A fun trip to Minnesota
This past August, my family drove up to Minnesota to visit my uncle and aunt in St. Paul. They came down to Champaign two years ago, but we hadn't gone up to see them in a long time. Travel took the whole day from when we left at 11, until 11 at night when we got there. It was supposed to be a 7 hour drive, but there was a lot of construction which slowed things down, and we also stopped Wisconsin for lunch to stretch our aching legs. While the drive was very boring, the scenery got more interesting once we got out of Illinois and the perpetually flat landscape.
My uncle and aunt got a new golden retriever puppy in the winter, who they named Winnie. They sent us photos of her as a small, cute ball of fluff when they got her. When we got to their house in the evening, we found that she had grown a huge amount when she came to meet us at the door. In addition to Winnie, they also have a large, fluffy, long-haired calico cat named Spot. It seemed like Spot was experiencing a lack of attention with the new puppy, as she sat on my lap almost immediately after I sat down. I turned to be her go-to person to sit on while we were there, which was nice considering that my cats at home rarely sit on me.
This was a trip with the purpose of relaxing and catching up with family rather than traveling to tourist sites. We went to a couple interesting historical sites, but we spent majority of our time centralized in St. Paul and Minneapolis catching up. Luckily, the weather was perfect for sitting outside and going on walks with Winnie to the Macalester College campus. It was nice to have a break from the monotony of life in Champaign.
One Saturday morning, we drove with my aunt to Minneapolis to go the the farmers market there. It was cold for August. The market was huge, there were four long lines of stands selling all things from tomatoes to honey. There was also a small food court area where different people were selling donuts, coffee, and other things for breakfast. We went to a stand selling breakfast sandwiches with local produce on a bagel. We sat on a bench across the street from the market eating the delicious sandwiches. As we ate there was a mass of people pooling around the entrance to the market. It turns out, the governor of Minnesota was at the farmers market to declare the week "Minnesota farmer's market week." That was an interesting moment which I hadn't expecting to see while we were there. For the rest of the morning we walked through the isles of vendors buying produce to use in meals during the week.
One of the most memorable moments of this trip to Minnesota was going to a Minnesota Twins baseball game with my dad. While I am a massive Chicago Cubs fan, I am also a huge baseball fan in general. I was excited to see a live baseball game, and be able to go to a new baseball stadium and see teams play which I hadn't seen before. We took the new metro system in Minneapolis, which was really cool. While the Twins lost 11-6, it was a fun experience to watch a live baseball game and take in the beautiful stadium and its atmosphere. We took the metro back in the dark after the game. It was great to see the city lit up at night.
This trip to Minnesota was very fun. I enjoyed getting to see family and relax for a while before the new school year started. It was fun to be able to go on walks with Winnie around the Macalester campus and walk around the farmer's market. I am happy that I finally had the ability to go back up to Minnesota after several years.
My uncle and aunt got a new golden retriever puppy in the winter, who they named Winnie. They sent us photos of her as a small, cute ball of fluff when they got her. When we got to their house in the evening, we found that she had grown a huge amount when she came to meet us at the door. In addition to Winnie, they also have a large, fluffy, long-haired calico cat named Spot. It seemed like Spot was experiencing a lack of attention with the new puppy, as she sat on my lap almost immediately after I sat down. I turned to be her go-to person to sit on while we were there, which was nice considering that my cats at home rarely sit on me.
This was a trip with the purpose of relaxing and catching up with family rather than traveling to tourist sites. We went to a couple interesting historical sites, but we spent majority of our time centralized in St. Paul and Minneapolis catching up. Luckily, the weather was perfect for sitting outside and going on walks with Winnie to the Macalester College campus. It was nice to have a break from the monotony of life in Champaign.
One Saturday morning, we drove with my aunt to Minneapolis to go the the farmers market there. It was cold for August. The market was huge, there were four long lines of stands selling all things from tomatoes to honey. There was also a small food court area where different people were selling donuts, coffee, and other things for breakfast. We went to a stand selling breakfast sandwiches with local produce on a bagel. We sat on a bench across the street from the market eating the delicious sandwiches. As we ate there was a mass of people pooling around the entrance to the market. It turns out, the governor of Minnesota was at the farmers market to declare the week "Minnesota farmer's market week." That was an interesting moment which I hadn't expecting to see while we were there. For the rest of the morning we walked through the isles of vendors buying produce to use in meals during the week.
One of the most memorable moments of this trip to Minnesota was going to a Minnesota Twins baseball game with my dad. While I am a massive Chicago Cubs fan, I am also a huge baseball fan in general. I was excited to see a live baseball game, and be able to go to a new baseball stadium and see teams play which I hadn't seen before. We took the new metro system in Minneapolis, which was really cool. While the Twins lost 11-6, it was a fun experience to watch a live baseball game and take in the beautiful stadium and its atmosphere. We took the metro back in the dark after the game. It was great to see the city lit up at night.
This trip to Minnesota was very fun. I enjoyed getting to see family and relax for a while before the new school year started. It was fun to be able to go on walks with Winnie around the Macalester campus and walk around the farmer's market. I am happy that I finally had the ability to go back up to Minnesota after several years.
I love that you enjoyed spending time in my home state. Hopefully the mosquitoes didn't bother you too much. Target field is a beautiful place and I love the monorail running through the city. One place I remember frequently going to was Mall of America, which has been significantly expanded over the years. Despite the plentiful amount of things to do in the twin cities it is the people that make the place. I am very happy that you were able to spend time with your aunt and uncle in the land of lakes.
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