Minnesota

  1. Destinations
  2. North America
  3. Minnesota

Places we've been:

  • Saint Paul
  • Twin Cities

Trips we've taken:

20201010-_Z7A5105

Turtle Lake, MN (and life for the last few months)

The serenity of a clear fall day is among life's greatest delights, clean and pure: the slightly darkened blue sky, rainbows of orange and red mums, warty pumpkins at the farmer's market. October is always my favorite. We are still in Minnesota, and it has been my favorite month here, just as it is back east. It is the feeling of the evening before your birthday all month. Life's pacing has warped the last 6 months: long days with crackling fires and talking late into the evening--single convers…

20200412-_D5A1057

Late Snow; Life Lately

On Sunday morning, flakes turned from drifters to thick clumps of stars, not sparkly, but a dense white feathering over the whole world. I had been watching for buds, but this was more beautiful than I had imagined a world of green being, our Easter renewal. The past week has felt almost stagnantly normal. In the few moves I've made, I'm surprised how quickly huge changes become routine and how quickly normal itself can change.  Even now, I've forgotten what the inside of my home dishwasher…

20200323-_Z7A2051

Being Small and Still

Since I can remember, one of my life's greatest joys has been planning and finding remote and interesting places to visit, new places my eyes have never seen before. I dream of (someday) Namibia's sand dunes and the cliffs of Oman, and before we ever visited, the plains and peaks of Patagonia. Novelty has been nearly an addiction, perhaps. Seeing new things, researching trips where a new landscape, vista, culture or food is housed: I can't help myself. Each January, I spend full Saturdays planni…

20200322-_Z7A1983

Where We Are (Minnesota Lakes)

When I wrote last, I think the world felt a bit like the calm right after an orchestra has tuned and has lifted their bows, and now we are in a full-on crescendo. Everything has gotten louder. We feel a collective anxiety and uncertainty like never before, and by moment I wonder if I have too many thoughts or too few, if I am not taking this seriously enough or am taking it too seriously. Several weeks ago, we were in northern Newfoundland on vacation, feeling the last sense of freedom, and simu…

20180722_185532-_D5A5314

Tettegouche!

Summer Camp Part 2 here; for the beginning of this trip, you can read about our trip to northern Minnesota's beginning here. Our destination for Day 2 in the North Shore was the northernest part of the shore: the town of Grand Marais.  About a 2 hour drive farther north than we stayed, we set out for this quirky town. We had lunch at the most popular joint in town, The Crooked Spoon, shopped around in a few galleries,  walked down by the water, and headed toward our next hike! Walk did…

20180723_055529-_D5A5342

The North Shore

This summer has been unusual in that we've traveled every month, but mostly in the States--we're saving up our long international trip for the autumn (ah, can't wait!). We have quite a few little trips to share here, but this was definitely one of the highlights of the summer.  Each summer, we are treated to blissful lake time right at Walker's parents' lake house near the Twin Cities, but since they are having construction there now, they kindly took us on a bit of a road trip!  It tu…

MN2015_3657

Minnesota Snows

The first time I visited Minnesota was 2 days after Walker and I got engaged. I’m not sure now how true my memory is—feet of snow, landing in a blizzard, unimaginable cold, and a house full of hugging family at the end. But we did land in a snow storm, and there was a lot of snow on the ground already. The temperatures sunk under 0 and Christmas was unreal, Nordic, and magical. Walker’s entire extended family celebrated Christmas Eve together with the same traditions we celebrate now, 7 years la…

MNStateFair2014_9997

Minnesota State Fair (2014)

Howdy! From the icy winter we had, it's quickly turned into bright Spring, with temps in the high 80s here. We've been enjoying so much about the city this season, from the public art in our park to fresh dinners to finally (!) strawberries that are deep red all the way through. We have some fun travels planned for this summer, but in the meantime, I wanted to drop in with another post about something a ways back now, which we inadvertently never posted about: the Minnesota State Fair last Augu…

Giverny2011_7980

the post about everything

I might seem a little lost these days, but I do know that it’s not May. Someday I’ll fix that. For now, I'm celebrating that we have internet, which has been hard to come by; thanks for reading despite my trickle of posts lately. I feel like I’m sharing with an old friend and there is far more to say than there is time. This past month we've just been so onthego. From Switzerland, we went to Paris, Scotland, Minnesota, and then drove to New York, and here we are! Let’s start with Paris. I was to…

Christmas2010_9157

Post-Christmas post

Christmas came and went in a flurry of tests, extensive flight delays, time with family, laughter and hugs, and it was wonderful. There are bucketloads of moments to share, so I'll resort to my usual summarizing tendencies. Let me present the best of Christmas, 2010. Except, really, the best of Christmas was that it was our first married Christmas. That exciting sense of anticipation didn't stop on December 25th. Each day forward, together, is a gift far better than I will ever deserve. So, here…