Michigan

The journey from Minneapolis to Michigan was a bit shorter than I expected. I was planning on stopping in Chicago for a day or two, but my place to stay fell through so I trucked right on through and drove to Birch Run, Michigan. I don't have any photos from that drive for a couple of reasons: one, there wasn't much to take photos of and two, I encountered a flash flood/thunderstorm situation which made it very unsafe to take photos. Side note, those summer thunderstorms are NO JOKE! 

And now...on to Michigan.

I stayed with my dear friends, more like family than friends but I digress, David and Amanda Bleck. I love them dearly. 

During my stay with them, we checked off an item on my bucket list: visiting Mackinac Island to see the Grand Hotel. Ever since I first saw Somewhere in Time I have wanted to go and visit. Most of you know, I am not much of a movie buff, but this film really got to me for some reason. It was great to be able to share this experience with people I love. 

We made the trek from Birch Run up to Mackinaw City where we took the ferry out to Mackinac Island. This is our first view of the Grand Hotel from the ferry:

My heart is all a flutter!!!

Yes, Minnea came along too :)

We're here!!!!

Ok...so we made it to Mackinac Island, now how do we get to the hotel??? One interesting fact is that motorized vehicles are not allowed on the island, so all transportation is pedestrian, horse and buggy or bicycle. Well then, I guess we should rent some bikes!!!

I would love to tell you that Dave and Amanda lasted all day on the bicycle built for two, alas that was not the case...

Here is a short photo montage of our bicycle adventure around the island:

As you can see, we had a great day...the best part being (of course) the Grand Hotel!! It took us forever to find, mostly because we were busy looking at other stuff, but it was absolutely worth the wait:

The photo does it no justice at all...it is truly grand. You'll have to go see it for yourself :)

Time Flies

Wow...I can't believe how much time has passed. I really need to finish up my road trip and bring you up to speed on where I am now and what I've seen. My goal is to get the blog up to date over the next month, so keep your eyes posted....we're on the road again!

Minneapolis: Culture, Outdoor Activities, Corporate America

My expectations, honestly, were low. I mean Minneapolis is in "the middle", the very northern middle, and it's kind of a slow cow town, right?!?!?!? Um....not so much! The only reason I was even going, was to meet my former co-worker Laura and her family; anything else would be a bonus. For this stop I took advantage of the Couch Surfing network and it truly added to my visit. I arrived around 8pm to meet my host, Christy, for the evening at The Town Hall Tap with some fellow Couch Surfers. The evening was a great success and I met some very cool people. Christy and I took off a little early because she had to work early the next day, but we got to have a short chat while she showed me around her apartment and before we both crashed for the evening. I slept well and got a relatively early start to my day where I explored Minneapolis on my own. 



I had to check out the Mary Tyler Moore statue downtown (yes, I like Mary Tyler Moore) before I headed to the Sculpture Garden, which I really enjoyed. Who knew there are more sculptures than just the iconic spoon with the cherry?? After the sculpture garden I drove by the Mary Tyler Moore house. It is a private residence so I didn't walk through, although I was tempted ;). From there I ventured over to walk across the Stone Arch Bridge down near the old flour mills and the only bridge of its kind over the Mississippi River. After heading to Minnehaha Falls - one of only a few urban waterfalls in the country, I wandered over to The Mall of America. I must say, in my defense (for those of you who know I am not really fond of shopping), I only went because everyone I talked to said I had to AND it was on the way to my friends house where I was going to dinner. After my perusal of the gargantuan mall, I can without hesitation tell you it is most definitely a mall. There are many stores in which to spend your money, a typical food court which just happens to overlook a small amusement park and as a bonus, if you want to spend the 10 bucks to explore it, there is an underwater aquarium. I didn't take the time to check it out, but I have seen pictures and it looks pretty cool. Basically it's a big fish tank that you walk through so it feels like you are under the water and the fish (including sharks) swim around and above you. My day ended with a visit to my friend/former co-worker, Laura's house to meet her family and enjoy a home cooked meal. It was awesome to finally meet her, her husband Jim and their son Roman. We had a great time.

Christy and I had an opportunity to spend some more time chatting and getting to know each other after I returned from my dinner with Laura's family. Christy is a fantastic person who has had some interesting adventures and has her eyes set on a fantastic new project. I won't share her project details here as it's not my project to share, but I am so excited for her and hope to not only continue our new friendship, but I'd also love to be a part of her upcoming journey. I'm cheering you on, Christy!!!

A total bonus to my trip to Minneapolis was an out of the blue message from another friend and former co-worker who I had forgotten that he moved to Minneapolis for a career opportunity. So, on my way out of town I met up with Trevor who gave me a tour of the Target Corporate offices where he works. It seems like a very cool place to work with a nice mini museum and great collaboration spaces. As I stared out his office window admiring his view of the city, he told me about moving his family from California to Minnesota at which point another familiar name came up and he walked me a few doors down to see Tony who I also used to work with and (small world) went to school with his brother. Before heading down to have a yummy lunch at The News Room, we stopped in the little store they have and Trevor bought me my new road dog, known as Minnea, who is now touring the country with me!


I can honestly say I was blown away by Minneapolis. There is a plethora of cultural and outdoor excursions to suit basically any interest. It's a laid back, safe place and while I'm not sure how I would fare the winters there, I definitely want to go back and visit again.


"My favorite thing about Minneapolis is all of the green space. There are lakes and parks and miles upon miles of beautiful paths for biking/walking/running. You can escape the city without actually leaving the city. It's beautiful!" ~Christy

Thank you to Christy (& friends), Laura (& family) and Trevor for making my visit to Minneapolis a great one. I look forward to seeing you all again and seeing more of your city through your eyes!

For photos of my journey to and of Minneapolis, click here.

Rapid City

I have to apologize that I have not posted in a few days. My time with my daughter was awesome and busy which kept me from the computer and life just kind of happens while your planning, but I am back now to catch up a little. Enjoy!

So Rapid City, it's kind of a cute little town/city. My daughter was my host and guide over the four days I visited and because I arrived on a Thursday, the first thing we did (after meeting her friend Nichole and going to PT) was go downtown to Rapid City Summer Nights where she showed me around downtown. We listened to a bit of live music, people watched and walked down Art Alley which, if you're ever in Rapid City, is a must see. We then had dinner at Sanford's Grub & Pub (quite tasty) before heading over to Memorial Park to check out the Berlin Wall exhibit. Berlin, Germany is the sister city to Rapid City...who knew?!?!? 


After checking out the exhibit we went up to Dinosaur Park, not so much for the dinosaurs but rather for the view which was fantastic. However, I was lucky enough to have a local guide who took us a little further up the hill where we were able to watch the sunset with a 180 degree view of the city - AWESOME!

Day two was pretty low key because she had to work, but we got to check out the South Dakota Air and Space Museum (free admission) and after work started for her I went to the on a guided tour of Ellsworth Air Force Base ($8 per adult - my recommendation is if you are staying on base or if you are visiting someone stationed there, the tour is not worth it unless you are REALLY interested in seeing the Minuteman II Missile silo). 


Day three was jam packed with sight seeing...well maybe not jam packed, but it was busy with driving and exploring. Our first stop (after breakfast) was to my daughters favorite place in the area, Falling Rock. It's off the beaten path and if you don't know where you're going you will never find it, but OH MY GOODNESS - absolutely beautiful views!! This is her favorite place because of the solitude and beauty where she is able to focus and reflect on what's important.

Next we went to Mount Rushmore, which is pretty darn cool and can be seen from the road if you're not interested in going into the park. Next we headed on to the Crazy Horse Memorial. If you visit this attraction you absolutely must see the short movie about the building of the memorial. The monument itself is quite remarkable, but because it is still under construction it is somehow less stunning if you don't know the background and the future. When we were headed back to the hotel, we passed through downtown Rapid City again and came across some streets blocked off for a car show (free) with a bunch of old cars and a few new ones. It was fun to walk around looking at the cars and hearing how much my kid knows about them- she amazes me at every turn :) 


On Sunday (day four), we slept in a little before heading out to the Black Hills Caverns for a tour. The caverns were pretty cool, but the tour guide was horrible. I'm not really sure it was worth the $12.50 admission, but I can say I have been to the Black Hills Caverns - YAY me! Our last stop was at The Chapel in the Hills and while I wasn't initially excited about this, I am really glad we took the time to stop. It was a cute building with some interesting history and we got to see a deer wandering the grounds.


All in all, it was a really nice trip. I enjoyed spending time with my daughter and getting to see her in her environment as a young woman finding her way in the world. The highlight to all of that was seeing Rapid City through her eyes.


More pictures for your enjoyment :)

Salt Lake City

Before I got to Salt Lake, I had the joy of seeing the Bonneville Salt Flats which is one of my favorite sights to see (maybe a little weird, but I'm ok with it).

My visit to the Salt Lake City area was not really for sight seeing, but I was lucky enough to spend time with my niece from another sister who shared a bit of Salt Lake with me. I got to go to Temple Square, the Capitol building (unfortunately it was already closed when we got there), The Gateway shopping center, and her favorite spot Clark Planetarium. She loves the Planetarium because it always has new exhibits, it's free unless you want to see a movie, and it provides air conditioning on hot summer days :) We spent at least an hour exploring and I enjoyed seeing the exhibits through her eyes.

More pictures here :)

Medford Oregon to Salt Lake City Utah

The drive from Medford to Salt Lake City was a somewhat long one, but definitely not uneventful. Nothing bad happened, but it definitely got the adrenaline going.


I've enjoyed driving for years and am a pro at road trips, but there is usually something that will catch you off guard no matter how well you think you've prepared. For me, the surprise I encountered (or at least the first one so far) was this when I came around the corner at 65mph (the speed limit)...

Yes cows, and a lot of them. At the other end of this "cattle rush hour" were some real cowboys who were totally worth photographing, but it seemed quite rude to photograph them after I drove through their cows. So all I got were cow pictures. Enjoy!

 My next adventure was not bovine related, but a little more nerve wracking. As I am driving along the flat Oregon countryside I see a hill in front of me with no obvious road over it. While I was pretty sure I wasn't going to have to go around, it was becoming more apparent that I really wasn't sure where the road went. I continued to survey my surroundings and the only thing I saw was this:

The incline didn't bother me so much and I really wasn't worried about it...until I was on it. I'm probably being a little dramatic, but I definitely had an increase in blood pressure when I was going around the corners (which are hard to see in the picture) and the road was two lanes and practically no shoulder...sheer cliff...ahhhhhhhhhh!!! I didn't take pictures as there was nowhere to pull over. Yikes! Good news is I survived :)


On to Salt Lake City...

Medford Oregon...who knew?!?! LOL

The drive to Medford was enjoyable and basically uneventful. The girls at the front desk of the hotel were sweet and very helpful (and if they are following me now too...WELCOME!!!). 

Tiffany picked me up and we headed to Red Rock for a super yummy dinner (Italian food). From there we went downtown where they were having the Third Friday Art Walk, it was really low key, but the entertainment and the people made it fun. 

After enjoying the entertainment, Tiffany took me to one of her favorite spots to spend time, Jacksonville. It's a cute historic, gold rush era town. It is quaint, full of charm and historic buildings. We walked through town and up the hill to Britt Gardens where we found out Bobby McFarrin was performing!!!!  We decided we didn't want to buy tickets, but because it's an outdoor venue we would hang out and listen for a little while. In wandering around the grounds, we wandered into the "artist area" where we were very politely escorted out...hehehehe. We enjoyed the concert, with a few lightning strikes thrown in to make sure we were paying attention. 

The night was wonderful. I loved spending time with Tiffany and it was such a treat to see her town through her eyes!

To see all the pictures I took, click here.