The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
Minnesota is a lovely place and I really wish we'd had more time to explore it instead of just racing through it so quickly. From the Mall of America in Bloomington to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota feels very cosmopolitan and yet very down to earth and unpretentious. There is a sophisticated yet friendly air about the place. There are many immigrant communities particularly scandinavian … [Read more...]
Leaving Iowa behind, all my kids could talk about was the Mall of America. How big was so big, that it's the biggest in the country is what we all wanted to know. As we drove up, it looked pretty huge, but not bigger than some of the other humongous malls we've seen. By the grace of G-d we found an unbelievably close parking space and made our way to the doors right under the big red white and blue … [Read more...]
If you don't know already, The Explore All 50 crew loves Perkins. It's just all around, no frills good food with something to satisfy every taste. Wherever we are and we're at a loss about the local fare, and everyone is too tired and hungry to be experimental, we see if there is a local Perkins. Such was the case in Minneapolis. After a long day of driving and some sketchy food in Iowa, we needed a place we … [Read more...]
We would never have discovered the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden also known as the Walker Art Center, had it not been for my youngest son Joel's curiosity. As we were driving up to Minneapolis, Joel my front seat co-pilot was holding my guidebook staring intently at a photo of the sculpture of the spoon with the cherry that you see here. Joel insisted that we find it and after a little bit of creative sleuthing … [Read more...]
The Minnesota State Capitol Building is a stately structure with the requisite dome columns and other ornamentation like so many others. What is unique is the gold leafed 'quadriga" (a four horse chariot) up on the roof. Supposedly the four horses represent the power of nature: earth, wind, fire and water. The women leading the horses symbolize civilization, and the man on the chariot represents prosperity. We … [Read more...]
During the planning phase of this trip, the theme sort of came to me just by looking at the activities and historic sites. Many things had to do with waves of different groups who came to settle in these states to begin a new life far from the foreign lands they’d come from. It’s what makes cities across this area so interesting and unique—places like Chicago, a wonderfully diverse city where you can explore … [Read more...]
