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Minnesota is... interesting. Surprisingly enough. Didn't seem too much of Minneapolis other than the highway and the area near the airport. Will hopefully get back there later this week.
We did have a bit of trouble with the weather and stuff. There were some thunderstorms moving in, so we got ourselves put on an earlier connection (which was also delayed). But then we had to wait for our original flight to get our bags. Except it turns out that one of our bags hadn't made it onto the plane in the first place. They'd loaded it on the wrong cart. Luckily, they'd caught it before it was sent to Miami, but we didn't get it until the next day. While we waited for the one bag to come in, we went to see what was nearby and stumbled onto a fort with some kind of history that we never learned. But was nice to wander for a bit. Except that the storms caught up with us. Started to rain as we headed back out, and it was pouring by the time we got the bag and got on the highway. And there was a tornado watch. We decided to push through, despite the heavy rain, low visibility, and threat of worse. Turned out to be a good call. We quickly outpaced the storm, which I think swung to the north as we went south. Checked in, had dinner, went to sleep.
Today, we had a leisurely morning. Did some grocery shopping (hotel room has a kitchenette) and such, then headed out to look into something we'd seen on the way down. The threatening storm had caused a herd of elk to huddle up in the corner of a fenced-off area by the highway. Going back up, we discovered it was a farm. They sold meat and other products, as well as offering the opportunity for "trophy hunts."
We drove around the area, over semi-gravel roads, past endless rolling fields of young corn, bright red barns, and occasional livestock. It was really weird for us. Mom kept gawping, admiring the way everything (including areas which you would have expected would have been run down) was maintained in picture-perfect condition. We did end up taking a bunch of pictures. I was half-amused by Mom's reaction and half-agreeing. And thinking about how the locals, transplanted to NJ/NY would be gawping just as much, for the opposite reasons.
And... it's weird. People are so... nice. They smile and wave. And drive slowly and politely. And expect you to do the same. (An old woman started shuffling down a driveway near the grocery store, not looking where she was going. Nearly shuffled into the street in front of us before she even lifted her eyes. And then gave us a look, presumably for not stopping short in time to let her slowly shuffle across the street. Although I suppose it could have been shock at finally noticing us.) But drivers move slowly. And they let you in. Let you turn in front of them. It's like a whole other world.
Anyway... from the elk farm, we went exploring. Stopped at an antiques place. Got directions to a restaurant for lunch. (Directions seem to be a local weakness. They make it sound much simpler than it actually is. Generally by neglecting to mention necessary turn-offs.) From there, we went out to the Mississippi River (it's up here! I knew it ran the length of the country, but I hadn't realized it ran through here. Or that Wisconsin was actually the next state over. To the east, no less...). Stopped at whatever seemed interesting, and took the long way (along the coast) back. Went for a short trip on a rented canoe, stopped at a scenic overlook, saw a lock & dam, more of the same open, rolling greenery. Seeing actual, full-size trees (and some decent-sized hills) after all the cornfields was a bit of a shock. Like a slice of New England or something.
But it was a fun day. We got to see a lot, do a fair amount. Which is nice, because Rochester seems pretty boring, overall.
Except... the whole place is on a neat grid system (which I'm used to, thanks to NYC, even if theirs is numbered differently). But there's also a "subway." Which does not involve any trains, but rather a network of subterranean pedestrian passageways (with a mall's worth of shops) that extends for several blocks through the heart of downtown. (And it's extended by a skyway - a network of pedestrian bridges linking various key buildings.) Supposedly, there's good signage and there are frequent maps, but we got a little lost getting back to our hotel, all the same. Especially since one of the key passageways shown on the little map the hotel gave us turned out not to exist. Getting the hang of it now, though. You can just about live your whole life without having to set foot outdoors. Which, given Minnesota winters, is probably a good thing. (We're hitting hot and sometimes humid, instead. But we're not expecting rain over the next few days, so that's good...)
Anyway, I should get to sleep. But it's nice to know that there are, in fact, still actual working farms in this country that (unlike most of the farms that were in NJ when I was a kid) have yet to be paved over and turned into more housing. They're beautiful (though it's a sort of endless, uniform beauty you can adjust to quickly enough...).
We did have a bit of trouble with the weather and stuff. There were some thunderstorms moving in, so we got ourselves put on an earlier connection (which was also delayed). But then we had to wait for our original flight to get our bags. Except it turns out that one of our bags hadn't made it onto the plane in the first place. They'd loaded it on the wrong cart. Luckily, they'd caught it before it was sent to Miami, but we didn't get it until the next day. While we waited for the one bag to come in, we went to see what was nearby and stumbled onto a fort with some kind of history that we never learned. But was nice to wander for a bit. Except that the storms caught up with us. Started to rain as we headed back out, and it was pouring by the time we got the bag and got on the highway. And there was a tornado watch. We decided to push through, despite the heavy rain, low visibility, and threat of worse. Turned out to be a good call. We quickly outpaced the storm, which I think swung to the north as we went south. Checked in, had dinner, went to sleep.
Today, we had a leisurely morning. Did some grocery shopping (hotel room has a kitchenette) and such, then headed out to look into something we'd seen on the way down. The threatening storm had caused a herd of elk to huddle up in the corner of a fenced-off area by the highway. Going back up, we discovered it was a farm. They sold meat and other products, as well as offering the opportunity for "trophy hunts."
We drove around the area, over semi-gravel roads, past endless rolling fields of young corn, bright red barns, and occasional livestock. It was really weird for us. Mom kept gawping, admiring the way everything (including areas which you would have expected would have been run down) was maintained in picture-perfect condition. We did end up taking a bunch of pictures. I was half-amused by Mom's reaction and half-agreeing. And thinking about how the locals, transplanted to NJ/NY would be gawping just as much, for the opposite reasons.
And... it's weird. People are so... nice. They smile and wave. And drive slowly and politely. And expect you to do the same. (An old woman started shuffling down a driveway near the grocery store, not looking where she was going. Nearly shuffled into the street in front of us before she even lifted her eyes. And then gave us a look, presumably for not stopping short in time to let her slowly shuffle across the street. Although I suppose it could have been shock at finally noticing us.) But drivers move slowly. And they let you in. Let you turn in front of them. It's like a whole other world.
Anyway... from the elk farm, we went exploring. Stopped at an antiques place. Got directions to a restaurant for lunch. (Directions seem to be a local weakness. They make it sound much simpler than it actually is. Generally by neglecting to mention necessary turn-offs.) From there, we went out to the Mississippi River (it's up here! I knew it ran the length of the country, but I hadn't realized it ran through here. Or that Wisconsin was actually the next state over. To the east, no less...). Stopped at whatever seemed interesting, and took the long way (along the coast) back. Went for a short trip on a rented canoe, stopped at a scenic overlook, saw a lock & dam, more of the same open, rolling greenery. Seeing actual, full-size trees (and some decent-sized hills) after all the cornfields was a bit of a shock. Like a slice of New England or something.
But it was a fun day. We got to see a lot, do a fair amount. Which is nice, because Rochester seems pretty boring, overall.
Except... the whole place is on a neat grid system (which I'm used to, thanks to NYC, even if theirs is numbered differently). But there's also a "subway." Which does not involve any trains, but rather a network of subterranean pedestrian passageways (with a mall's worth of shops) that extends for several blocks through the heart of downtown. (And it's extended by a skyway - a network of pedestrian bridges linking various key buildings.) Supposedly, there's good signage and there are frequent maps, but we got a little lost getting back to our hotel, all the same. Especially since one of the key passageways shown on the little map the hotel gave us turned out not to exist. Getting the hang of it now, though. You can just about live your whole life without having to set foot outdoors. Which, given Minnesota winters, is probably a good thing. (We're hitting hot and sometimes humid, instead. But we're not expecting rain over the next few days, so that's good...)
Anyway, I should get to sleep. But it's nice to know that there are, in fact, still actual working farms in this country that (unlike most of the farms that were in NJ when I was a kid) have yet to be paved over and turned into more housing. They're beautiful (though it's a sort of endless, uniform beauty you can adjust to quickly enough...).
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My great-uncle still has a working dairy farm, actually, around the Jamestown area.
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i suppose minnesota would be strange to you. i live in the midwest myself, so it's not *that* different, but we run more towards orchards than cornfields where i live, so... i didnt really notice that people were friendlier, but i suppose they would be nicer than new yorkers ;p when i went to canada i had that reaction to the people there. (and then didnt want to come home because of the reverse effect.)
i dont know what city you're in, but the one bad thing i remember about the minneapolis skyways is they dont go all the way to the walker museum, lol. it was awfully cold to be walking outside. especially after being spoiled for a couple days.