir and watched the fishermen while Camilla played in the water to cool down. On our hike back to the campsite we hiked over a hornet's nest and Camilla was stung 5 times, Elke 3 times, and Willie once. After figuring out what hit us we continued on our way. We nursed our stinger wounds for the next week. They were nasty! Saturday night tired from the big day we decided to head home since it was raining and was not supposed to clear up until the next day.

Recent Happenings

Elke's car (Dixie) finally made it out to Erie. As many of you know it died 2 days before we were going to leave MN and we decided just to leave it. Elke' dad made the road trip from Golden Valley to Erie with car and to out surprise the car made the 16 hr drive with no issues! Yesterday we to Robert on the Erie/Chataqua Wine Trail and made visited 4 wineries along the way. Lots of fruity sweet wines, not our favorite, but also several good dry wines.

Last night we decided to have some friends over for a BBQ and bonfire. It was a perfect evening and everything was going great until Camilla decided to be the great guard dog she is and attempt to chase a skunk out of our yard. She was successful in scaring the skunk away, but to everyone's misfortune was sprayed in the process. So a late night bath with doggy soap and mouth wash was in order. The bath neutralized the smell to some extent, but not enough to let Camilla sleep in the house. So Camilla and Elke had a camp-out on the front porch last night.

More to come!

MN Twins

Wha Happppenn!? Those of you have been following the Twins over the past few days know what I am talking about. Fortunately, due to the fact that we do not get the Twins on TV in Erie I did not have to witness that last 2 blown leads and have only read about them online. Even though Cuddy was safe at home plate it is still pathetic to lose after leading 12-3 and the night before we got great pitching from Lariano and the bats weren't working. Hopefully we will pick it up after a few close losses to start our run for the Central Division Champtionship.

The front of our home!

Bathroom post renovation

Bathroom pre-renovations

We are now settled in Erie, PA and have completed several renovation projects on our new home. These renovations so far have involved cleaning up our 1/4 acre yard, resurfacing and painting the bathroom and bedroom and doing some minor electrical updating. Willie is 3 weeks into his ENT Residency and is currently working with a General Surgeon. Stay tuned for more info to come.

Our new home

These are some photos of our new home in Erie, PA. We are in the process of finalizing all of the paperwork. Elke and I are both extremely excited to have a place to call our own. Camilla is even more excited to have a large fenced in yard. We will be moving to Erie in June where I will start my medical residency training in Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose, and Throat) and Facial Plastic Surgery at Millcreek Community Hospital. It is a 5 year program so we will call Erie our home for a minimum of 5 years.

Wedding

On Friday April 10th, we are traveling down to Red Wing to order our cake, flowers, apply for our marriage certificate and get my dress fitted. We have lots to do! We are also looking forward to getting everyone's response cards in the mail!

38 days to go!

Hello friends and family!

Welcome to our new blog! Willie and I decided to start this blog to keep all of you informed and up to date with what is going on with our pending wedding plans, Willie's graduation and our big move out to Erie Pennsylvania. All questions and comments are encouraged.

Enjoy!

Willie & Elke