Adventures in Minneapolis - Part II

Day 3:

I head to the conference till mid-afternoon. I learn lotsa fascinating orchestra thangs, then we decide to embark on more Minneapolis Adventures! This time, we head to Minnehaha Park (I prefer to call it Minnehahahaha Park where the hahaha is really a belly laugh - but that's just me). Minnehaha Park was just a short Light Rail ride away. The day was absolutely beautiful - sunny, and just cold enough to be comfortable in a sweater - basically, perfect! Therefore, it was destined to be a outdoors sorta day. Minnehaha Park gave me a completely new view on Minnesota. Prior to this point, I had really only seen the city - the buildings, the city parks, the river - which I loved - but I was completely blown away by the park. Minnehaha Park is home to Minnehaha Falls - where Minnehaha Creek flows into the Mississippi River. Surrounding the falls are hiking paths, playgrounds, even a little beach along the banks of the creek! I could see why it was such a hotspot. I had a hayday with my camera while there - the evening light coupled with the flowing water painted the perfect photo. It was hard to take a bad picture to be quite honest. Danny and I explored the falls and the surrounding paths, then headed to SeaSalt - a bustling little seafood eatery just outside the falls. Quite seriously, SeaSalt may have been one of my favorite restaurants I've ever been to. Not because of the fantastic food, although very tasty, but because of the ambience of the place. On a Wednesday evening, all sorts of people had come out to munch on one of their many clever entrees, indulge in a beer or two, while sitting outside under the trees next to the falls listening to the live band. Danny and I sat outside also enjoying the sites and the cooler weather - and we devoured their fish tacos (and a pitcher of beer, but shh) - mmm mmm. I've got to say...Minnehahaha was the highlight of my trip, and I would recommend it for anyone traveling in the area. It's enchanting!

Day 4:

Last day of the conference! I got to hear the founder of the Geek Squad speak, which was fascinating - and so inspiring. Danny meets me for my lunch break and we head to the "town square" where food trucks have lined the street and different musicians play each hour. The day, of course, was beautiful - sunny and in the 60s. Also, can I just say - I love food trucks. I think every city should have them. I especially love the ones that serve items you can't find anywhere else. Check out the Clover Food Truck in Boston, for instance. To this day, I still crave their rosemary fries and ginger lemonade.

After the conference, I decided I would totally regret not attending a performance of one of our conference host orchestras. I get last minute tickets for us to the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. We take a bus over to St. Paul - Minneapolis' twin! Minneapolis is by far my favorite, but St. Paul definitely had a personality of it's own with it's old churches, winding streets and Europe-like squares. Danny took me to Mickeys - a famous downhome diner in a tiny trailer in the middle of the city. This place has been opened 24/7 since 1939, and has been featured on numerous channels, including the Food Network and the Travel Channel. When I heard that, I knew I'd like it. It was surprisingly quiet and they served up the tastiest burger and baked beans a gal could ask for - literally, the best baked beans I ever had! We headed to the SPCO (St. Paul Chamber Orchestra) performance, and feel wayy too underdressed, but what they gon' do? We enjoy the performance and head back to our luxurious suite at the Holiday Inn.

Some of my favorite photos from the trip....

Adventures in Minneapolis

A little background before I begin...I'm in Minneapolis, MN right now for a League of American Orchestras Conference. What an experience! I've learned an incredible amount, and have met incredible people - definitely worth the time & money it took to get here. While I have been learning and interacting and networking, I've also taken the time to be a tourist in the "Land of Lakes" - and have been pleasantly surprised.

I blame my less-than-positive outlook with Minnesota on my unfamiliarity with the whole midwest area. I had absolutely no idea the types of people who lived here, the climate, the geography, nothing! But, I made it a point to be completely open to new things, people, and activities on this trip. And I've had the best experience!

I brought Danny along as my travel buddy - he would sleep while I worked at the conference, and then when I was done we would explore the city and surrounding areas. He also acted as my temporary travel agent, researching the best places to visit, how to get there, and how much it would cost us. Quite the resource.

Here's a recap of our trip thus far:

Day 1:

After waking up early, we head to the airport. Despite two strong opinions that my bag couldn't possibly be over 50 lbs, my suitcase weighs in at a whopping 54 lbs. I embarrasingly unpack 5lbs in front of my fellow AirTran Passengers. Danny dies of embarrassment. Off to security we go. I got x-rayed for the first time. Awkward. Finally, we hop on our flight to Minneapolis, with two stops: Atlanta & Milwaukee. Arrive in Minnesota. Travel from airport to hotel downtown made surprisingly easy with the Light Rail.

Arrive at our luxurious Holiday Inn Express. Immediately, head down to the streets. We explore and are determined to find a "only-in-MN" restaurant for dinner. We settle on The Local, an Irish Pub on Nicollet Mall - the main shopping/dining hub of Minneapolis. And, yeah I know, not very Minnesota - but it looked exactly like a pub in Ireland and it was relatively cheap, and...well...let's be honest...who doesn't love a good pint at the end of a long, tiring day! Danny and I have hearty dinners, and even try their infamous drink, 2 Gingers. Tasty little meal. Next, we head down to the Mississippi. At this point, it's dusk, but still about 96 degrees. I forgot to mention earlier - Minnesota was under excessive heat warnings the first two days we were here. Talk about unlucky. Here I was, hoping for cool weather, and ended up coming to hotter weather! Ok, back to the Mississippi. We walk along river. Ooo and aah at the bridges, the old mill and the falls. Finally, exhausted, we head back to the hotel and pass out. Great first day!

Day 2:

I'm in the LAO Conference till 4PM - but, thankfully, the sun doesn't set in MN till 10PM or so, leaving lots of time for being a tourist and exploring. Danny and I decide to rent bikes to travel around the city. Minneapolis has this great program called Nice Ride, which allows riders to use a bike for free for a half hour, after which they are charged $5 for 24 hours. Thankfully, it took Danny and I less than a half hour to get to our destinations, making our travel cost $0. (Although, I may consider sweating to death and getting a sunburn a personal cost, but whatever.) First, we head to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. As you'll see in one of my previous posts, they had incredibly unique scultures all nestled within European-like giant shrubbed walls. The giant Spoonbridge & Cherry is one of Minneapolis' most famous landmarks. After photographing and exploring the grounds, we headed to Loring Park - the so-called "Central Park" of Minneapolis. Although this was nothing compared to the actual Central Park, or even the Boston Commons, Loring Park had a unique charm of its own. With Canadian geese frolicking freely, and a tiny river running through the center, this park would be the perfect place to spend an afternoon when it is NOT 97 degrees.

Danny and I decide to take our Nice Ride bikes down to the riverfront. We cross the river over to St. Anthony Main. We walk along paths on the banks of the river, and cross the Stone Arch Bridge - yet another landmark of Minneapolis. Finally, we end our evening at Pracna, the oldest restaurant on the oldest street in Minneapolis! After filling up on American favorites and Grain Belt Beer (hey, when in rome, right?), Danny and I grab our bikes and head home....exhausted!