A wave of nostalgia

I got to go to Minnesota this weekend. I was there a mere 36 hours, or so. But I made the most of it.

Good thing that Hertz decided to upgrade me to a car with NeverLost since I didn't think to take a map with map. After all, it was only 15 years ago that I left MN. I've been back a few times - twice to run Grandma's Marathon (my first and my Boston Qualifer, LOVE Duluth) and a time or two to visit with friends. But that's not enough to recall how to get around in a car!

My first stop was Northfield to see Jody & Meg. I got to see Jody's awesome new house and I, thankfully, did not meet any of the garter snakes in her beautiful yard. Minnesota is so green. So green. Maybe it's the contrast to CO that isn't really all that green. We are, after all, a semi-arid climate. Jody and I lived around the corner from one another when I lived in Northfield and would often meet for an after work walk in the neighborhood. She now lives around the corner from another friends old home. It's a wonderfully small town.

After touring Jody's new home we headed to The Tavern at the Archer House Hotel for lunch. Yum. It was a great chance to catch up on everyone's lives and families. Post lunch, Jody gave me the nickel tour of Northfield - showing me the additions to the Carleton campus and to town itself. We finished our tour at Lyrical Looms, Meg's weaving "studio." She and a fellow weaver are renting space in the back of a shop that sells lots of local arts and crafts to showcase their art and their work. It was great fun to see Meg's loom and hear about the decade or so of weaving that she's done!

I could have spent much more time in Northfield, but I left with the smell of Malt O' Meal wafting through town - a fitting end to a good afternoon. I zipped up 35, thankful again for that GPS system, as I made my way to Uptown for a quick drink with Jennifer and then dinner with Matt and Jason-Aeric at Stella's Fish Cafe. Dinner was fabulous as was the company. Matt, Renee and I (along with another Matt and Kelly) were road-warriors together throughout MN back in 1993 and 1994. I laughed a lot with Matt and Jason-Aeric and loved listening to their stories of MN life, the remodel of their kitchen, travel adventures completed and in the works and their lives in general.

As I made my way to my hotel in downtown Minneapolis, I couldn't help but smile and feel completely filled up! Literally and figuratively.

A trip to MN wouldn't be complete without a run and a lake. I made my way from the hotel to Lake of the Isles - the first in a string of lakes just West of downtown. While I didn't have enough time to go all the way around, I was pleased to see one of the lakes ON foot!

My morning was spent at The Blake School doing an admission Simulation with rising seniors. They were a fun, animated and bright group of students!

I finished out my MN time with some shopping in Uptown - a local bookseller, Penzey's Spices, a local record store in search of the new Storyhill album (which they didn't have, but they so graciously told me where I could get it that I went back and perused the used CD's and took home A Fine Frenzy and Amos Lee). Then it was back to Penzy's to fill mom's order. And finally, a trip to Minneapolis would not be complete without a stop at Sebastian Joe's. Yumm. Oreo Cookie, KayKay told me last night. I wasn't committing to a flavor until I got there, but Oreo Cookie it was. And it did not disappoint. Back in the day when Renee lived on Humboldt St in Uptown, we would get Sebastian Joe's to go in the DEAD OF WINTER because they'd give you a discount based upon the degrees below zero that it was. A fantastic trip down memory lane.

It was maybe just enough time in MN. And then just a short flight home to my four-legged girl. So glad to be back with Syd, but so glad to have had such wonderful time with friends that I see so rarely.

A quick, but awesome trip to the land of 10,000 lakes, Youbetcha, friends!