Minnesota Trip

There's the famous Sky Harbor airplane carpet!

Here are some snacks I took . . . 

Blueberry chocolate chip pancakes.

Potato rounds.

Almonds & dried cranberries.

I always think hard about what to wear when traveling.

This time, I decided on my new striped blouse from Target

and a black skirt.

The flight was pretty easy, but I was extra queasy and hot.

The staff didn't turn on the air conditioner or fans until we were in the air, and when it's

above 100 outside, it's not very nice in a crowded plane.

Something happened as far as luggage, too, and we waited an entire hour

for it to arrive.  The area near the luggage carousel was crowded and also hot,

so, thankfully, Greg was fine and was able to wait there and keep an eye on things while I took some time to sit down and drink a bunch of water.  

Thanks to my parents for picking us up!

Once we got to my parents' house, I had a snack and more to drink, and

I soon felt a lot better.

I love the photos on the wall in my parents' hallway.

We exploded a bit once we got there.

We needed to move some stuff around before heading to my parents' cabin the following day.

My sweet Mom had bought me a beautiful cactus vase!

So I wouldn't feel lonesome for Arizona.  My heart got bigger and bigger.

She also saved me this coffee cup guard, featuring the "duck, duck, gray duck"

theme that I love (and that's unique to Minnesota - and it's probably more authentic than the 

"duck, duck, goose" that the rest of the country uses!)

We went to Chipotle for dinner.

It's easy to eat gluten-free and vegan there! 

Later that evening, we watched HGTV and enjoyed chatting and relaxing.

The next morning, we headed out around midday for lunch and a nice drive to the cabin.

Here's what I wore:

We packed up both cars (my parents generously let us borrow one of their cars for our adventures)

with food and gifts (for our faux-birthday party!)

See you soon, Mom!

We had lunch at Davanni's.

One of the easiest places for me to eat is a place that has gluten-free pizza crusts (hopefully without eggs and dairy, too), then put on only vegan toppings.

We were happy together.

And here's my pizza!

pineapple

onion

mushroom

green olives

black olives

And then we drove off again, to go to my parents' cabin.

We drove by the Space Aliens restaurant.

I appreciated the beautiful fluffy clouds against the blue sky.

I think the freeway walls are pretty, too.

The shadows on these towers make them look wobbly!

Here's a typical Minnesota farm.

We were headed to Sauk Centre.

Here's the main church in town.

When we arrived, all the special food my parents had bought for me was 

on the dresser.  Sparkling water was even in the fridge already!

My parents truly think of others all the time.

Then I made dinner!

I tried to make my favorite lentil turmeric pasta casserole,

but it didn't turn out quite right.

I also made walnut black bean burgers, which turned out great!

We added grapes and watermelon.

It was a pretty good meal!

Yum!

More yum!

Later that evening, my brother (Mark), his wife (Jillian), 

and their two precious girls, Cora & Esme, arrived at the cabin.

Hooray!

My Dad and I played in the water a bit with Cora.

Mark & Jillian had brought a new mattress topper, and we experimented

with bouncing on it.

We appreciated the gorgeous creation all around us.

In the next post . . . BEMIDJI!