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Sep. 26th, 2012 01:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolariDay 2 - Minneapolis
After waking up with a bit more sentience than the day before, my day with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aspasia13. After a hearty midwestern breakfast we visited the Como Park. We were both dirt poor, and looking for something cheap to do that would also be fun, and this was a zoo AND a greenhouse. They had these really old mold-a-rama plkastic figurine things I remember from when I was a kid. I had a space shuttle once. :D
The zoo, was pretty packed for a free zoo, and they were actually rebuilding.expanding the gorilla habitat. LOTS of neat stuff there, including the cutest lion sleeping in a wading pool. Just like they have on the Serengetti Plains. It was a little chilly that day, and the orangutans seemed to be huddled up. I wonder how the animals fare during the brutal winters.
From there, we hit her hometown of Stillwater, MN. It was a smaller town, about the size of New Braunfels for you Texans, and Redmond, for you Washingtonians.
We continued through town up the St Croix river and pulled into a beach along a boom area where they used to catch trees that were being floated down the river. There was a really neat large firepit there, as well as a (sealed off) cave we explored (well, sort of explored, it was only about 50 feet to the seal).
The St Croix river is gigantic, at least to me. I mean, the Mississippi at New Orleans was MASSIVE, but rivers in Texas are just kinda...small. Seeing the river floating by (and a parked private boat where some folks were having lunch, was really nice. We continued up the ways a bit, and actually crossed into Wisconsin, just so I could add Wisconsin to my list of states we visited.
On the way back, Aspasia took me to her old stomping grounds, and then back to her place for a small pit stop and look around. We extended our stay a bit and got some Chinese for dinner. Back at Tesses, we all watched some movies and just relaxed for a bit before bed.
I was really amazed at how much this felt like Texas. Even the terrain went from flat to rolling Hill Country style hills. If it weren't for the dotted lakes everywhere, I could totally believe I was driving through the Hill Country. The people in MN are my version of Texas Friendly (or as many PNW folks say, superficially friendly), and smiles given are returned. Although mostly tinged with "Was there something I could help you with?"
I gotta say, I really like Minnesota. A lot. But then again, I wasn't there in the middle of February. :D
After waking up with a bit more sentience than the day before, my day with
aspasia13. After a hearty midwestern breakfast we visited the Como Park. We were both dirt poor, and looking for something cheap to do that would also be fun, and this was a zoo AND a greenhouse. They had these really old mold-a-rama plkastic figurine things I remember from when I was a kid. I had a space shuttle once. :DThe zoo, was pretty packed for a free zoo, and they were actually rebuilding.expanding the gorilla habitat. LOTS of neat stuff there, including the cutest lion sleeping in a wading pool. Just like they have on the Serengetti Plains. It was a little chilly that day, and the orangutans seemed to be huddled up. I wonder how the animals fare during the brutal winters.
From there, we hit her hometown of Stillwater, MN. It was a smaller town, about the size of New Braunfels for you Texans, and Redmond, for you Washingtonians.
We continued through town up the St Croix river and pulled into a beach along a boom area where they used to catch trees that were being floated down the river. There was a really neat large firepit there, as well as a (sealed off) cave we explored (well, sort of explored, it was only about 50 feet to the seal).
The St Croix river is gigantic, at least to me. I mean, the Mississippi at New Orleans was MASSIVE, but rivers in Texas are just kinda...small. Seeing the river floating by (and a parked private boat where some folks were having lunch, was really nice. We continued up the ways a bit, and actually crossed into Wisconsin, just so I could add Wisconsin to my list of states we visited.
On the way back, Aspasia took me to her old stomping grounds, and then back to her place for a small pit stop and look around. We extended our stay a bit and got some Chinese for dinner. Back at Tesses, we all watched some movies and just relaxed for a bit before bed.
I was really amazed at how much this felt like Texas. Even the terrain went from flat to rolling Hill Country style hills. If it weren't for the dotted lakes everywhere, I could totally believe I was driving through the Hill Country. The people in MN are my version of Texas Friendly (or as many PNW folks say, superficially friendly), and smiles given are returned. Although mostly tinged with "Was there something I could help you with?"
I gotta say, I really like Minnesota. A lot. But then again, I wasn't there in the middle of February. :D
