Friday was the first day we had all to ourselves.  It was filled with my favorite things—eating, shopping, and sight-seeing.

We ate breakfast at a restaurant ominously called Hell’s Kitchen.  The dining room where we were seated was aptly located underground.

We shared a savory dish (Huevos Rancheros) and a sweet (Lemon Ricotta Pancakes), my favorite way to do breakfast.  Both were excellent.  I enjoyed the different textures in the Huevos Rancheros and layering of flavors.  The lemon really stood out in the pancakes, and were light and fluffy due to the ricotta.

Even though we were full, I could not resist picking up a little something at the related Angel Food Bakery—get it?

The bakery was so cute.  We saved our treat for later in the day, so I will write about it later. 

Our next stop was the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center.  Admission is free, and it is open early in the morning, so it was a good second stop.

The garden’s most iconic sculpture is “Spoonbridge and Cherry”. 

Different angles.

Our next stop was the Mall of America, in Bloomington.  It is about a twenty minute drive from Minneapolis.

The mall itself is not that unusual, except that it has a Nickelodeon Universe, a small theme park, in its center.  D bought a watch from Swatch.  I told him it was his anniversary present.    My favorite store ended up being Typo, a stationery store which is based in Australia, but I showed restraint and did not purchase anything.

We stopped by at the American Girl store.  These dolls reminded me of k and n.  The camping set-up was cute too.  I don’t even want to know how much it costs!

There were plenty of Minnesota-centric stores as well. 

After walking so much, we refueled with a kale smoothie from Jamba Juice.  D wanted to try something new, and I must admit, it tasted pretty good!  I wonder if the kids would go for a homemade version. 

I had Thursday morning to myself since D was working the Expo.  After eating breakfast at the hotel, I did a little shopping downtown.  The highlight for me was Target, which is headquartered in Minneapolis.  The downtown Target is two stories, and stocked some things that I have not seen in California, including fabric.  There were a bunch of corporate-types studying the displays, which was interesting to listen to.  I also picked up a Twin Cities “You Are Here” mug at the adjoining Starbucks.

I met D for lunch at the convention center.  The food was pretty good (although D said it was better than the day before).  We had chicken, BBQ brisket, macaroni, salad, green beans and corn bread, with cupcakes for dessert.

The lowlight of the trip occurred that afternoon.  I had a deceptively simple assignment from D and D’s boss.  I was to drive D’s rental car to Eden Prairie (about 20 minutes from Minneapolis) so that D and D’s boss could return the display cars and we could all drive back in the rental car.  I copied down directions, and also had the rental car GPS.  I had been apprehensive about driving in rain/snow, but the sun was out…what could go wrong?  Well, my directions and the GPS did not match up, and the GPS was impossible to follow.  I was trying not to stress, but panic was setting in.  I called D, but he was really not of any help since he was not familiar with the area either.  Time was running out, because we were all supposed to catch a shuttle to a corporate event back in Minneapolis.  I said several prayers, made some guesses as to where to go and FINALLY made it my destination.  I was embarrassed, relieved, and grateful all at the same time.    Fortunately, D’s boss was very understanding, and D was able to drive us all directly to the event so we made it on time.

The dinner was held at the Mill City Museum.  The museum is dedicated to preserving Minneapolis’ history in the flour industry. 

Love the pancake table with butter pat stools.

We were able to take the elevator tour, which was reminiscent of a tame Tower of Terror.

Each level told a different part of the story.

The view from the top was nice, and included Saint Anthony Falls and the Stone Arch Bridge.

Notice the snow.

I was also able to stamp my National Park passport at the gift store since we saw part of the Mississippi Rivers-score!

Dinner was nice, even though I am not a big fan of small talk.  We ended up at a table with Toyota, Volvo and Subaru. 

It was an interesting venue and I am glad we were able to visit.  We were also given a favor of B.T. McElwrath chocolate caramels, which was a much-appreciated gesture. 

D had a business trip planned for Minneapolis to attend the NAFA expo this past week.  Neither of us had been to Minnesota before, so we decided to celebrate our ten year anniversary there (which is actually this week).  D left on Monday, and I joined him on Wed.  We left the kids with my parents and they enjoyed their time together too.

I flew out of John Wayne, and transferred at Denver.    My lunch consisted of this not so good tasting wrap from Rock Bottom Brewery’s to-go section.  I flew Southwest, and both flights were full, but at least I ended up on the aisle.  There were also peanut allergies on both flights, so we only received pretzels.

Minneapolis has a convenient metro system that takes you from the airport to downtown Minneapolis in about twenty something minutes for $2.50.

The weather was surprisingly warm during the majority of our time.  Our trip was perfectly timed in between two storm fronts.  I checked into the Marriott and then took a shuttle to meet D at the convention center. 

I arrived just in time for the reception after the expo.  There was enough food to constitute dinner.  (We had more food not pictured).

After the reception, we returned to the hotel to freshen up for our night on the town. 

The high rise buildings of Minneapolis are connected through a complex maze called the Skyway.

The Skyway is designed to allow you to walk through downtown without having to go outside, which I could see being quite useful during the snowy months.  It is somewhat difficult to navigate for newbies, however, as you are forced to walk through department stores and down different hallways.

I was quite impressed with the tall buildings and cleanliness.  There were some sketchy parts, though, as in most downtown areas.

I always appreciate art in public spaces.  Here is the Mary Tyler Moore statue.

There was a bustling restaurant scene, especially for a Wed. night.  I’m not sure if this is typical, or if people were just excited to have nice weather.  I also enjoyed how it stayed light so late because we were so far north.  It felt like how the middle of summer is here.

Our outing for the night was to see Cake perform at The Dakota Jazz Club.  It was an intimate venue, but no pictures of the band were allowed.  D was excited to see native Sacramentonians perform their greatest hits along with some newer songs.  We felt old when D was talking to some younger Expo goers, and they had no idea who Cake was. 

The event was put on for the first 300 expo attendees by Donlen, in celebration of their 50th anniversary.  They served *cake* pops at the event, which I did not realize the significance of until D pointed it out later.