Love, Laughter, and a Lot of Grapes: A Wedding in Pepin

 

Love, Laughter, and a Lot of Grapes: A Wedding in Pepin

Todd Swank's Diary Entry for September 21, 2025

Last Sunday night, Miss Sheri and I found ourselves at a late Vikings game on a school night. Perfect timing, since I was fresh off kidney stone surgery and cranky enough to chew nails. But this was the home debut of our supposed QB savior, J.J. McCarthy, so of course I limped my way into U.S. Bank Stadium. Because nothing says “healing environment” like 60,000 people screaming at a rookie quarterback.

Before kickoff, Miss Sheri and I bumped into a couple of Vikings legends, Daunte Culpepper and David Dixon. Daunte was the guy who once lit up the league with over 4,700 passing yards in 2004 and three trips to the Pro Bowl, and Dixon anchored the O-line for more than a decade. Pretty cool to meet them, even if I’m sure nothing thrills retired NFL stars more than standing in the sun for 90 minutes taking pictures with goofballs like me.

Jared Allen was back in the house getting his Hall of Fame ring, and it was classic Jared—blowing the Gjallarhorn, making cameos throughout the game, and of course riding a motorcycle on the field because walking is for punters. He was one of our favorites during the Brett Favre era, partly because he sacked quarterbacks like he was late for happy hour, and partly because nobody dropped to one knee and mimed a calf-roping better than him. Seeing him again almost made me forget about the stent jammed in my ureter. Almost.

The Falcons came to town, and I’ll admit it—I was feeling pretty good about our chances. We’d just pulled off a wild comeback win against the Bears, and Atlanta had managed to lose to the Buccaneers the week before. On paper, that meant we were set up nicely. Of course, the only thing paper is good for in Minnesota football is lighting it on fire and roasting marshmallows over the ashes of our hope.

JJ McCarthy looked like a rookie who wasn’t ready for prime time, and honestly, who could blame him with an offensive line dropping like flies in front of him? The Falcons smelled blood and never let up, pounding their way to a 22–6 beatdown that felt even worse than it looks on paper. By the end of the night, I was convinced the Vikings might not win another game all season. That’s the beauty of this team—they’ll have you pricing out caskets for the season one week and planning a parade the next.

One afternoon this week we decided to sneak in a boat ride with my mom, because summer’s almost gone and it might be our last chance on the water. Grandma Linda had hinted more than once that we hadn’t taken her out yet, so we finally made it happen. Honestly, I was worried about how we were going to get this 82-year-old into the boat… then she shocked us all by scaling the side of it while it was still on the trailer in my garage. She looked like a spider monkey on Red Bull.  I was pretty proud of her.

Thursday night we gave bingo another go with the Walters. Don’t get me wrong—we always have fun hanging out with them, but I’m getting real tired of walking out without ever getting to scream “BINGO!” at the top of my lungs. At this point, I’d settle for a free appetizer coupon just so I don’t feel like the universe is personally mocking me.

Friday night we hauled across the state to a tucked-away corner of Pepin, Wisconsin, for a wedding at a winery. The vines were beautiful, the backdrop looked like a postcard, and somehow Miss Sheri and I managed to clean up well enough that they actually let us inside. Turns out love, wine, and long drives are a pretty good combo—even if I was secretly wondering how fast I could get back into sweatpants.

The ceremony itself was beautiful. Evan and Sophia read their vows to each other, and they were so well-spoken and emotional that you could feel the love radiating off them. It’s one of those moments where the rest of the world kind of fades out, and you’re just watching two people start something pretty incredible together.

We’ve known Evan since elementary school—he was in the same grade as Luke and Avery—so it was pretty special to watch him walk into this new chapter. The Wolf family is as close as they come and love nothing more than teasing each other, which made their speeches a blast to watch. Later I even tried to dance for a bit… until I remembered I’m still technically recovering from surgery. Let’s just say a ureter stent and a dance floor don’t mix.

We stayed in Wabasha, Minnesota, at a VRBO just a block from the Mississippi and this bridge that shoots you straight into Wisconsin. Not a bad setup—river views, a little small-town charm, and a statue of Chief Wapahasha standing guard like he’s making sure nobody from Minnesota sneaks across the border without paying the cheese tax.

Miss Sheri has always wanted to visit the National Eagle Center, so when we realized our VRBO was basically across the street, Saturday morning plans wrote themselves. She was thrilled—like bucket-list level excited. I haven’t seen her that happy since the Vikings drafted J.J. McCarthy and we all convinced ourselves it was finally our year.

The Eagle Center has five ambassador birds—four bald eagles and a red-tailed hawk—all rescues that can’t live in the wild anymore. Three of them were on display with no cages, just a railing between us and them. Hearing their calls echo through the building was intense, and watching them get fed up close was incredible. Makes you realize how powerful they are… and also how quickly I’d lose in a fight with one.

The two guys running the eagle program were sharp, funny, and maybe just a little too eager to fill every second with words. This one told us he moved to Wabasha right out of college—basically a 20-something dude dropping into a town of 2,500 where the average age is 55. Probably explains why he’s gotten so friendly with the birds.

Tom and Kellie joined us at the Eagle Center, probably just trying to recover from weeks of wedding planning chaos. Honestly, after pulling off an event like that, staring at eagles all morning has to feel like a vacation. We had a great time hanging out with them and their family all weekend—it’s always a gift to share moments like these with friends who feel like family.

@toddswank So Mystic Lake thought: “What if Top Golf and Vegas had a baby?” 🎰⛳ Welcome to LaunchPad! — opening Oct 3, 2025. #LaunchPadGolf #MysticLakeCasino #GolfTok #SwingBig #MinnesotaLife ♬ original sound - Todd Swank

@toddswank Just hung out with real bald eagles on the Mississippi 🦅🔥 Wabasha’s National Eagle Center is pure magic—rescued raptors, mind-blowing facts, and river views that make you want to move here. Honestly? Drop what you’re doing and go. #EagleExperience #MinnesotaAdventures #WildlifeUpClose #BucketListStop #TravelTok ♬ original sound - Todd Swank