Minneapolis-St. Paul

I have fallen behind in my Blog posts, but it was really on purpose.  I thought to condense my thoughts about Minnesota in one blog post. Our trip here from Branson was in two segments. Branson to Des Moines was a long segment and it had recently rained and the KOA was a muddy mess, but it was just an overnight stop. The next day, our trip was a short one--or would have been if I hadn't put the wrong address into Waze. But we finally arrived at Town and Country RV Campground with plenty of daylight left. 

Herb is still dealing with a partially torn rotator cuff, so after wrestling this rig 300 miles or so, he needs a day of rest, so Monday was it , except for locating the stores that have stuff we really need. Costco has Fonzie's prescription and PetSmart carries the brand of weight management dry food that Touly eats and neither was available in Branson.

Tuesday we  went to Mall of America. It is as advertised--YUUUUGE! We saw about a ¼ of it Tuesday, went back yesterday (Friday) and still have more to see. We were pleasantly surprised that the MOA sets apart some spaces for active duty military and veterans.  The center of the mall is an full-sized amusement park with lots of rides. Food is broken down to fast-food and more upscale restaurants. We loved Noodles and Company. Herb said his Beef Stroganoff was very good and my buttered noodles and Parmesan was to die for. 

Wednesday we saw the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Has a lot of great exhibits. And it's free! On Thursday we went to the Science Museum of Minnesota--it was very entertaining. Tons of school kids competing for the various science stations with a few old fogies like us. 

Yesterday we for a short hike to the Minnehaha Falls and we got some wonderful pictures.

Today we went to the Minnesota Zoo. It's certainly one of the best zoos I have ever seen. The animal habitats are really well done and they had animals that I have never seen. And Margaritas--they had Margaritas! 

It sounds like we are on the go all of the time, but in truth, we limit our excursions to about 4 hrs and get back to the RV in time to get a nap in. The lack of stress we no longer feel related to chores that we SHOULD be doing is wonderful! I highly recommend it!

Minnesota is beautiful, green with big trees and woods. The people are warm and friendly. Their drivers are polite. In California, a turn signal is an invitation for drivers behind you to get ahead of you. Here they actually wave you over. (With all of their fingers, mind you!). I miss sunrises and sunsets, but you need a horizon for that.

Info on the zoo which is on the top-10 US zoos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_ZooLeer más