Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes

Dec 18

Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It's been a few decades, but I went to college in Minnesota, Mankato Minnesota. Back in the 80's and early 90's it was called Mankato State University. It is now called Minnesota State University, Mankato.

I haven't been back since the mid 90's, so I decided this was the year to go back. I would plan to visit my old campus as well as some old friends who live in the country in SW Minnesota. This would be a great way to show my son where I went to college.

Happy to be back in the Midwest

We were flying into and staying in Minneapolis. Our hope was that it would snow while we were there and I had been checking the weather for the previous few weeks approaching our trip. Up until the week before our departure, it looked like the odds of being there during a snow storm was good. Then, the forecast changed.

It looked like it wouldn't snow while we were visiting, but there was snow on the ground. This might have been a good thing. It had been 25 years since I'd driven in snow so perhaps it was better that I wasn't faced with that possibility.

The day we landed in Minneapolis it was early. Hours before we could check in to the hotel so we drove around a little, checking out the city. While we were stalling until hotel check-in, we found an open area where Alex could play in the snow. Born and raised in SW Florida, he'd only seen dusts of snow during short trips to North Georgia and North Carolina. This was what he was hoping to see.

Living in SW Florida full time, we aren't prepared for WINTER weather. I could not have survived this trip during the winter months without some winter wear essentials... thank goodness for online ordering! These winter coats from Kohls were lifesavers! With the snow on the ground, I definitely needed boots for this trip.

Warm boots for snowy weather in Minnesota

Warm winter coat for the wintery weather in Minnesota

Playing in the Snow

Winter in Minneapolis
Winter in Minneapolis
Winter in Minneapolis
Winter in Minneapolis

Making a Snow Angel
Winter in Minneapolis

Alex had a great time playing in the snow. I used to LOVE the winters in MN. But, now, almost 3 decades later... not so much. It was a little too cold for me, but it was fun to watch my 14 year old playing in it.

Watching the Golden State Warriors play the Mn Timberwolves

It turned out that Alex's favorite basketball team, the Golden State Warriors were playing in Minneapolis while we were there, so I got tickets to see the game. This was a fun experience for us both. The Warriors didn't win, but we had a great time.

Golden State vs MN Timberwolves
Golden State vs MN Timberwolves
Golden State vs MN Timberwolves
Golden State vs MN Timberwolves

Since these trips are part of a journey to visit all 50 states in the US, it is necessary to maximize the opportunities where we can. Being so close to Wisconsin, I decided we would drive over the state line and have lunch in Wisconsin to check that state off of our list. We drove to Eau Claire and had lunch at Milwaukee Burger Company.

On our way back to Minneapolis, Alex had to use the bathroom so I started looking at the exit signs for a good place to stop and saw an A & W Rootbeer sign. I am originally from the Midwest (Springfield, Il) and I remember A & W drive up restaurants with the rootbeer floats. I thought Alex would love a rootbeer float for dessert so we stopped. As you can see, he was amazed at how big these were - but he enjoyed every drop!

A & W Rootbeer (float)
Those are big floats

The Famous Mall of America

We couldn't spend a week in Minneapolis and NOT go to the Mall of America! As it turned out, our hotel was across the street from it, so it was an easy walk. I remember visiting the MOA the year I moved from Minnesota back to Florida (1993) - it was the year it opened and I knew it had changed a lot since then.

The Mall of America is AMAZING! It's huge, but it's beautiful - as mall's go. Spacious walkways. This mall has an amusement park wing, a miniature golf course, an aquarium, as well as shopping, shopping, shopping. We took part in all of it, although I'm sure we missed a lot of the shopping. I don't think we hit every wing on every floor (it's 4 floors tall) and has more than 500 stores.

Mall of America, MN
Mall of America, MN
Mall of America, MN

Zip-Lining in the Mall of America

One thing on my "Bucket List" was to Zip Line. The MOA has a Zip Line, so I was excited to do this one. I LOVED the actual Zip Line, but the trek up to where you actually start the line had me so winded. As I was sure this was a fraction of what most outdoor zip lines actually are, I was convinced this might possibly be the ONLY time I Zip Line. Alex enjoyed the obstacle course after the zip lining.

Obstacle Course, MOA
Obstacle Course, MOA
Obstacle Course, MOA

We ate dinner at Johnny Rockets - one of Alex's favorite places to eat. Of course, we played miniature golf - twice. And, we took a virtual ride - Fly Over America which was really cool. This ride made us feel like we were para-sailing across the entire country, with the wind in our faces - it was awesome.

Johnny Rockets for dinner
Miniature Golf - MOA
Miniature Golf - MOA
Miniature Golf - MOA
Fly Over America; Virtual Trip across USA

Finally, before we headed back to the hotel, we checked out the Aquarium at the Mall of America. This was on the bottom floor, but was so big we definitely didn't feel like we were in a MALL!

Mall of America Aquarium
Mall of America Aquarium

A visit to my College Town - Mankato State University

One day we drove down to Mankato so that I could drive down memory lane. I have such great memories of my years at MSU and it was a WONDERFUL day for me. After nearly 30 years I remembered how to navigate my way around Mankato and so many memories of life at MSU came flooding back.

Playing in the Snow - Minnesota style

After a few hours in Mankato, I drove out to visit friends that I haven't seen since I left Minnesota in 1993. They're farmers that live in SW Minnesota. It was wonderful to visit with them. While catching up, they set Alex up on a Snowmobile.

I was a little nervous for him since he'd never ridden one before, but he listened to the instruction, hopped on and took off. He had the BEST time. He actually told me after the trip that that had been a highlight for him.

Snowmobiling in MN
Snowmobiling in MN
Snowmobiling in MN
Snowmobiling in MN
Snowmobiling in MN

This day in Mankato and Madelia was so soul fulfilling. It was really indescribable. Something I needed and didn't even realize how much. We drove back to Minneapolis that night and I had plans to visit my first roommate the following day.

The next afternoon we drove East to visit one of my oldest friends from MSU. I hadn't seen Kim since 1992 when I got married. We'd communicated a few times over the years - annual Christmas cards, etc. but hadn't seen each other. It was like we saw each other all the time - so easy to fall into a comfortable conversation. She drove us up to Duluth. This was a town I hadn't ever visited when I lived in Minnesota.

First time in Duluth

Duluth was a quaint town. I bet it's fun in the summertime, but it was beautiful in the winter. We had lunch and she found a spot where we could walk out to Lake Superior where it was frozen over. Alex got a kick out of that.

Lake Superior
Lake Superior

Standing ON Lake Superior

There was a mariners museum and store that was cool to walk through. A little further north and the water was melted.

Mariners Museum
Lake Superior
Lake Superior

I'm not sure that this was Alex's most fun vacation. There was a lot of visiting, driving down memory lane and fulfilling of nostalgia for me. It was such a much-needed vacation that I wasn't even anticipating. Bottom line though - Alex and I always enjoy our vacations and this was no exception. Even though this one was more for me than him - it knocked 2 states off of our list and we created more memories.