My MIL’s memorial service was in MN a few days ago. For us, it was a two days’ drive out, a day there, and two more days on the road to get home. It was a lovely service, and it was great to get together again with family members and tell stories.
Each way, we had to stop at Dos Reales for Mexican food. It’s a long time tradition going back 20+ years. Their prices have gone up, but it’s still a heck of a bargain for the amount of food you get. $2.75 for an overstuffed taco, $4.99 for a HUGE chili relleno, a la carte, and $11-14 for meal combos that, imo, could feed three people. We always go away with leftovers. Not a problem when the hotel room has a fridge. I think their usual clientele are not good tippers, because when the bill comes to $31-something, with brewkis, and we leave $40, telling the waiter “no change,” he looks stunned before thanking us profusely.
Aside from sitting on our butts in a vehicle from anywhere from eight to 14 hours a day, driving, the weather changed like crazy. It was in the mid-80s the day we left, then overnight, was down in the 40s; the next day, we got hit with sub-freezing temps, and sleet storms. The day of the memorial service, it was snowing.
Thankfully, aside from my Tyrolean jacket to wear for the service, I brought along what I jokingly refer to as my “Eskimo parka.” It isn’t one, but is sort of styled like one, comes down to my knees, and looks a whole lot warmer than it really is. It served me well.
One thing that surprised me a bit was that non-family who showed up for the service were dressed as though they were out running errands. I’m used to seeing people dressed up for these things. I was told the dress code was casual, but I felt a bit overdressed. Oh, well. Nobody cared.
The best things were all the people who came out in the snow to attend, and just getting together with family to talk about memories of the deceased, and how fantastic she was.
All in all, it was brutal traveling, but fantastic to be there. No way would I have missed it for the world.
Leave a Reply