Day at the "beach"

Minnesota is the state of 10,000 lakes. Well, today Doug and I visited one of those 10 thousand lakes. Lake Nakomis was named after the grandmother of the main Indian in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, The Song of Hiawatha. Hiawatha's grandma has a pretty sweet lake, and Doug and I beached it up there. We laid out and soaked in some rays and cooled off in the lake. The lake is home to many fish, including the Black Crappie. That is right... some fish out there is called the Black Crappie and I swam in the same water as it. Kinda gross, but I took a shower as soon as we got home. I am far away from the sandy beaches of my hometown in Southern California, but I will settle for the pebble/slightly sandy (it is actually imported sand) beaches of Minneapolis.

The Juicy Lucy!

So prior to coming out to Minnesota Doug did some research on the state. The most important kind of research is where the best food places are, right? Right. So Doug found out that Minneapolis is famous for the Juicy Lucy, which is a burger molded around American Cheese which melts between the patties. Sounds kinda gross, but let me tell you, a once hater has been converted to the Juicy Lucy. Doug and I started by finding the establishment, Matt's Bar. I have never been in a bar before, so I wasn't sure what to do once we got there. We just stood there and waited for a table to open up. There was only one waitress for the entire bar, and that girl was all over the place taking orders, cleaning tables, delivering food, and leaving bills. She was pretty efficient considering she was the only waitress for the entire bar. 

Doug and I ordered Cherry Cokes while we waited patiently for our burgers. It was cool because even though it was a bar there were still plenty of families there getting their Juicy Lucy's and soda for the kids. Once our burgers finally came the waitress said, "Now, you know about biting into hot cheese right?" Us: "Oh yeah, right, hot cheese, yup." and then you take a bit and YIKES! That American cheese is HOT! Once you let it cool down a bit it is sooo good! I am now addicted. It makes for a fun night out with the husband, and a messy cheesy burger is always fun! Come to Minneapolis and get one, you won't be disappointed.

Welcome to Minneapolis!

We finally made it to Minnesota! Who knew that Minneapolis would be so beautiful! This place really is amazing, minus the extreme humidity. Doug and I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and our moving truck didn't come until late Wednesday evening. We were able to work quickly though, and we unloaded everything by 10 that night. We worked until midnight to organize everything, and then went to pick up Doug's parents at the airport. It took us about 10 minutes to drive to the airport to pick them up. It was super easy and fast!

While Doug's parents were here we did lots of fun things! They were also so great to help us organize our apartment. The first day we went to the St. Paul Cathedral. It was amazingly huge. So much detail in all of their sculptures. Everything feels like it is over the top! 

So after we went to see the Cathedral, we went to see the LDS temple. It was pretty, and surprisingly super small. This temple recommends that you call in advance to make reservations to do a session. That is very different from what Doug and I are used to in Provo. We are very excited to do family history work though and visit the temple often here. We took a few quick pictures at the temple, and then we were off to the Mall of America!

The Mall of America is huge. So huge that there is an amusement park with a roller coaster inside. There are 4 levels to it, and we were at the mall for two hours and we only saw the bottom 1st level. This will take me a few trips before I can fully get a feel for the Mall of America. I also need to find a job quick if I want to fully enjoy what the Mall of America has to offer. 

The next day we went to the local Art Festival. It was great! Over 150 artists in the area came with booths and art. It was a very humid day, so that made it tough to be outside, but we had a great time looking at art, eating festival foods like deep fried cheese curds and kettle corn popcorn, and walking around the Powderhorn Lake. 

Cheese curds deep fried... actually pretty good!

After the art festival we headed to downtown Minneapolis. We didn't realize this until after went left downtown, but we live about 5 minutes from downtown, and we just have to stay on the main road we live off of to get there. Its amazing how we can feel like we are living in a small quite neighborhood, and then take a 5 minute drive into a downtown busy city. Pretty cool! So once we got downtown we checked out the awesome buildings there. We walked through the skyways, which are designed to connect major buildings so you don't ever have to walk outside in the cold Minnesota winters. We visited the library which was huge, and finally went to a fancy dinner at Fogo de Chao (very similar to Tucanos) and a movie, Planet of the Apes. I want a baby monkey now. Then I will give it away when it gets too big. 

On Sunday, the last full day that Doug's parents were here, we went to church and then visited a local park. Church was an interesting experience. Very different from what I am used to in Utah, but I think Doug and I will have great opportunities there to learn and grow, and make friends with all kinds of people. There is lots of diversity in Minneapolis, so this is good for me to break out of the bubble of Provo. After a Sunday nap, we went to the Minnehaha Park which is just down the road from us, and we visited the Minnehaha Falls. It was amazing! So pretty! Places like these make me feel more confident about the move. It was beautiful and it felt good for my soul to be in nature enjoying it and soaking it all in. They had bikes you could rent and ride around the park in. They also had ice cream and a little restaurant as well. The park was packed with people laughing, riding bikes, picnicking, hiking, playing horse shoes, doing yoga, and just enjoying a lazy Sunday. This is my most favorite place I have been to yet in Minneapolis. I felt so good there. If you ever visit the Robinson's in Minnesota, this will be a place we will take you. Expect it, and love it!

Thank you Ron and Lenny for coming out and visiting us! We had a great time with you and we already miss you! Thank you for being so great and we will see you again soon we hope!

Road Trip, part deux and 1/2

After we left Wall, we headed to the Badlands. This is a national park with really interesting wind blown structures. It was awesome, however, we entered the wrong way, so we were backtracking. We paid $15 to drive half way in, and then turn back around and drive the other way so we wouldn't be backtracking so much. It was a cool stop. Amazing how this earth is blessed with such unique structures. 

After the Badlands, we stopped at the 1880's town. This is a town which is replicated after life in the 1880s. People dress up in 1800 wear, there are blacksmith shops, a school house and other old stuff that probably sounds awesome, but not for $18. This was one of our planned stops along the way, however, a quick peek through the fence was all we needed to feel like we could move on to the next stop, which was Sioux Falls!

We arrived to our last stop before Minneapolis at around 4 PM. We were so excited to finally stop and rest since we had gotten no sleep the night before. We stayed at the Holiday Inn and slept in the most lovely king size bed. It was so worth it. Ahhh to take a nice shower and sleep in fluffy clean sheets. Nothing better. After a quick nap, we got dinner at the Cracker Barrel and then saw a movie. Crazy, Stupid, Love was great, I laughed out loud, felt connected to the characters, and even got a little misty eyed. Doug and I really enjoyed our stay at Sioux Falls. In the morning, we headed to the actual falls. They were surprisingly big, for a place that has no mountains or even hills. Sioux Falls, thank you for a great date night with my husband, a wonderful night sleep, and beautiful falls. 

Road Trip, part deux!

Day two of our journey begins as we leave Custer. Both Doug and I were so tired, driving miles and miles across South Dakota was difficult. We had to keep playing music, talking, and slapping our faces to keep us awake. The first place we stopped was the very first McDonald's we saw since Park City, which was in Rapid City. I have never been so excited to see a McDonald's. It was kinda funny, I felt like a little kid. After our bellies were full of Egg McMuffins, we were off to see Mount Rushmore! The drive was amazing. So beautiful to be driving through miles of trees and nature. At one point, Doug got out to look at an overlook. We didn't see anything at the overlook and were confused why this would be a place of interest to stop, but then we looked up, and saw a familiar face peeking between the mountains. 

It was so early in the morning, that when we got to the actual park where we could see the faces up close, no one was at the gates to take payment for our entry. The gate was open though, so we went in and were able to see the entire Mount Rushmore all alone, all by ourselves. It was amazing. It was quiet, peaceful, and such an amazing site to see. If you have never been, I really recommend seeing it. I really loved going and seeing Mount Rushmore up close. It was especially awesome because it was just Doug and I at the park. No crowds at 6 AM in the morning makes seeing this place really special. 

 Had to sneak in another plank... Doug was getting tired of these shots...

 At the park they have all the state's flags. We found Minnesota! 

And we really miss California. We hope to visit soon!

So after seeing the most awesome sculpted mountain there ever was, we then continued on our way. Our next stop was Wall, South Dakota. Even if this had not been a planned stop, we would have gone anyway. There were signs for Wall Drug as soon as we left Mount Rushmore. It would have been a sin had we not stopped at Wall Drug. It was cool though. They had a large General Store there and we were able to do everything touristy you would want to do there. We bought some salt water taffy and I got to picture taking!

 No idea why there would be a huge jackrabbit here, but it made for a good picture.

 There were actually a lot of Indians at Wall Drug

 Doug getting fresh with one of the ladies

 Now Doug changed his mind, and decided to be faithful to his new bride

I played coy with this cowboy...

Road Trip!

 So Doug and I started our road trip on Thursday. We loaded and packed the trailer up to the very last inch, I did a quick plank, and then it was off to our first destination... Park City! We went up there to spend some time with Doug's Aunt Jackie and Uncle Don and sister Erin. Jackie made a delicious dinner, and then we got to sleep in the master bedroom. Super nice! The next morning, we headed on the official road trip. We were off to Wyoming! 

 

The last picture taken in Utah :(

So Doug and I started on our way going on the I-80 through Wyoming. There is nothing there I tell you. Lots of just open space. Doug was kind enough to drive the whole way, and I was his navigator. While we were driving through Wyoming, we randomly hit tons of traffic on a one way highway, while all at the same time coming across an LDS museum of sorts. Martin's Cove was right off the highway, so we took the opportunity to take a break and let traffic die down. While there we learned all about the Martin Handcart company, the trials they went through, and I even got to take a picture by a real handcart! The picture below is Devil's gate, where pioneers passed through to seek shelter in Martin's Cove. I am so glad I never had to endure what the pioneers had to go through!

 

 So once we saw everything we needed to see, we were back on the road!

And we were on the road for a long time. There honestly is nothing to see in Wyoming, other than dessert. It was by the time we rolled into Custer, South Dakota that things began to change. It is beautiful there. South Dakota was so different from Wyoming mostly because there is so many trees, and it had fast food there. We did not see a single food joint the whole way through Wyoming. For dinner we had Dairy Queen... yumm!

We were so tired by the time we got into Custer, that we wanted to just eat and get into a hotel and crash. We went to a motel that got really good reviews, but they only had a smoking room, and we didn't want to sleep in that. We decided to just go down the road to the Custer Motel since it was the closest, and seemed to be the cheapest thing there. It was $65 a night, but what we got was not worth that $65. The bed was a full, and the cover (I can't even call it a bed spread because it was one of those pads that goes over the bed and never gets washed) was disgusting. The shower had an uneven floor and we didn't even attempt to see if it worked. Our hand towels had little bugs crawling in them, and the bathroom had a window right where you sit down, but no blinds or shades to cover it. It was lovely. We were so grossed out by the place, that neither of us slept more than 2 hours that night. We watched a movie at 3 AM, tossed and turned until 5, and we were out of there by 5:30 AM. If you ever pass through Custer, SD, I wouldn't recommend the Custer Motel. 

Before we left Custer for the next day of the Road trip, I had to get one picture in of the Flintstones park. It was a random camp site/amusement park in Custer. It was 5:30 AM, we were so sleepy, but I again had to plank in front of the more random place I had ever seen (per request of Matt).