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Finally, for the first time since Easter, I will be heading to the Iron Range and the Northland. Hopefully, we will be able to take Penny to some cool places in Canal Park, up the North Shore, and elsewhere in the area. I know my grandparents are going to love the fact that we have another Boston terrier (well, her dad was a Boston) in the family. I hope to update later this evening with more plans.

Sadly, I will be working most of the day today at Apple in the Mall of America. Leslie is with her family at her cabin in McGregor. This is my first time away from the largest of my family get-togethers. My uncle Tab is a minister in Duluth, and for the traditional holiday gatherings, he and his family are in Duluth. So the Fourth of July weekend is a time for everyone to migrate back home, to celebrate our nation’s independence, but most importantly, enjoy family.

This day is a chance for my extremely large, Iron Ranger, Italian extended family to enjoy one another’s company, catch up on the gossip of recent happenings, but most of all, to show other newcomers to our family what “family” really means. From Florida to Oregon, Wisconsin to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, my family has trekked back to Eveleth to watch the annual Eveleth Fourth of July parade since I can remember. We stake out that certain street corner on Grant Avenue in front of the bank, and plop down our folding chairs, park the strollers, and get ready for one of the best parades I’ve ever known.

My favorite of any summer activity (yes, even more than my recent disc golf hobby) is the annual bocce ball tournament at Bootsie and Louie’s cabin on Saint Mary’s Lake. It’s the most official-yet-relaxed sporting event ever. Wimbledon and the like: take note. Yes, we pay a friendly entrance fee, but the money goes to the winning pair and the runner up pair. Ever since I was little, I wanted to win that tournament.

I’ve had several moments in the past few years where I was worried about making an appearance. I worked in the Boundary Waters at Charles L. Sommers – Northern Tier National High Adventure Base during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school. Yet, I was able to make the trip down, and I even brought a co-worker away from his family in Illinois. Four summers ago, Leslie and I made the trek from northwestern Wisconsin from Tomahawk Scout Reservation, our first summer “dating” (even though as co-workers we couldn’t really say that). In the summer of 2006, she and I drove up from the Twin Cities to play in the bocce tournament, Leslie a returning newcomer the family was expecting. Last summer, I was scheduled to work at 4pm back in Hibbing on the 4th, so although I made it to the parade, the Elk’s Club after-party, and a good portion of the bocce tournament, I had to jet early, and I even made it to the final pairing, albeit playing as a stand-in for my cousin Jillian’s boyfriend (who I heard never actually showed up).

I think that growing up makes a person want to move away from his hometown, but to an extent, there are always those memories you want to rekindle and re-live. No matter how far from the Iron Range I move, I promise my family that I will make it back for them- to be with them- every 4th of July from this day on.

I hope all of you have a great Fourth of July weekend with your family and friends. I never wanted to admit it, but sitting here alone at my desk in my apartment in Little Canada, absence does make the heart grow fonder of the ones you love.

Today, I will be in the company of co-workers who are also far from home. I will share with them my stories of family at the Fourth. Tonight, we shall create history of our own: Downtown Minneapolis on the Fourth of July. I will post pictures and videos as soon as possible.

I love you and miss you all! I will be calling to talk to you several times today. A call to everyone: don’t let Richie rig the tournament brackets and somehow manage to get to the finals AGAIN.

This post is going to be short, disjointed, and slightly confusing. I just want to get it out there that I have been working on a blog, just not this one, per se.

Recap of the past month: Leslie and I took photos and video of our visit to the Witch’s Hat Tower in Prospect Park for the one day a year it is open to the public. I do indeed have pictures of our trip to McCarthy Beach State Park. And recently, while working at the Apple Store at the Mall of America, I met several members of the band Lonestar. The tour manager gave me several Meet & Greet passes to the 1st Annual K102 Country Splash concert in Somerset, Wisconsin. We were able to see Lonestar, John Michael Montgomery, and Clint Black. We left before Gretchen Wilson performed.

Those posts will come in due time. If anything else, I want to share with my family and friends what I have been doing.

However, I have been working on a side project with my friend Mike, regarding beer. Yes, to many it may sound superficial and sophomoric. However, ask me anything you’d like about beer, and why I decided to embark upon this journey to create a site centered around beer. I can tell you. I won’t be able to tell you the URL of the project I’m working on; we haven’t quite gotten the coding of the site completed, but when it goes into beta testing, please let me know if you’re interested.

I do know many people at work are interested in beer, more than just the standard “American” beers: Miller, Coors, and Bud. Some are even as interested as I am, and have quite a bit of personal knowledge about beers, breweries, and trips to Europe/Asia/Latin America where the beers are much different. That is why Mike and I originally began working on this project- to create an educated-yet-casual dialogue about beer, where people can join an online, organic movement to share the knowledge they’ve gained over the years with other beer aficionados, or people who just want to know a little more about beer.

The job hunt is still on, and I hold hope for the promise of a great job; not a job that makes the “big bucks” but a place where I can be happy, enjoy the people I work with, and make enough money to get by.

Disc golfing season has kicked into high gear, and I have been to three courses across the metro in the last month: Bryant Lake Park in Plymouth (off 494 and 55), Acorn Park in Roseville (off Rice and County Road C), and Lakewood Hills in White Bear Lake (off White Bear Ave/McKnight and Orchard). I hope to try out some courses in the south metro, especially since I work down there three days a week and many of my co-workers are disc golfers.

But, in summary, please continue to follow my blog posts. I am constantly working to improve my blog, the theme, layout, and media integration.

UPDATE: Check my link above “Elsewhere on the Web” and click on .Mac gallery to see pictures and videos from camping, the Witch’s Hat Tower, and Country Splash.