Tag: birthday trip

Paul Bunyan and Other Big Things

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A few posts ago, I mentioned that April and I had penchant for searching for “World’s Biggest [insert random object here]”–well, this trip was filled with them!  I mean, how else are you going to break up a long road trip?

sidenote: now that I’m thinking about it, Minnesota and Australia seem to have a large number of “World’s Biggest” objects.  And I would also like to express my personal belief that if you’ve never seen the World’s Biggest Prawn in Ballina, NSW Australia, your life really is never going to be completely whole.  Of course, you could disagree with me, but well….you’d be wrong.

Anyway, back to Minnesota and this trip.  April had already marked out several stops to see big things, such as the World’s Biggest Walleye.

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However, this turned out to be a BIG FAT LIE.  It’s not the biggest.  We have actually seen one bigger (ha! that’s what she said!!).  It was on my first trip to Minnesota years ago.

see? this one is A LOT bigger!

see? this one is A LOT bigger!

We also stopped to see the World’s Largest Hockey Stick.

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I’m not arguing this point…it’s dangerous to even talk about hockey in Minnesota unless you’ve grown up there (or Canada) and since I grew up in neither place, I respectfully abstain from commenting…except to say that is also the biggest hockey puck I’ve ever seen.

While it took a bit of a detour and it’s hard to see the scale, this is apparently the World’s Largest Loon.  It didn’t appear to be anchored, but of course, it could have just been on a really long line (The World’s Longest, perhaps?).

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I’ve already shown you the large lumberjack–again, not the biggest in the world but pretty darn big–and Smokey the Bear, which was the largest Smokey I’ve seen…does a bigger one exist?  I’m not entirely sure.  But if it does, then that’s one biiiiiiiiiiig bear.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

The highlight of this trip (in terms of World’s Biggest objects) was Paul Bunyan and Babe.  As long as I’ve been visiting Minnesota, I’ve been trying to track this elusive legend and his blue ox [click here for the story!].  We got close on my first trip, but…something didn’t seem quite right.  Perhaps it was the blatant advertising for the bowling alley that shared its parking lot with the Minnesota icons?

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Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t imagine Paul Bunyan and Babe bowling with anything so…small…

This trip was totally different.  As soon as we pulled up, we knew it was the real deal.  Paul Bunyan and Babe.  My quest at last was over–and in the process–a few more World’s Largest objects added to my collection!

I HEART ROADTRIPS! 🙂

Chinese Non-Delivery

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Remember in my earlier posts about it being the start of low season and everything closing up early?  Turns out, that affected the food industry as well.  Since our deck had not one, but two grills, we decided it might be fun to grill something for dinner.  We found a grocery store, strolled around for awhile, but nothing struck our fancy.  So we decided Chinese delivery sounded great, bought some candy and left.

Get back to B&B, find the menu, and notice that they don’t offer delivery service between October and April.  Great! Fantastic!  We peruse through the rest of the menus that would deliver–at least in October–but nothing sounded as good, so we opted to go back into town to pick up dinner.  Besides, I needed coffee supplies anyway–because thankfully while April was reading the menu, I was exploring kitchen supplies and noticed the only coffee on hand was decaf.  DECAF!  DEEEEEECAAAAAAFFFFFFFF.  Who does that?!?!? Plus it also allowed us to pick up blizzards at Dairy Queen–so in the end, it was quite a successful jaunt into town.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  Chinese delivery take-out:  it’s 7:40pm when we call.  It’ll take about 30 minutes, can we be there by 8pm?  Uh, what?  Okay [definitely not arguing with getting our food faster].  She gives me the price and the address and just happens to mention not to be late because they close at 8pm.  Okay.  BY 8PM [she just keeps repeating this].  Message received loud and clear.  We arrive at 7:53pm because, well, we definitely wanted our food–not just because we were hungry–rather we weren’t sure if any other food options would still be open other than the 24-hour gas mart.  At this point we were even panicking that DQ might be closed.

Fortunately it was still open.

With food, blizzards, and coffee supplies in our hot little hands, we returned back to the B&B for a quiet night in, playing Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit.  And for those of you in my life who think I’m a LotR’s fanatic, I just want you to know that April kicked my ass!

International Falls

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Things change.  I know, I know–let the eye rolling begin.  However, I am only mentioning this because for my 30th birthday I received the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die.  In the USA chapters, it lists International Falls, MN as one of these places.

I have been dropping hints to April left, right, and center EVERY SINGLE TRIP–or even mention of a trip–to Minnesota I’ve made since I got this book.  For 10 long years has poor April had to endure these not so subtle hints, which is apparently her ceiling for being harassed 😉

International Falls, MN:  one of top 1000 places to see before you die?  Ummmm…I’m going to have to agree to disagree on this one.  DO NOT GET ME WRONG.  It’s a great little town, and yes, we were there during start of low season, but the Falls–which are to be the highlight of International Falls–are actually covered/been diverted or something the nice border patrol agent told us that I can’t remember right now…

It is also known as the coldest place in the United States, but honestly, I have NO DESIRE WHATSOEVER to experience that.

What you don’t want to miss is the giant Smokey Bear in the middle of town.

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Oh c’mon…don’t even act like you aren’t going to stop the car and take a couple of pictures if you were driving through and saw it.  Besides, April and I have a penchant for tracking down the “World’s Largest [fill in blank here]”.  I could probably create an entire blog for that, but instead you’ll just have to settle for a few posts.

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It was a nice change of pace and the scenery was gorgeous.  We stayed in a cute B&B right on water.  It was right outside of town and had a large lumberjack to greet us!

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Because we were the only ones there that night, we were upgraded to the biggest suite.  It was rather peaceful just sitting out on the deck–albeit a bit surreal knowing that I was looking at Canada.  It was also rather remote.  Sure there was a railroad and were a lot of cabins and houses around, but most were vacant and or sparsely filled.  Not that we minded, it allowed us time to wander around the neighborhood.

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It was fun and I’m very glad that we went…even if the entire trip April kept giving me looks of “this is why I’m confused why you were so insistent about coming here.”  Should you go?  Absolutely!  Must you see it before you die? I’m gonna say no.  There were other places on our trip that I thought were more must-sees than International Falls, which is why you should always listen to your local guide darling friend that grew up there, even if a book suggests otherwise!

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PS–I do want to leave you with a bit of advice: if you do go to International Falls, MN and you get a slightly remote B&B by the water and you and your friend are the only ones in the house that has no locks and your friend who lovingly drove the entire trip turns in early because she’s tired, you should NOT start a Criminal Minds marathon.  I’m just saying…creeeeeeeepy!

Have Passport, Will Roadtrip.

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You always travel with your passport, right?

Of course, I keep it with me all the time–because you never know when you might have to leave the country quickly.

I thought so, but I wanted to double check…and well, remind you to bring your passport.

Like for Birthday Trip #1, my only requests for Birthday Trip #2 is to go somewhere I hadn’t been before and I didn’t want to plan it (wow, I really AM a prima donna!).  Once we had decided that MSP would be our starting point, I pretty much let April take over the planning.  And by pretty much, I mean totally (thanks, April, for allowing me to foist that upon you!).

So when the aforementioned conversation happened, I was hopeful that Canada was going to make the itinerary.  I mean, April does live in a border state.  But one never knows, perhaps you now need a passport to go to South Dakota.  All I was told is that my first full day in Minnesota would be an early start and I would need a change of clothes.

Passport?  Check!

Extra clothes?  Check!

Snacks?  DOUBLE CHECK! (what?  this is me–April knew snacks were her best bet to keep me awake during our drive).

Coffee?  First stop, right around corner from April’s house.

As we pulled out of the parking lot, April handed me a stack of papers:

You navigate.  And since you’re bound to figure out soon, if you haven’t done so already, we’re headed for Canada, so if you forgot your passport now would be the time to say something.

I’m quite sure I squealed in response.  In less than a month, I went from the most southern point to the top of the country.  I was excited.  Six hours and change is how long it took to get our destination: International Falls, MN.   This meant that I could cross another place off from my 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book.  Don’t roll your eyes at me–it’s the little things in life.

During our drive north, the foliage changed considerably–from barely any change in the Twin Cities to nearly bare trees when we got to International Falls.  It was quite a beautiful contrast to the plush greenery of Florida.

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Thirsty Thursday #13

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In trying to find pictures for Throwback Thursday, I realized I have a lot of pictures of adult beverages (that is said with pride, by the way). As such, I’ve decided that rather than share pictures of me with bad 80s hair and glasses that legitimately covered half my face, I could easily share glasses of a much tastier kind. So without further ado, I present to you Thirsty Thursday!

Just when you thought I’d given up telling you about all my Fabulous Not Forty Birthday Trips, wham! I’m back!

Chances are if you are flying between MSP and NYC, you’re going to have a layover.  Not always, mind you, but mostly.  It’s usually at O’Hare, but this trip it was Milwaukee.  And when in Milwaukee, one MUST have beer (if, of course, one is over 21 or accompanied by a parent, guardian, or spouse over 21).

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This is the Leinenkugel (try saying that 10 times fast!) Oktoberfest.  I enjoy Oktoberfest beers–they’re not my absolute favorite, but in October I think it’s always a refreshing change.  This one was smooth and had a bit more body than I was anticipating (that’s not a bad thing, mind you).  It paired well with my southwest egg rolls (any guesses where I was eating?).  My connecting flight has been delayed and just as I was about to order another, there was an announcement that we’d be boarding soon.  No time to pout because if I hurried, I might have time to grab a coffee from the cafe still open a few gates down…

Thirsty Thursday #12

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In trying to find pictures for Throwback Thursday, I realized I have a lot of pictures of adult beverages (that is said with pride, by the way). As such, I’ve decided that rather than share pictures of me with bad 80s hair and glasses that legitimately covered half my face, I could easily share glasses of a much tastier kind. So without further ado, I present to you Thirsty Thursday!

This week’s Thirsty Thursday is brought to you by BeckyJack’s Food Shack.  And they’re not lying.  It’s a shack, but the beer is cold AND they are always changing what’s on tap–so it’s a great excuse to go back again and again and again.  Oh yeah, and the food is amazing!

I really wanted to take a "menu" but I think they only had 3 available!

I really wanted to take a “menu” but I think they only had a handful available!

It’s definitely one place you don’t wanna miss when in the area…or the State of Florida.  I’m so glad that I ended my wonderful Fabulous Not Forty Birthday Trip #1 on such a tasty note…literally.  After we left Orlando, we came back to Spring Hill for a few days to lounge around and just hang-out.  On my last day, we went to BeckyJack’s for an unforgettable lunch of crab cakes and fish sandwiches.  We then drove back to the house, put the suitcases in the car, made one final sweep of the house to make sure I hadn’t left anything (but of course, I had…because I always do!) and off to the airport we went!

Don’t panic–don’t panic! I wouldn’t leave without giving you a beer pic on Thirsty Thursday (unless it was wine or whiskey!) 😉

Kona Brewery ale....of some sort (I can't remember--and of course, the beers on tap are constantly rotating!)

Kona Brewery Big Wave Golden Ale