Minneapolis, MN

OK, here is the third and final installment of our trip to Minnesota. I'll warn you now- there are a ton of photos in this post!

On Saturday, we checked out the Midtown Global Market. It's an internationally themed public market. This is the front (though I can't take credit for THIS picture- I borrowed it from the Internet):
Inside there are tons of vendors, selling all sorts of goodies and yummy restaurants. We had lunch at A La Salsa. It was a Mexican restaurant in the market- we had fajitas, burritos, and SFS even got my mom to try his fish taco! (Ewww, right? Apparently they're really good... I guess I'll never know!)
Then we happened upon a Scandinavian themed booth... check out this viking!
Aww, there's me as St. Lucia! I like this because: a) I'm Swedish, and b) I found a novelty hat that fits over my gigantic head... yay for elastic!
SFS was particularly pleased to find a couple of his favorite things all under one roof: a Mexican chocolate sugar cookie, fresh Tilapia, and fried pork knuckles. OK- he was kidding about the pork knuckles, but he only told me that after he chased me around with the package as I gagged at the thought of him eating something so gross!
On Sunday, we headed to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Museum. I'd never had a chance to see Spoonbridge and Cherry up close... it was so cute!
There's my dad!
We had fun playing around.. .we took these through Ordovician Pore.
I'm pretty sure my Dad got a photo of us taking pictures of each other... we're such dorks!
We had a good time checking out all the pieces of 'art'. There were some really neat installations, including a work of wind chimes. An art website described it better than I can:

Pierre Huyghe’s group of 50 wind chimes inspired by a John Cage composition will be installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Using the very natural forces that Cage celebrated as a creative tool, the artist’s chimes deconstruct and constantly recompose one of Cage’s best-known works for piano in an endless performance.

All of the chimes were hanging from trees- and as you stood beneath them, the sound was just all around... very cool! There was also a memorial arbor at the far end of the park...
And this is Calder's The Spinner 1966. The whole top part moves!
After that, we headed over to the Mill City Museum. Even though I took the tour last year, I was so excited to see it again- especially since SFS had never been. As their website describes:

Mill City Museum chronicles the flour milling industry that dominated world flour production for roughly a half-century and fueled the growth of Minneapolis, recognized across the nation and around the world as “Mill City.” Built within the ruins of a National Historic Landmark — the Washburn A Mill — the museum provides a multi-sensory, interactive journey. The story of flour milling — and its impact on Minneapolis, the nation and the world — comes to life through the eight-story Flour Tower and other hands-on exhibits.

If you haven't been, I highly recommend it- plus once you get to the top of the tour, you get the BEST view of the Mississippi River and St. Anthony Falls!

Here's the Museum from the river.Here are some shots from inside the ruins.This is the outside wall that runs along the riverwalk.Here are SFS and I inside the ruins.

Here's my dad next to the Mississippi.

More ruins... can you tell I like this place? Not only can the space be rented out for parties and events, but there are also lofts on the floors not used by the museum... what if you looked out your window every morning and saw this? I would love it!After the museum, we headed to Mill Ruins Park. I'd never been down there before, but it's basically the remains of the REST of the flour mills that were such a large part of the city at the turn of the century. I thought it was so beautiful- plus, you get to walk under the Stone Arch Bridge... can you believe it was made in 1883?This is the tailrace canal, which used to supply water power to the turbines that powered a lot of the mills.Here are some ruins. Isn't it crazy how in the background you can see the Guthrie... old and new, all in one place. I think it's really neat how the city chose to maintain the ruins and make them an accessible attraction.More ruins...I think the Stone Arch Bridge is just amazing- it's even a National Historic Engineering Landmark.The city installed a little boardwalk through the ruins.And this is a shot of the grain silos from the ruins.Well folks, that's it for our trip to Minnesota. Thanks for sticking around through all these pictures. I don't know about everyone else, but I had a really fun weekend! I hope SBV has an awesome summer in MN, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Purifying ourselves in the water of Lake Minnetonka

The things we learn from SFS! Apparently Dave Chappelle did a sketch on his show where he played The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, and talked about the need to "purify yourself in the water of Lake Minnetonka". Since the lake is just outside of Minneapolis, we headed there on Saturday morning. If you're like me, you only know about Minnetonka because of the moccasins (which aren't made in the area to my great dismay)... but it's a really nice lake town 45 minutes outside of MSP. Here is my first shot of the area:
Our initial stop was The General Store of Minnetonka. It was a huge store, full of kitchen/home/local gifts. After picking up a few things, we headed to Maynards for lunch. It was a beautiful day, so we sat on their patio next to the lake and had a great time. Here's a shot of SBV:
And here's one of my mom- see the lake in the background? I have a feeling she's laughing at the person next to her...
Wouldn't you? This is how he combats the dreaded FARMER TAN!
And my Dad looking pensive (SBV took this shot- way to go!)...
The food there was SO yummy- plus the natural light was really nice so I could take some quick shots before everyone started. I can't remember who ate what, so here's a club sandwich:
Fish and chips:
And a chopped salad! (I remember this one was mine because it was DELISH! And for the record, those are black beans, not olives.)
After lunch, we went on a hunt to find a sign that would prove SFS' purification. Here's what we found...
The lake was really pretty!
The boys went off to fish, so my mom and I got to work on some crafts (I'll post about that later). Here's a view from where we sat...
Just some pretty dandelions (and Dad, I think it's okay to call them pretty because they're not anywhere near your lawn).
I eventually joined the boys during their fishing excursion.
Although I didn't have a license (shhh- don't tell), SBV let me cast a few with his new rod and reel. I didn't drop it in the lake ONCE! Are you proud?
Unfortunately, he said if I cast it, then it was my job to clean the gross weeds from the hook. This was definitely not my favorite part of the day!
Now a note about SFS! He hooked a really big large mouth bass that day. He had reeled it in, but it got loose just as the boys were pulling it onto the dock. Although I didn't get a picture, I saw the fish and can attest to the fact that it was big and gross!
And here's another shot of my baby brother- isn't he a cutey?
This on the other hand is NOT so cute. Especially since I don't have the longest lens, and for a shot like this had to get a little too close to the fish for my comfort level. Of course SBV only increased that discomfort by shaking the fish and pretending it was going to jump out and touch me... ahhh, siblings!
Later in the day, SBV got his line hooked on the dock next to where we were fishing. These were the private docks, and you could only get there if you had a key to the gate. Since we did not, SBV literally JUMPED onto that pier and shimmied onto the dock. Of course, once he was done, he had to jump in the water to get back to us! I think this shot is him coming to terms with the fact that there's no way he could avoid getting wet.
After all that fun, we headed to Phil's Tara Hideaway for dinner. If you ever find yourself near Stillwater, I highly recommend this Greek/American fusion restaurant... check out their pork chops:
Yummy, right? Well, that's it for our Day on Lake Minnetonka- happy Thursday!

Stillwater, MN

Well, I finally got all the Minneapolis photos uploaded to my computer. This should come as NO surprise, but I took a LOT of pictures. So many, in fact, that getting through this vacation might take all week... so if you have something against the land of 10,000 lakes, you might want to check back with me next week! :)

But if you decide to stick around, I will reward your interest with the first stop of our destination: Stillwater, MN. After SFS and I arrived at the airport, my family picked us up and whisked us away to Stillwater.

Stillwater is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, directly across the St. Croix River from the state of Wisconsin, with a population of 15,143.

Of course we took a QUICK trip across the Historic Lift Bridge into Wisconsin, which meant that SFS and I were in 4 states in less than 7 hours. Impressive, no? On our way BACK to Stillwater, the bridge opened to allow a boat to pass. Since we were stopped, the boys and I got out of the car and walked back to Minnesota (don't worry, my Mom was willing to drive the car across and pick us up). Here is a shot of the shores of Wisconsin
There's SBV, looking out over the St. Croix river.
Here are SFS and I, only a LITTLE tired at this point (our car had picked us up at 4 am that morning)...
And the boys: SFS, BCV and SBV.
There's my Mom, driving the car back over the river to meet us.
Just another attempt at 'artistry'... I thought the barrier looked cool!!
The bridge, built in 1931, still looks pretty good to me!
And here's a shot of Stillwater... isn't it picturesque?
Once we got to back to town, we headed over to the Mad Capper Saloon & Eatery. It's a saloon with tons of beer on tap, a big menu, and free popcorn... what's not to love? Plus, SFS got to try his first White Cheddar Curds (they were deep fried, of course). After that, we did a little shopping around Stillwater, including tons of antique stores and The Chef's Gallery. Following that, SFS and I decided to be adventurous, and we tackled a bunch of stairs we saw on Main Street- we didn't know where they were headed, but we figured it would be interesting. This is what drew our attention:
Here's a shot on the way up...
And here we are- the summit! Except, turns out that there's a road that leads up to the same place, and people could just have easily driven their cars up here... oh well! I have a feeling the view is better during the cold season (when there aren't as many weeds to block my shot)... :)
This shot is a little better, and you can see the Lift Bridge pretty well!
Just a shot of some creeping foliage.
And some pretty pink blossoms...
We finally started our decent back down the stairs (you can see SFS down there, too).
After that and a little more antique shopping/perusing, we headed over to Dock Cafe. It's a restaurant right on the St. Croix, where we could rest for a bit, enjoy an iced tea or lemonade, and chat. Here are my folks- I'm pretty sure they're laughing at something funny SFS said!

After that, we headed back to our hotel before catching a performance of Caroline, or Change at the Guthrie. They're doing a whole series of Tony Kushner works, and since I never caught this show on Broadway and had never been inside the Guthrie, I was pretty excited. We had second and third row seats, and the show was amazing- it was a great first night in Minneapolis!

That's all for today- check back tomorrow to see our lake adventures! Have a great Wednesday!