city boys, small town life

Sub-Zero Sightseeing: Life Outside the Dream House

01/24/2014

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We’re so enamored by the house that we rarely want to leave it. It’s a lot like when you’re in a new relationship. In the beginning, you want to spend all your time staring longingly into each other’s eyes, holding hands and whispering “I love yous”. You never want to leave your new paramour’s side, lest you miss a moment of his or her beauty.

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A topsy turvy house that sits in a park near the Mississippi River.

Yep, that’s how we feel about the Dream House. Of course, all relationships change. Eventually, you’re sleeping in separate beds and trying to take separate vacations. And I’m sure we’ll reach that point with the house – when we want to escape it rather than escape to it. Presently, however, we have to <em>force</em> ourselves to leave the house. Of course, the cold weather is not helping matters.

Old transportation meets new. In the foreground, a freight train sits on the tracks. In the background, the bridge that carries automobile traffic over the Mississippi River.

Old transportation meets new. In the foreground, a freight train sits on the tracks. In the background, the bridge that carries automobile traffic over the Mississippi River.

Still, we don’t want to become complete shut-ins. After a week of hiding out from the cold weather and working on house projects, I took myself out for a little sightseeing yesterday. The weather conditions were not ideal for it, but I was happy to have the reminder that we were attracted to the Dream House not only for the house itself. We also fell in love with the landscape around the house.

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Steam rises from a river that runs next to a charming little house. Not pictured: two horses giving me the side eye for stopping in the middle of the road the take photos.

As I drove down the long lane that leads to one of the parks I visited yesterday, I saw an eagle soaring overhead. And then, within a few minutes, a group of five deer ambled across the path in front of my car.

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From a distance, this almost looked like the final scene in the movie Fargo. Fortunately, it was just a man man snow blowing in the the wind.

Despite the fact that the wind chill was somewhere around -30 degrees yesterday, I’m happy that I got out and saw the sights. It was a nice reminder that our lives at the Dream House will shift dramatically when spring arrives.

If you squint your eyes and look past the electrical lines, you can almost pretend you're in the Mississippi valley circa 1870. Almost.

If you squint your eyes and look past the electrical lines, you can almost pretend you’re in the Mississippi valley circa 1870. Almost.

Now it’s your turn, readers. Take yourselves out for sightseeing – even if you’re already quite familiar with the landscape around you. Snap some pics and be a tourist in your own town. You might just be reminded why you live there in the first place.

— J. Blandings

Images: Mr. and Mr. Blandings

 

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