A Perfect Day in Minnesota: Part 1
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.
Lost In Minnesota and Mill City Museum
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.
Meeting D In Minneapolis
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.
Joshua Tree: Hidden Valley & Hadley’s
After hiking Skull Rock, we drove to Hidden Valley and ate our sandwiches from Park Rock Café. There were plenty of picnic benches surrounding the parking lot.
This was the turkey sandwich on cranberry bread. For some reason, we really liked the ranch dressing that came with the accompanying side salad. Maybe it was because we were in Hidden Valley. 
Afterwards, we did the Hidden Valley trail, which was another nice, easy walk.
Some climbers were preparing for their ascent.
We named some of the rocks. Above: “Whale Rock”. Below: “Kiss Rock”.
Afterwards we returned to the Visitor Center so that the kids could turn in their junior ranger workbooks and receive their badge.
Our final stop on the way home was Hadley’s for the famous date shake.
It was a sweet way to end our trip, and the trip home was thankfully much shorter than the way there.
Joshua Tree: Skull Rock
We slept fairly well during the night. It was not too cold. However, D and I are realizing that we really should invest in a couple more sleeping pads (we have been making do with two).
D, n and I made an 85 Degrees run the day before while k was in school. That is what we had for breakfast. The consensus was brioche—thumbs up; rose cheese bread—thumbs down.
We packed up and went to the Visitors Center to pick up the kids’ junior ranger booklets. We also picked up sandwiches at the adjacent Park Rock Café for lunch later on.
Next we drove to Skull Rock and did a short hike.
The weather during the day was actually much colder than I expected. The wind really added a chill factor, although it did warm up later on in the afternoon.
This is why it’s called Skull Rock.
Camping & Hiking @ Indian Cove
On Friday afternoon we drove to Joshua Tree. Not surprisingly, we hit traffic, so what should have been a two hour trip ended up being a three hour trip.
The Indian Cove campsite is one of only two campsites in Joshua Tree that takes reservations. This was the most “primitive” campsite that we’ve been to so far, since there were no flush toilets—only pit toilets. They were actually not that bad though—they’re just regular shaped toilets that do not flush.
We were in campsite #69. The site itself was pretty small (#70 looked a little bigger). However, we were surrounded by magnificent rocks. The kids had us say a prayer that the rocks would not roll down on top of us while we were sleeping.
We were fortunate to be able to borrow a CX-9 for our adventure. It was so nice to have the extra storage space in the back!
After setting up camp, we drove and parked to the nearby Indian Cove trailhead. We did a short .6 mile loop before the sun set.
I loved the wildflowers springing up in such unlikely places.
Back at the campsite, we ate a simple dinner of cup o’ noodles.
Joshua Tree National Park: The Movie
Today n turns 5! We’re looking forward to celebrating with Panda Express (his choice). Right now, k and n are swimming with D since it pretty much seems like summer right now.
We had a busy weekend. D took Friday off so he could watch k’s performance. Right after k got out from school, we drove to Joshua Tree National Park for an overnight camping trip. I brought the camcorder along and put together this short movie. Please excuse the shakiness—I made myself sick just trying to put the clips together! I will include more detail in later posts.
The Media Niche Saga, Part II
I am happy to report that we have made another major improvement regarding our ill-placed media niche. I first blogged about our “problem” back in 2009. We have since gone through some changes, including getting rid of cable, buying an antenna, buying a converter so our Series 2 Tivo could work with digital over the air signals, and replacing our Tivo after it died with a Tivo Premiere, which negated the need for the converter.
This was our recent setup, which was certainly not ideal. TV shoved into the corner, ugly antenna hanging over the fireplace, and wire dangling between the tv and Tivo because I was too lazy to fish it through the wall (which I now realize is not even safe, after my dad showed me some internet articles).
A few weeks ago, my mom mentioned that my dad was thinking of buying a new television and giving their old (very nice) one to us. Only problem was that there was no way it would fit in our media niche. They thought maybe we could wall off the media niche and hang the television. I brought it up to D, thinking there was no way he would go for it. Surprisingly, he was open to it, so we called a guy that hung our neighbor’s television. We decided to add a partial fake wall, so that the media niche would be even on top and bottom, and the tv would fit on the wall above the fireplace.
Here is our “fake” wall mid-construction. It is about four inches deep.
A hole was made so the wires could go through.
It’s up! We will have to put up some shelving to fully utilize the space. I guess that will be part three of this ongoing saga. Hopefully it will not take us another four years!
DVNP: Furnace Creek Resort
D and I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas, but I will wrap up our Death Valley posts first.
For lunch on Sunday we ate at the 49er Café in Furnace Creek Ranch. This was the design on the tables:
Turkey sandwich and hamburger on a pretzel bun. Overpriced…nothing too exciting.
After lunch, we bought a day pass to the pool/showers for $5 a person. The pool was fed by warm springs, and the water was quite warm.
The kids had fun at the little park nearby.
Next we stopped by Furnace Creek Inn, a sister property that is more upscale.
For dinner, we made ramen with veggies.
The next morning, we packed up and left in the morning. D chatted up our neighbors and talked to one young family that is trying to visit every national park. What an ambitious and inspiring goal!
On the way home, we stopped by Lola’s Kitchen in Barstow.
We shared a breakfast burrito and a carne asada burrito. Both were fine, but I am not quite sure what all the Yelp hype is about. Maybe there’s not much competition in Barstow?
I didn’t have as much fun planning for this trip since the food options were so limited. However, I was impressed with the stark beauty of Death Valley and liked how there was plenty of hiking options for small kids. I was also excited to add one more cancellation to my national park passport. D and I are already discussing where to go next!
DVNP: Salt Creek and Harmony Borax Works
Our next stop was the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail. It is hard to believe that a creek could exist in Death Valley. Even more incredible is that there is a species called Pupfish that live in the creek, that is only found in Death Valley. Unfortunately, they can only be seen in February/March, so there were none to be found.
The boardwalk was a nice change of pace from walking on dirt/sand/rock.
At the end, the kids were counting the planks, just like I used to count the planks on the Seal Beach pier.
Our final stop was Harmony Borax Works, the site of the old borax processing plant. By this time, the kids were really running out of steam, but it didn’t take long to look at the old equipment.
