Local Minneapolis Travel Planner

While working on a story for the newest issue of Minnesota Bride, I interviewed a woman named Jen Knoch.

She started a business called Radar Concierge and she will plan your Minneapolis night on the town or your Minneapolis weekend stay.

For example, if you're a bride who knows out-of-town guests will be visiting Minneapolis for a long weekend when they come for your wedding, you can contact Jen and she will plan out a bunch of activities for them -- perhaps dinner reservations, some entertainment options and some lists of local exhibits at area museums. Whatever. You tell her what your guests would like and she will plan it.

She also works with travelers who are coming into town for other reasons and looking for things to do.

I thought this sounded like a great job. There have been many times that I've found myself in a city without a guidebook and have wondered what to do with myself while there.

Of course, my bridal story turned out to be a much longer article than just this one bit. If you're interested in the whole thing, you can check it out here:

Minnesota Bride Notebook Winter 2010

Ride an Electric Bike

A couple years back I wrote an article about electric cars. As an added bonus, I got to take an electric car for a test drive.

Now, though, I'm writing about electric bikes. And, again, as an added bonus, I got to take an electric bike for a ride!

Granted, I didn't take it outside. It's still winter in Minnesota after all. I rode it around inside of a mall, which was a treat. I've never ridden a bike through a mall before.

And I'd never ridden an electric bike before either. Truthfully, I was a tiny bit concerned about hopping on and revving the motor. Would it speed off, make me loose my balance and leave me floundering on the floor?

No. It was just like riding a bike! Only faster. And more fun!

If you'd like to check out the resulting article, here it is:

No Peddling Required

James Sewell Ballet in Minneapolis

Last weekend, I attended a performance of the James Sewell Ballet, a dance company based here in Minneapolis.

It was awesome.

The performance was at the Southern Theater, a hundred year-old theater in the city that showcases a lot of dance acts.

I'd been in the theater before for another dance performance and was struck by the ruined and rescued look of the space and the intimacy it provided (it only has...20 rows of seats?).

That did not change in my second trip there. Our seats gave us a close-up view of ballerinas on pointe, which was totally cool. I've never been that close to a ballerina showing off serious tip-toe work and it was amazing.

But this was more than a typical ballet performance of say, the Nutcracker. These dancers did incredible stuff that was interpretive, funny, heart-felt and avant garde. And that required control and power.

Am I going on too long? Well, considered me totally impressed. The James Sewell Ballet is one act I'd love to catch a second time.

Vikings and Tet -- A Strange Combo

What a strange weekend it was! First of all -- the Vikings. I actually watched the game. Out of one eye while reading a book, but still, it is an extremely rare occurrence for me to show any sort of an interest in football. Too bad they blew it. Hubby's moans of dismay were so loud that he scared the dogs off the couch!

But that was Sunday. On Saturday we were all wrapped up in a completely different sort of affair. We spent the day attending Tet celebrations. Tet is the Vietnamese version of Chinese New Year.

This year, Chinese New Year is on Feb 14. Why the Vietnamese Community of Minnesota decided to hold it's Tet festival three weeks early is a mystery to me.

Nonetheless, we ended up spending a good portion of our day attending the festivities. And why not? There were dancing dragons, singers, bubble tea and more! Even a beauty pageant!

Haiti Outreach -- Minnesota Nonprofit

A couple years back I interviewed a local couple who had gone on several mission trips to Haiti. While there, they helped build homes and dig fresh water wells.

They traveled with a nonprofit organization called Haiti Outreach, which in the course of writing the article, I learned was headquartered in my neck of the woods.

Since then, I've run into several people who are involved with the organization in some way. They've attended a silent auction for the group or a benefit dinner.

Haiti Outreach spends a lot of its resources on digging wells. In the course of my budget and global travels, I've seen some pretty sorry drinking water situations. Because of this, I know how much a new well can mean to a community in need. And because of this, I've kept tabs on Haiti Outreach since learning of its existence practically right down the street from my house.

Luckily, Haiti Outreach didn't suffer any personnel losses in the recent earthquake there. Most of their missions are in the countryside, far away from Port au Prince.

However, they've posted a couple updates on their web site and mentioned yet another logistical nightmare I hadn't yet thought about.

The Haiti Outreach members in Haiti right now, have been loading up their large trucks and trying to deliver water to those in need, and they've hired another truck to do the same. But...they are running out of diesel.

If you're in the Twin Cities and you're seeking a local connection to Haiti, check out Haiti Outreach. The organization, which is a registered 501c3, is taking donations through its web site.

Or...if you have a soft spot for chocolate and wine -- and who doesn't? -- consider attending the Wine and Chocolate Tasting on February 12.

Sudanese Lost Boy Finds Home in Minnesota

Lately, I've been on a young adult literature kick.

Years ago, when I taught 8th grade, I used to read a lot of YA books, but since leaving the classroom behind, I'd kind of forgotten about the genre. But not anymore. I'm back into young adult and children's literature with a vengeance.

A friend, a former teacher herself, recommended I read Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate.

I'm so happy I did. It's a gentle, touching novel about a young Sudanese boy who immigrates to America.

He arrives alone. His father and brother were killed in his country's brutal civil war and his mother is missing, unaccounted for. He is placed in Minnesota to live with an aunt and a cousin already here.

The story is told all in poems. The language is precise and poignant and sparse. It's just lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely.

I can't recommend this book enough. If you've got a young person in your life -- say middle school -- and you want to expose them to thoughtful prose and other cultures, this book is a winner.

Early October Snow

My backyard on October 12, 2010, taken at 1 pm. I'm not ready for this.

Visiting Alpacas in Minnesota

It was an easy drive into the countryside to hang out with an alpaca herd for the day.

We set off toward the small town of Hutchinson and an alpaca ranch just beyond its reach called The Abbey Alpacas.

I've been around alpacas before. I'd encountered them while traveling in both Bolivia and Peru. And I'd seen plenty of llamas and alpacas at the Minnesota State Fair.

But I'd never been to an alpaca farm so I was curious to see the set up.

The owner, Ruth Kinkade, opened the doors to her alpaca barn and freely welcomed visitors. She talked to anyone who cared to listen about the animals, their temperaments (they spit if you touch their face), their wool, mating techniques for achieving better wool, and how much it costs to buy an alpaca (thousands -- 3, 7 or even 18!).

We got to pet a couple and sink our fingers into their fuzzy hair. They'd been shaved last spring so their current wool wasn't too long. Still, it was soft and squishy to the touch.

Apparently there's a lot of money to be made in the alpaca industry. The wool can pull in a pretty penny.

Plus there's lots to be made from selling the animals to others looking to start or expand their herds. Alpacas can no longer be imported into the United States. If you want to start a herd, you have to get them from within the country.

Beauty Queens and Butter

One of my favorite parts of the Minnesota State Fair is stopping into the dairy building to see the butter heads.

Every year, about a dozen young ladies compete for the title of Princess Kay of the Milky Way.

The Minnesota Dairy Association crowns a winner at the start of the fair and for the next year, she acts a representative of the state's dairy industry.

All of the candidates get their likeness carved out of a block of butter. The butter heads are life size and each girl gets to take hers home and keep it!

Hotdish on a Stick @ MN State Fair

If you're from the Upper Midwest, you know what a hotdish is.

If you're not, then let me fill you in -- a hotdish is a casserole. Minnesotans love their hotdish. There's no better type of comfort food when the temperature hits negative numbers.

However, the hotdish on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair may be taking the hotdish love a bit too far.

This year, hubby and I decided to give it a go, and for all years yet to come, I think we will both pass on the hotdish on a stick.

Here's how it was made: meatball, tatter tot, meatball, tatter tot, meatball, tatter tot, meatball were stacked on a stick. Then the whole thing was dipped in a cornmeal batter. Then it was deep fried. And then it was served with a small side of cream of mushroom soup for dipping.

Anything On A Stick @ MN State Fair

It's time for the Minnesota State Fair!

If you live in the Twin Cities, you just can't escape the state fair. It's held in St. Paul and for two weeks it messes with traffic all throughout town.

Plus, every TV and radio station in town ditches its regular digs to broadcast live from the fair.

Rumor has it the Minnesota State Fair is the second-largest in the country -- after Texas.

The best thing about the Minnesota State Fair (do I have to pick one?) is that nearly all the food is served on a stick.

There is the pork chop on a stick, which is always a fine choice.

And this year there was something new -- bacon on a stick. The bacon slice was super thick so that it could fit on a stick. It looked like a heart attack and so we passed, but plenty of others were trying it out.

The best part about the bacon on a stick booth was a sign that was tacked up on the side. It read:

"Bacon is sex in a skillet. It's the ultimate aphrodisiac for all living things -- except pigs, of course."

Canoeing the Cannon River

The "stay-cation" is all the rage this year. With the struggling economy in mind, all the local press is pumping the idea of summer vacations that keep you close to home.

We did a mini stay-cation the other day, taking the day off and driving to Cannon Falls to go canoeing on the Cannon River.

We rented boats from the Cannon Falls Canoe and Bike Rental on the banks of the Cannon River just beyond the quaint downtown of Cannon Falls.

The canoes carried us 8 miles downstream and then we got picked up in a van and taken back to the starting point.

It was a beautiful day, not too hot, with a gentle breeze to keep us from sweating to death in the sun.

Since we've been so short on rain this summer, the water level was pretty low. We got stuck on the rocks a couple times and had to push to get free.

One of the best parts of the day was our bald eagle count -- we spotted three!

That brings my summer eagle count up to seven.

Bali Restaurant in Minneapolis

What a fantastic restaurant find!

The other night I had dinner with friends at a place called Bali in downtown Minneapolis. It serves Indonesian cuisine.

Everyone ordered something different and then we all sampled from all the plates. There was a chicken dish, a snapper dish that had great presentation and two different beef dishes, one called Daging Rendang, which the menu said is the country's most famous dish. Whether it is or isn't, it certainly tasted delicious.

We had appetizers, dessert and cocktails, too. It was a great summer evening in a funky new restaurant.

Taco in a Bag at Twine Ball Day

About a month ago, I wrote a post about the "limited food options" I faced while traveling in a small Mexican town.

Well, now it's time to poke fun at my own backyard.

While spending the day in Darwin, Minnesota for the small town's celebration of Twine Ball Day, once again my food options were limited.

True, hot dogs and hamburgers were firing on a grill under the Lions tent. But I'm not really a hot dog and hamburger fan.

So, after checking out all the food options in town (which didn't take long), I settled on what looked to be the most popular choice. Nearly every other person, it seemed, was walking around with a bag of Doritos and a fork. Hmmmm.

Turns out, they were eating "Taco in a Bag." Slit open a bag or Doritos, dump in a spoonful of ground beef (ugh), some shredded lettuce, some shredded cheese, chopped onions, some jalapenos and top it all off with some salsa. Yum.

It wasn't so bad. I was really hungry, though.

Twine Ball Museum, Darwin, Minnesota

The Twine Ball Museum in Darwin, Minnesota houses all sorts of memorabilia submitted by townsfolk. This was my favorite:

Twine Ball Day! Darwin, Minnesota

This was Jen's idea.

She owns a book called Oddball Minnesota and its full of interesting tidbits about where you can find goofy things like the state's biggest chicken and a two-story outhouse.

However, she didn't care about either one of these. She wanted to see the biggest ball of twine.

Yes, twine.

So she went. Last year she road tripped it to Darwin, Minnesota to see "The World's Biggest Ball of Twine Made by One Person."

When she got there, the place was a bit in disarray as the day before had been the small town's summer celebration: Twine Ball Day.

She had missed Twine Ball Day -- an entire day dedicated to the glorious ball of twine -- by just a few hours! She refused to miss the celebration this summer! And I was to be her lucky companion!

Twine Ball Day was a packed house! People had come from all over to see the parade, play in a volleyball tournament, tour the Twine Ball Museum, drink beer and watch a tractor pull.

It was a humid, sunny day and it felt good to be out of the city and participating in something that was designed for nothing other than a bit of fun and foolishness.

Sadly, though, while we could look at the biggest ball of twine -- which is 13 feet tall -- we couldn't touch it.

It's housed in a glass gazebo to keep curious hands, and volatile Minnesota weather, away from it. They don't want that twine ball to start rotting!

Minnesota or Cambodia?

After our visit to the Wat Munisota, I was so intrigued with the architecture of the temple that I dug up my pictures from Cambodia to compare the images.

What do you think...Minnesota or Cambodia?

A.


B.


C.


D.

Cambodian Temple in Minnesota

It was big news a couple summers back -- a Cambodian temple opened in Minnesota.

The newspaper was full of pictures from the temple-opening ceremony, and after looking the over, Hubby and I decided we needed to check the place out. The images looked so similar to things we had seen while traveling in Cambodia ourselves.

And then...well, time passed. Somehow we never found the time to drive out and visit it.

Well, we made the time. We took a mini road trip to visit the Wat Munisota, which is about an hour drive from our home and just south of the Twin Cities.

But once you make it all the way out there, you feel like you're in the country -- the country side and an actual other county.

Our map took us down a dirt road and passed several corn and soy bean fields to get there. The temple is seriously out in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by green.

As soon as we pulled into the temple entrance we were greeted by a bald-headed monk in saffron robes painting light posts.

We wondered at the name ... was "Wat Munisota" supposed to be "Wat Minnesota"?

The temple was open to the public and full of ornate gold-painted Buddhas, vases of flowers and strings of glimmering beads. The life of the Buddha was retold in colorful paintings all the way around the worship hall.

We weren't the only "tourists" there either. A few other city folk had made the drive as well--a couple moms trying to give their elementary kids a cultural experience.

Besides them, the one monk we saw out at the main entrance, and a couple of landscapers who were working on a retaining wall, the place was pretty quiet.

It was really neat to see, though, and we were glad we'd made the time to go and check it out.

Cowboy Up at the Hamel Rodeo

One of the things I like about living in the Twin Cities is that you can quickly get outside of the city and find yourself in the county.

This means it's pretty easy to take a one-day road trip and in that small amount of time, feel like you've really gotten away from your city stress.

For example, a friend and I hit up the Hamel Rodeo. It was a 20 minute drive to get to the rodeo grounds, and once we were there, we weren't in the city any more. We were surrounded by cowboy hats, cowboy boots and Budweiser.

The rodeo started at 7:30 pm and didn't finish until 10 o'clock.

Cowboys rode bucking broncos and topped the night off with the grand finale -- bucking bulls.

Cowgirls competed in barrel racing, a touring family of cowboys wowed us with fancy rope tricks and then more cowboys participated in calf-roping events.

The Hamel Rodeo claims it is the largest rodeo in the state of Minnesota, which I find amazing considering it's so close to Minneapolis.

By far, the best thing we took from the night was a line uttered by the announcer, who yelled while pumping the crowd at the start:

"Let's cowboy up and getter done!"

Walleye Fishing on Leech Lake

Last month, Hubby and I took a road trip up to Walker, Minnesota with the intention of going fishing.

The city of Walker sits on Leech Lake, a massive lake in northern Minnesota. The fishing here was supposed to be amazing. Our goal was to catch walleye.

Hubby likes to fish and as a Minnesota girl, I grew up fishing. I even know how to fillet a fish!

It's been years, though, since I've either fished or filleted a fish. And truthfully, I'm not so sure I could stomach cleaning a fish anymore.

So. Did we go fishing? Did we catch anything? Did I reconnect with my fishing roots enough to warrant the purchase of this pink "Mrs. Walleye" fishing pole?

You'll have to read my story on GoNomad to find out. Here it is:

Finding My Inner Fisherwoman

Or read my blog posts from our trip there:

Leech Lake Blog Posts