Tonight we celebrated with a late dinner at Sea Salt Eatery near the Minnehaha Falls. When the harmonica player took a break, we ate our fish tacos and spoke over the loud choir of crickets.
This is Dave being proud of me…
August 24, 2011
July 25, 2011
Nice Pub Ride
A couple weeks ago, friends from Cincinnati were planning to visit. They’ve never been to Minneapolis before so we thought, what better way to show them our city than a bicycling pub crawl aka: “Nice Pub Ride.”
Here were our destinations…
1. The Herkimer
2. Stella’s Fish Cafe
3. Joe’s Garage
4. Brit’s Pub
5. The Bulldog Northeast
6. Tuggs Tavern
Some of us used our own bikes, everyone else used the Nice Rides, which were perfect for out-of-towners.
Everyone wore a white shirt and had a sharpie. They were told that there would be mystery prizes at the end of the pub crawl. The pub crawlers let their imaginations run wild. Some shirts had signatures from bartenders/waitresses, others had tallies, and some just had other artwork to remember the night.
There were also games at various bars, such as shuffleboard at the Herkimer:
and lawn bowling at Brit’s:
And a pub crawl wouldn’t be complete without a scavenger hunt. I googled and found this one:
___ 6 different brands of beer caps
___ 5 signed business cards
___ 3 different matchbooks or lighters
___ 1 take-out menu
___ 1 bar coupon
___ 1 coaster with bar logo
___ 3 different napkins with bar logo
___ 1 cocktail umbrella
___ 3 different colored stir sticks
___ 1 shot glass with the bar logo
___ 1 liquor bottle label
___ 1 house drink recipe signed by the bartender
___ 1 embellished toothpick
___ 1 empty mini liquor bottle
___ 1 wine bottle cork
The day resulted in no injuries, no DWIs, and one minor accident. Everyone stayed on time and on the map. All-in-all it was a great day! I’m already thinking about a new route for next summer.
June 29, 2011
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve gotten a crew of new followers. I welcome you with a few photos of my weekend (a little late, but better late than never right?)…
The weekend began with one of my old besties from our days in Cincinnati.
We started with my fave breakfast at French Meadow Bakery, I had the breakfast sandwich. The boys had breakfast burritos. Mmmm!
Next we checked out the Delta block party which is for employees, friends and family. Followed by a little Pride event at Loring Park. My pal, Jason, got to taste his very first (and long overdue) cheese curds!
After the festivities, we hopped over the mighty Mississippi to enjoy the skyline at sunset from Tugg’s patio.
And while we were on a roll with firsts, we headed to Chino Latino and had Jason take his first saki bomb…
and try his first sushi roll.
Then slowed things down with a “Cha cha cha Mojito” and a “Habanero Mojito” (not on the menu. Spicy and tasty.)
Evidence of a fun/busy day decorated my wrist at the end of the night.
Sunday came too quick as Jason had to leave us so soon. But before he did, we rode downtown on a couple Nice Rides (luggage in tow) to the pride parade.
(Katie, start blogging again.)
Here are a couple things we saw…
What a lovely weekend.
May 23, 2011
Twin Cities deemed healthiest in USA
The Twin Cities Minneapolis-St. Paul are the healthiest, fittest cities in the USA, followed by Washington, D.C., and Boston, according to a new analysis of the 50 most populous metro areas.
“It takes a healthy community to produce a healthy population, and Minneapolis-St. Paul is a beautiful place to live if you’re interested in a physically active lifestyle,” says Barbara Ainsworth, president-elect of the sports medicine group and a professor in Arizona State University’s exercise and wellness program in Phoenix.
Source: American Fitness Index from the American College of Sports Medicine Among the reasons the Twin Cities ranked No. 1: a lower-than-average obesity rate, an above-average percentage of residents who exercise, a relatively low smoking rate and moderate-to-low rates of chronic health problems such as asthma, heart disease and diabetes. Plus the area has lots of parks and recreational facilities.
Minneapolis was one of the first cities to have organized bicycle trails and to prohibit smoking in public places, she says, and it has many parks and public golf courses.
Almost 16% of land in the city is park land vs. an average of 10% in other cities across the country, Ainsworth says. “The parks are filled with baseball diamonds, tennis courts, walking trails so there are many different ways to be active.”
This makes me proud!
(Source: USA Today)
May 22, 2011
Many of the students I teach live in this area. I have no idea how many of them have been affected by this storm, but it’s horrifying to see the damage.
Dave and I were just across the river in Northeast Minneapolis at Art-a-whirl when this all happened. We had no idea how severe the storm was when we heard the sirens. It’s silly to think how foolish we were and I’m sure many others were to just ignore the warnings and carry on with our afternoon.
Tonight, we’re counting our blessings and feeling very thankful. I’m hoping all my students and their families are safe and have somewhere to sleep tonight. Read more here.
Tony Webster has some scary shots of the damage up in nomi on his flickr page.
(via weeks101)
May 18, 2011
Husb and I at Lynlake street fest last Sunday celebrating his birthday.
May 15, 2011
April 27, 2011
10 Best Trips of Summer 2011
Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary destination for your summer vacation? Check out these 10 top trips, hand-picked by National Geographic Traveler editors as the best of summer 2011.
4. Minneapolis, Minnesota
A pedestrian-and-pedal-friendly downtown and welcoming Midwestern vibe make it easy for first-time visitors to quickly feel at home in Minneapolis. Snow can fall here from October to April, so the arrival of warm weather launches a full throttle, June-August celebration of arts, music, and cultural festivals (check out the Minneapolis Aquatennial, July 16-24); farmers markets (17); and fan-friendly Minnesota Twins baseball (played downtown at Target Field—ranked the top sports stadium in North America by ESPN The Magazine). Survey the vibrant scene from the new CRAVE restaurant rooftop patio near the State Theatre, then grab a bike at the nearest Nice Ride Minnesota kiosk ($5 plus trip fees) and cruise all or part of the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, a 50-mile urban trail loop. With 22 city lakes and the mighty Mississippi, playing on, in or near the water always is an option. Indoor activities center on the city’s 57 museums and the 4.2 million-square-foot Mall of America housing 520 plus stores and Nickelodeon Universe, the nation’s largest indoor family theme park.
Wow. Here is how the top ten list looked…
1. Muskoka Cottage Country, Ontario, Canada
2. Patagonia, Argentina
3. San Juan Islands, Washington
4. Minneapolis
5. Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
6. Cardiff, Wales
7. Stockholm Archipelago, Sweden
8. Azores, Portugal
9. Roatan, Honduras
10. Istria, CroatiaSuck on that Portland.
(Source: National Geographic)
April 11, 2011
The bikes are back. My bike still hasn’t had its spring tune up so I hopped on one of these tonight and took it around the lakes. One week later and the ice is gone!
April 9, 2011
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