Prison colleagues, Sheila and Tom McShea, graciously invited us to their Bena home to fish, visit, tell war stories and ride 4-wheelers.

Some photos captions:

• We were supremely beer-ed and dined during our stay! Such hosts!

• One evening Tom brought out a few precious Florida beers from Yuengling Brewery, the oldest brewery in America, with very limited distribution. It was delicious and we were honored!

• Sunday there was a juried art fair in Bemidji, MN; gorgeous setting, right on the lake. The bronze statue is Shaynowishkung, “Chief Bemidji.”

• Thanks to the boating skills of Captain Tom and First Mate Sheila, Karen and I each caught a northern, even though the seas were rough from the high winds on Lake Winnibigoshish. The largest fish is Karen’s. Boo hoo!E&Z&H&G left Friday for the Boundary Waters so I had to make a $5 dollar bet with the kids on who would catch the biggest fish this week. I’ll find out Friday who won the bet 🙂

• Can’t beat a fish fry with our northerns (plus a few two they had in reserve)!

• Tom took me 4-wheeling through the Chippewa National Forest. Haven’t done that in a while! Great fun to ride in the narrow snowmobile paths. The flowers, trees and logged/replanted areas were interesting to see up close.

• Tom is a hunter too, so one wall of their home is decorated with bear skins and the wild turkey tail feathers. But in their garage there was a hide we couldn’t identify—it was a kangaroo (!) from their Australia trip years ago.