Back up to Summer....Minneapolis, Minnesota

Each year the girls in my family take a trip somewhere.  We've been to northern Wisconsin, San Francisco and the bay area, and Boston and the Cape.  This year, Lincoln crashed the party, so we went to Minneapolis for some fun.

On the agenda...

• The Mall of America for some shopping and ALOT of time in Nickelodeon World on the water log ride and every other ride that appeals to a 3.5 year old.
• Como Zoo and the botanical gardens
• A river cruise
• A million dollar park in Bloomington

I look back fondly on my time at the University of Minnesota and living in Minneapolis.  I've always said that I'd move back to the Twin Cities in a heartbeat.  So, when we were planning this years girls getaway, I thought Minneapolis would be the perfect spot for us to drive to...and keep everyone busy, including a busy 3.5 year old.

I was able to get my hands on some free Nickelodeon World unlimited ride passes, so Lincoln was set and because he was 'vertically challenged' as chaperones, we rode free.  By the end of Day 1 Lincoln knew every inch of the water log ride from Babe the Big Blue Ox to the kitten sitting on a chair on the left side of the ride.  He managed to convince gramma to take him on some rides, too.  Poor gramma.

I love Como Zoo.  Yes, it's the free zoo in the area, so it can get a bit crowded, but it's still well worth the visit...and a donation!  Near Como Zoo is a little cafe called Java Train.  The service was very good and the food even better.  On a nice summer day, you can even spend some time in their outdoor cafe where the kids can play a bit.  A funny note...the hand driers in the bathroom are quite powerful.  Watch the skin on your hands blow all over the place :-)

Even though I lived in Minneapolis-St. Paul for several years, I never did the touristy things like a river cruise.  So...we did.  We took the Padelford river cruise.  While the boat was fine, the ride was uneventful and the scenery was ok, the experience can be ruined if your boat is filled with rude tourists.  Smoking is allowed on the upper deck in the back, so that was one strike against the experience.  Rude tourists blocking exits with chairs, stealing chairs, and just being adult bullies (to other passengers) was strike two.  A crew that was unwilling to intervene was strike 3.  When you get on the boat it is a mad dash to 'save' tables and chairs on the upper level with a a view / 'on the rail'.  Latecomers on our boat took chairs and tables that had coats on them and then cause such a raucous.  If you have nothing else to do, need to waste some time, don't mind feeling like cattle, and feel a need to return to high school, then this will be ok.  If you want to relax and enjoy, I'd pass.

Of course the 3.5 year old in our group needed a place to run off some energy.  The center court at the Mall of America was good, but we needed some outdoor space, so we headed over to Bloomington.  Let me just say that this community invested in an absolutely wonderful free park with state of the art play equipment and rubberized surfaces.  I was impressed.  Pictures below.

A few pics from the trip.

The Botanical Garden and Como Zoo

Padelford River Cruise in St. Paul...and yes, that is a bald eagle!

Playground at Bloomington Park

Back up...Road Trip from Washington D.C. to the Midwest (May 2011)

As I was going through some old photos, I stumbled upon pictures of covered bridges from May 2011 when I flew to D.C. and drove my brother's M3 back to the Midwest.

A few pictures...

Glessner Bridge

Burkholder Bridge

Shanksville, Pennsylvania 911 Memorial (in 2011)

Trostletown Bridge

New England Foliage Tour

My bucket list has always included a trip to New England to tour and drive through when the fall foliage was at its peak.  This year, we were able to see fall foliage just as it was starting to turn into vibrant oranges, yellows and reds.

The REAL purpose of the trip to the northeast wasn't just to see the fall foliage.  It was to see our friends that had recently returned to the States after a 4 year stint in Europe (Denmark and Germany).  While in Europe, my friend Tara was always a source for humor when the craziness of living abroad get the best of you.  She was also the source of the famous April Fool's Day joke where she convinced all of her fellow expats that were longing for Target, that Target was indeed, opening a store in Horsens, Denmark.  I fell for it.  Hook. Line. Sinker.  Sigh.  But, despite making me feel so gullible, she remained a great friend.

I must admit, I lobbied heavily for her to move to the Northeast...it gives me an excuse to see another part of the great United States...and of course, Tara and her family :-)

A few pictures from our tour.

Montpelier, Vermont

Covered bridge in Vermont

Stowe, Vermont

Stowe, Vermont

Stowe, Vermont pedestrian bridge

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

While hubs was stuck in a convention hall at a conference, I headed west to Old Salem, near Winston-Salem.  I was envisioning something similar to Heritage Hill in Green Bay, Wisconsin, which btw is where my sister was married.

I was surprised to find Old Salem's historic buildings smack-dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood and a liberal arts women's college (Old Salem Academy and College).

A few pictures from Old Salem...

Raleigh, North Carolina

In September, we traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina for a week.  Raleigh is the capital of North Carolina and the capitol building is situated similar to Madison, Wisconsin's capitol with a major street leading right up to the building.  In Madison, State Street, a pedestrian street, with some limited access vehicle traffic is lined with restaurants, bars, shops, and has an overall college-town vibe.  In Raleigh, Fayette Street leads up to the capitol building.  It's not technically a pedestrian street; however it does close periodically for events.  The sidewalks are large and encourage pedestrian traffic flow.

While in Raleigh, I stumbled upon some lovely places.

Stitch - Who can pass up a purse made by a designer with your same first name?  Not me!  Stitch is the storefront for a local graphic designer, Holly Aiken, who makes some gorgeous purses.  I spent a small fortune, but walked away with two purses, 2 tablet covers, and 2 smart phone covers.  Thank goodness she has a website to feed my new addiction.  My new purses are the Coupe Paspartou in Avocado/Olive and the Coupe Poppy in Tomato/Gunmetal.

Dos Taquitos el Centro - Just down the street from Stitch is a small Mexican restaurant.  In a word, YUM!  Holly (from Stitch) wrote down a list of restaurants that she recommended and this was at the top of the list, so we decided to give it a try.  El Centro takes a classic dish and puts a little modern spin on it.  I had the three enchiladas plate. One enchilada was chicken with a spicy green salsa that has a nice sweetness to it.  One was beef with a smoky chipotle sauce and the last one was black bean with a white creamy cheese sauce.  Yum!  Oh, and for the record, the margaritas were quite tasty.

The Pit - If you read the guidebooks and tourist pamphlets, they all recommend the Pit for North Carolina BBQ.  Perhaps we are a bit spoiled or our palettes are now refined, but this was good, but not great.  The rib meat fell off the bone...which is a clear sign that it's been steamed too long.  The meat was tender and had great flavor, but it was more steamed than smoked.  However, given the size of the restaurant and the packed tables / reservation demand, I understand that it would be next to impossible to keep up with the orders for meat right from the BBQ pit.

 The capitol building

 A nearby church

 Fayette street leading from the Capitol to a performance hall

Sand sculpture near the capitol

North Carolina Coastal Cities

Last month, we spent a week in North Carolina.  The bulk of the time was spent in Raleigh, where hubs attended a conference.  I toured some of the surrounding towns and we managed to take a quick trip to the coast.

Our first stop was Wilmington and Carolina Beach.  Wilmington seemed to be a very industrial city and reminded me of Green Bay, Wisconsin.  The downtown area appears to be starting a 'comeback;' however, there is still room to grow.  After a quick walk on the boardwalk next to the Cape Fear River, we drove to Carolina Beach.   What a lovely area!  The sandy beach is great for walking...unlike Cancun beaches where each step results in sinking about 8 inches!  A few pictures from Carolina Beach...

 

We also made our way to OBX, the Outer Banks.  North Carolina has some wonderful beaches. I think I managed to find no fewer than 5 homes that I wanted to buy.  Homes on stilts with beautiful sand dunes and soft sand beaches are absolutely lovely.  Here are a few pictures from Nags Head, Kitty Hawk and Cape Hatteras National Park...

Sunset near Kitty Hawk

 Sunset near Kitty Hawk

 Nags Head beach

Sunrise in Kitty Hawk

 Sunrise from our hotel balcony in Kitty Hawk

Weekend getaway to Door County

One of my favorite places in Wisconsin is Door County.  Perhaps I am a bit spoiled as it is a mere hour away from where I grew up, so I was fortunate to spend a considerable amount of time there.

The downfall with being so familiar and comfortable with a particular location is my tendency to forget my camera, slow down, and capture my surroundings.  The pictures below are from the town of Ephraim.  Perhaps next summer I'll remember my camera :-)

My favorite store is Wood Orchard Market; a cute roadside barn that carries everything from dried cherries to various jams, jellies, dressings to homemade cherry crisp and fabulous fudge.  This year we were there for the amazing Sweetango apples.  These hybrid apples are sweet, crisp, and given the price per pound you would think they were dusted in gold!

A few of my other favorites...

In Fish Creek
Cooper's Corner for lunch
Fat Louie's olive oil and balsamic
White Gull Inn for amazing stuffed french toast and their Candlelight Dinners (the White Gull House Salad is wonderful!)
Shopping at Beach People and On Deck clothing store
Wild Tomato grilled pizza

In Egg Harbor
Shipwrecked Micro Brewery for lunch and a beer (also a stop on the haunted pub trolley)

Surprise Weekend in Galena, Illinois

As always...I'm a tad tardy in posting....but I'm going to do my best to get back on track and catch up with travel posts.

I've already gone on record stating that my husband is a pretty good travel-planner.  It might have something to do with the fact that he knows what he wants to do and just whips out the plastic; whereas I go through this painstaking process of finding the best 'deal.'  In any event, hubs planned a wonderful trip to Galena, Illinois.

Here is his itinerary.  I won't comment.

In the event that you cannot read his lovely handwriting.  His itinerary includes the Galena Farmer's Market, an Alpine slide, the Irish Cottage hotel, wine tasting at Galena Cellars, possible dinner at Durty Gurts and a balloon ride.  Not too shabby.

While living in Europe, we found an alpine slide on our travels in Switzerland.  It was a.maz.ing!  We each hopped on a sled and made our way down the hillside surrounded by big brown Swiss cows, complete with huge bells hanging from their neck.  Our second encounter with the alpine slide was at the Great Wall of China.  Sooo much fun!  Chuck found an alpine slide at Chestnut Mountain just outside of Galena.

We made our way to Galena Cellars on the north side of Galena.  After a wine tour and tasting, we bought some wine and sat on the covered porch for a few hours.  It just so happened that the bike race route went past the winery, so we also cheered on the participants.

A few pictures from our trip.