You betcha I went to Minnesota

    Ya’ll, it’s been a minute, I know.

I graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and a minor in Business Administration from Ole Miss. I am a college graduate. Wow. Whoa. Can I go back to college now?

I traveled to Minnesota after graduation to visit my Semester at Sea friend, Josie Reshetar. I had never been to Minnesota before. I drove eight hours from St. Louis to Minneapolis.

I was fortunate enough to have stayed with Josie and her sweet family. I spent the 4th of July holiday exploring new territory.
(Map: star) 
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Attached, I have included a photo of a map to help you understand how far I traveled within the Minneapolis area. 

As soon as I arrived, Josie had big plans for me. She wanted to make sure she took me to all the places on her list before I left town.

If you like ice cream, you MUST visit Minnesota Nice Cream in downtown Minneapolis. Take a look at my photo below. Of course, I didn’t eat it all, but it was super super good. I had to go all out. I have always wanted to eat a cone like that. I had seen many pictures on social media similar to it. I am so happy Josie had me experience such a memorable place!
(Map: black)

To continue the fun, we made our way towards the northeast of Minneapolis to Betty Danger’s Country Club, a restaurant and bar. We rode their vertically revolving patio, The Danger, a Ferris Wheel. It was a perfect site to end the evening. I got great photos and videos of the city.
(Map: green)

We then drove 30 minutes to Excelsior, Minnesota. We had lunch at Maynard’s on Lake Minnetonka. Josie’s friend Abby joined us. She, too, gave me a nice tour and history of the lake. We shopped around at the nearby stores and watched children paddle board.
(Map: purple)

In between adventures, I had the chance to try Caribou Coffee. We don’t have it in St. Louis. If you have it in your city, I’m jealous. I prefer ice coffee so I tried the Iced Crafted Press. It’s a “smooth, slow-crafted, cold-filtered coffee with a hint of cream and real sugar. Served over ice.”

And, to add the cherry on top (literally), we spent one afternoon at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. We relaxed on white lawn chairs in front of the Spoonbridge and Cherry. It was nice to see families, residents and tourists come and go. Before we left, we walked around the Spoonbridge and Cherry to see the other sculptures. I love the color blue of the Hahn/Cock.

That same evening, we made our way to Stone Arch Bridge. We took our time to walk across it and back. We stopped occasionally to take photos, play with dogs and watch the sun set. So many people rode their bikes, skated and roller bladed across the bridge.

At this point, you are probably wondering if I made it to Mall of America. Yes, I did. Josie kindly took me! I didn’t ride any rides, but I watched them go around and around. I did shop great deals because Josie and I went to a concert that night. Spoiler alert, we didn’t event wear what we bought for the concert.
(Map: brown)

So, after shopping most of the day and running some errands, we went to the Pitbull concert. Josie knows how much I love Pitbull so being the best friend that she is, she arranged for us to go! We told ourselves we were going to get “cute” for the concert, but when the time came, we wore shorts and a t-shirt. Best decision we made (pic is not posted, but ask me for it, and I’ll share it). Yes, we had to document it. We think we got slightly made fun of by the people taking our pic because we had shown up like that. But, we did it for the memories. And, comfort, of course. The concert was on Prior Lake at Mystic Lake Amphitheater. 
(Map: red)

Can you believe we did all these activities I’ve mentioned so far in three days? On Fourth of July morning, Josie and I drove to Crosslake, Minnesota. Josie’s family has a cabin there. I got to meet more of her family. We spent most of the days on the boats and wearing out the wave runners. We even made our way to Big Trout Lake one afternoon via boat. I loved seeing all the friendly faces. They are right when they say, “Minnesota Nice.”

I am sure I will make my way up to Minnesota soon! I have so much more I want to see and do. I am very thankful for Josie, her family and friends so showing me their city.

Stay tuned for my next adventure (it will probably be with Josie)! We have been planning something exciting. Is it Iceland? New Zealand? California? Reply your guess!