Twin Cities
Trip Start
Sep 23, 2010
1
162
366
Trip End
Jul 13, 2012
Where I stayed
Walmart and Jeff's house
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
From there we got on a few back roads and after getting a little lost as the signs are so confusing we found another place called Hayward. We then headed to a town called Austin which has a Spam Museum in which we just had to have a look in. After having lunch (no not Spam) we headed north to the big city of Minneapolis and headed straight for the Mall Of America hoping that they would have a tourist info counter. Once in the mall, we went to two of the counters to see if they had a map of the city or if they could direct us to a tourist office that might. As is usual in most big cities they did not but kindly looked up the nearest Walmart so that we could find somewhere to stay. We then spent an hour or so in Barnes and Noble using their free wi-fi to get any other info that we could and also to send an email to Jeff, a friend we made in the Ecuadorian jungle who lives in the Twin Cities. We then drove round to Walmart grabbed a few supplies in the store and cooked dinner. After dinner we settled in for the evening, watched a Hotel Babylon and got off to bed around 11.15pm.
10th Aug.
Woke up around 7.30am, got up around 8am and had breakfast. We then attempted to negociate our way into downtown and somewhere to park which wasn't easy with the limited map we had and all the roadworks around. In frustration we gave up and decided to check our email in McD's to see if Jeff had replied. Great stuff, he had and was working from home, so we gave him a call and drove round to his place in St Pauls. He greeted us with open arms as if we'd been friends for years and seen each other yesterday. We sat and chatted about our travels since we'd met last in the garden and had some lunch. After lunch, Jeff drove us to some lovely view points round the city including Minnihaha Waterfalls, a walk along the Mississippi (where we had a paddle - ok toe dip - and also saw a Bull Snake slither off into the brush along the trail) and a look at the city skyline by the old mill and lock and dam. We then drove back to Jeff's where he cooked us Bratwurst sausages on the BBQ with salad for dinner. After dinner, we then drove round the corner to watch The Saints Baseball team play at the local stadium. The evening was a lot of fun with all the side shows that go on, but wasn't so good for the Saints as they lost to the Wichita Wingnuts. After the game we drove back, had tea and then got off to bed on a nice comfy futon.
11th Aug.
After a nice lie-in, we got up around 9am, had breakfast and then drove round to Jeffs Bindery round the corner where he kindly showed us around and how the binding process works. A couple of hours and a rooftop view later, we headed for a supermarket to stock up on a few things for dinner and then returned to Jeffs house for lunch. After lunch we had a wander round the local area and watched a few young lads play basketball in the park. Back at the house we showered, chilled out and then made dinner in time for Jeff's return from his after work sailing trip. We sat until midnight chatting and swapping travel stories with a few British beers (Bass and a coke). Jeff then went off to bed, as he had work in the morning, and we stayed up a little longer lapping up the TV!
12th Aug.
Had a nice long lie-in this morning until 9.30am. Had breakfast and uploaded a few more pictures to the pod. Decided to have a slow morning and after lunch, headed off to the bindery to say goodbye and thank you to Jeff before leaving on our way towards Madison, Wisconsin.
