Ahhh, the midwest…a place not many people think to go on vacation, and a place I’ve only flown over, never to.

I had the chance to go with a friend from work whose family was from that area, and over the course of 6 days I saw so many beautiful things!

The first thing we did the day we arrived was tour downtown Minneapolis.  I got to see/experience the skyway system, which lets people move around 5 miles of the city by enclosed, interconnected walkways so people don’t have to go outside.  That helps during the heat of summer and bitter cold of winter.  I experienced Brit’s Pub, complete with lawn bowling.  We saw the view from the observation deck of the Foshay Tower, took a walk through the sculpture garden and made our way to the cantilevered observation bridge of the Guthrie Theatre.  All over the city one could see manicured gardens, clean streets, and nice people…a bit different from what most of us are used to. 🙂

Downtown

The next day, guess what I saw?  That’s right…I saw the state capital building in St. Paul, which is only a few miles from Minneapolis.  It’s a bit smaller, but still a gem.  The state house was beautiful, as was the nearby cathedral.  From there, we drove to Harriet Island to get a riverboat cruise down the Mississippi.  After that we toured the limestone Wabasha street caves where gangsters used to hang out!

For our day-trip, we decided to go to Duluth, which is a few hours north on the edge of Lake Superior.  We toured Glensheen, which is a large estate that overlooked the Lake, much like the mansions of Newport, RI.  We ate a picnic and continued on to the River Walk before touring the William A Irvin iron ship. We also got to see the aerial lift bridge in action, which was awesome.  Lake Superior is so huge that you can see it from wherever you are in Duluth, and even though it was foggy the day I was there, it was still awe-inspiring and perhaps a bit eerie!

Lake Superior

We had absolutely perfect weather for the entire trip and we made use of every minute.  Before leaving my midwest experience, I got to see many small lakes (naturally), a rose garden, Minnehaha Falls, the oldest church in Minnesota, the Science Museum (with omnitheatre Arabia show) and Como Park with its live butterfly exhibit, conservatory, zoo and Japanese garden.