Minnesota nice; did you know that was a thing? Wikipedia say it's the stereotypical behavior of people from Minnesota to be courteous, reserved, very family-focused, and mild-mannered. Tell that to the bike-rider who did not appreciate my left foot being in his lane while on a walk. Other MN colloquialisms that we have learned about include hot dish (casserole) and of course the game Duck, Duck, Gray Duck. Don't ask me what Minnesota nice has against Goose.
Ollie and I had the pleasure of being surrounded by such nice last weekend as we flew to Minneapolis to visit Eli and Alexa. Mimi and Momo also flew in, which was, well, nice. Day one included typical Sethre vacation activities such as home improvement projects and eating delicious food.
Eli needed help moving an old fridge. After Momo and Eli got the fridge outside, I took a turn being yoked to that thing as we shuffled around the side of the house and went in a basement door. I can't tell if these moving straps are a good thing (no way could we move that fridge without them) or a bad thing (movers could be called). But we prevailed!
Once we were outside in the back, a football was spotted and Ollie quickly had us organized into teams. Adults feel like one 10ish minute game of two-touch is perfect to last a person for an entire year (decade?). Seven year olds feel quite differently.
What a beautiful time of year to be visiting! The fall colors were phenomenal. I could not get enough!
For dinner we had reservations at Butcher and the Boar. Quite good, I must say. I ordered duck. (Gray Duck??) I've never done that before but had no regrets.
This kid was a trooper. We got up that morning sometime in the 4 o'clock hour and he was still up for making the most of some very adult food.
The next morning our plans of an apple orchard were ruined by a downpour that started around 6am. We opted for the Mall of America instead. I'm not really sure what this place is called, maybe just the Mall of America amusement park? It was Nickelodeon themed, so maybe Nick Land or something? Anyway, whatever it was called, it was a great way to start our day. I took the following picture from the Ferris wheel.
When we were moving from the line onto the Ferris wheel, the attendant split us into two groups of three then said, "Ok, you guys come stand down here." People!! I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but I am only one out of roughly seven people in the entire state of Texas that says "you guys" rather than "ya'll". To me, it was a very homey welcome to the Ferris Wheel.
It was an excellent first ride choice, because then we could survey the lay of the land and plan our next couple of rides. After the Ferris wheel Momo, Ollie, Eli, and I headed to a roller coaster.
Other than Ollie's most excited ever face, note the cart size. Eli and I shared a cart in front of Momo and Ollie and it is no exaggeration to say we barely fit. Barely. Then the attendant had to come by and push that safety bar one more notch into our thighs. I wasn't sure it was going to go another notch on Eli's legs. Not a toothpick could be fit between us.
After this ride, we made our mistake. We saw a log flume, which is Ollie's favorite ride at Joyland in Lubbock, so we went to check it out. I told Ollie we had to watch a few people get off to see how wet they were before we would make any commitments. And watch we did. We probably saw 4 or 5 parties in a row get off with minimal splashing. But petite we are not. We barely could fit in a roller coaster cart. We have enough girth to tote around refrigerators. Do you think we stepped off the log flume dry? Oh no. No, we did not.
Log flume order: Ollie, then me, Eli, then Momo. Ollie and I got drenched. Like standing water in our shoes, wring out your shirt, can someone please clean my glasses drenched. Once Eli realized how bad it was going to be, he could not stop laughing on the ride. Alexa was recording us go down the last big splash and you can hear an "uffda" shouted. Everyone says it was me. I say everyone is crazy.
Next stop: Lego land in very stiff, cold, wet denim!
After that Ollie and I bought some new clothes (we were at a mall, after all) and we went to Bubba Gump's for lunch.
After that it was home to more house projects (I believe a door was hung), naps (put me in that category), some intense Lego playing, and a great dinner. Next up... Sunday! The Vikings game!
Pre-game bfast/brunch
And onto the stadium!
We had so much fun. Perused the gift shops, ate our weight in nachos, did the wave, saw 9 field goals, and a guy from the skol drum line even let Ollie in behind the security to pose with the big drum. He did give a quick, "but don't actually hit the drum!" warning. Ha!
Me and Mimi. Aren't we cute??
All in all, a great trip! We love you Eli, Alexa, Mimi, and Momo! I'm thinking we just stumbled onto a fall tradition!
