Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Minnesota for the first time! All week I have been asked, "Why Minnesota?", which is a very natural and reasonable question. Well, a visit to MN has been on my radar ever since Dominic and Margaret, dear CPSLO friends of mine, moved to St. Louis Park last year, although I didn't expect to make the trip until 2012. Then Dan and Erin, post-college SoCal friends of mine, invited me to go with them to the Twin Cities area when they headed to Erin's hometown for a wedding. It all worked out perfectly and I was able to spend time with Dominic and Margaret while they attended the wedding. Dan and Erin planned tons of other activities for the rest of the weekend and I was shown Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas by true locals. After arriving on Friday we met some of Erin's friends at restaurant/bar called Cowboy Jack's (I was in Heaven), where I seized the day and rode the mechanical bull (no, I was not drunk). On Saturday I headed over to Dominic and Margaret's darling 1940's home, where there was fresh bread baking when I arrived. We walked around Lake Calhoun, played with Patrick, helped Margaret prepare for Sunday school teaching and chatted the day away. After attending Mass on Sunday with Dominic and Margaret, I teamed back up with Dan and Erin and we headed to Minnetonka Orchards for apple picking, hay rides and a corn maze. We also visited Excelsior, a charming small town on Lake Minnetonka, where Dan and Erin had their first date. That evening, Erin's mom treated us to "Hairspray" at the local Chanhassen dinner theater (again - me in Heaven). Before flying home on Monday evening we walked around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Overall it was a fantastic weekend! I loved the homegrown feel of the Midwest, although stories about negative 40 degree weather were probably enough to keep me in SoCal for the time being :-). Here are some pics from our amazing weekend...
Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Minnesota for the first time! All week I have been asked, "Why Minnesota?", which is a very natural and reasonable question. Well, a visit to MN has been on my radar ever since Dominic and Margaret, dear CPSLO friends of mine, moved to St. Louis Park last year, although I didn't expect to make the trip until 2012. Then Dan and Erin, post-college SoCal friends of mine, invited me to go with them to the Twin Cities area when they headed to Erin's hometown for a wedding. It all worked out perfectly and I was able to spend time with Dominic and Margaret while they attended the wedding. Dan and Erin planned tons of other activities for the rest of the weekend and I was shown Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding areas by true locals. After arriving on Friday we met some of Erin's friends at restaurant/bar called Cowboy Jack's (I was in Heaven), where I seized the day and rode the mechanical bull (no, I was not drunk). On Saturday I headed over to Dominic and Margaret's darling 1940's home, where there was fresh bread baking when I arrived. We walked around Lake Calhoun, played with Patrick, helped Margaret prepare for Sunday school teaching and chatted the day away. After attending Mass on Sunday with Dominic and Margaret, I teamed back up with Dan and Erin and we headed to Minnetonka Orchards for apple picking, hay rides and a corn maze. We also visited Excelsior, a charming small town on Lake Minnetonka, where Dan and Erin had their first date. That evening, Erin's mom treated us to "Hairspray" at the local Chanhassen dinner theater (again - me in Heaven). Before flying home on Monday evening we walked around Minneapolis and St. Paul. Overall it was a fantastic weekend! I loved the homegrown feel of the Midwest, although stories about negative 40 degree weather were probably enough to keep me in SoCal for the time being :-). Here are some pics from our amazing weekend...
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