It’s good to be back home after some exciting site visits! Eric, Liz and Steve spent last week in the southwestern corner of Minnesota in Pipestone and Rock Counties. Leah joined them on Thursday to finish off the week in Nobles County.

Our site visits with the DHS Waiver Review Project are never dull, but we had some especially memorable moments last week. The first few days were full of delicious food from the Magnolia Steak House in Luverne, Minnesota. The restaurant will soon be celebrating its 70th birthday and we can certainly see why! We liked the food so much we dined there two nights in a row; a rare honor on the DHS waiver review. On Tuesday evening, Eric visited the nearby Blue Mounds State Park and saw bison firsthand.

On Wednesday night, we spent some quality bonding time in our hotel hallway after the severe weather sirens went off in Worthington, Minnesota. After the warnings had passed, we enjoyed a relaxing dinner in downtown Worthington. While our Worthington visit got off to a shaky start weather-wise, we certainly enjoyed ourselves for the rest of our time there. Thursday marked the start of the 2008 U.S. Windsurfing Nationals at the Worthington Windsurfing Regatta. Over lunch, we watched the windsurfers and enjoyed some lunch with the crowd of spectators. The weather was gorgeous and it was such a fun break to watch the windsurfers. We’ve included a picture of Eric, Liz and Steve enjoying the windsurfing festival.