I got to spend my Saturday working at the 133rd Airlift Wing Minnesota Air National Guard, partnering with the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon organization for a family picnic for those in the Naval Reserve unit. In spending a great deal of time with the BTYR, its been absolutely incredible experience with the veterans, service members […]
You might remember this next #mnbucketlist addition as ‘Murphys Landing’ BUT its actually been renamed, the Landing in Minnesota River Heritage Park. Located in Shakopee, it was established in 1969 and is an 88 acre, living, history museum that depicts the life in the lower Minnesota River Valley. It’s really cool , like walking through […]
Today’s #MNbucketlist addition is one of my personal favorites. The bench, so aptly named for a local celebrity in Excelsior. Here’s a little fun musical history you might not know. The roving town ambassador, known as Mr. Jimmy had attended a Rolling Stones concert in 1964 at the now gone Danceland Ballroom at the Excelsior […]
I thought I’d pick something for the #mnbucketlist with history. The old Grain Belt sign on Nicollet Island in Minneapolis. Fun facts: After prohibition, the billboard was erected next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge around 1940. For years, it flashed the letters in sequence (“G-R-A-I-N B-E-L-T BEER”). This sign still stands today as a local […]
I got to spend the better part of today at the Minnesota History Center exploring their permanent exhibits: Then Now Wow, which houses the Grainland exhibit and Babe the blue ox; Weather Permitting an homage to Minnesota’s bipolar climate and finally Minnesota’s Greatest Generation, on the depression and war era. I also saw the We […]
This is the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed service station (also known as R W Lindholm Service Station) in Cloquet. The station (built in 1958 and is still in use) is the only filling station designed by Wright. It was originally part of Wright’s utopian Broad acre City plan and is one of the few designs from […]
If you’ve been following me for long, you probably already know that I’m a pretty big advocate for the Union Depot in St. Paul. Even more so since it reopened in 2012. It’s also known as the St. Paul Union Depot, a historic railroad station that has the same charm as the original. Every time […]
I spent my morning handing out coffee and donuts to our military men and women at a Minnesota armory with the beyond the yellow ribbon group of Chaska. Since I was not allowed to take photographs I thought that I would do a favorite of my #mnbucketlist spots, one that falls perfectly in line with […]
Since these two are some of Minnesota’s most unique roadside attractions, and being that they are about 10 miles apart, I will do them together. The first being the most iconic, Lindstrom’s Swedish Coffee Pot watertower that reads “Välkommen till Lindström” which is “Welcome to Lindstrom” in Swedish since nearly half the town’s descendants are […]
Here is my #throwbackthursday, and also partly my wishful thinking about warmer temperatures. If you were asked to pick a single landmark to represent the city of Minneapolis, you would be hard pressed to find one more iconic than the Spoon bridge and Cherry sculpture in the Walker Art Center. BUT did you know, that […]
Part 1. Next on the #mnbucketlist is a place so vast that it needs two posts. It’s the Franconia Sculpture Garden in Shafer, near Taylors Falls. It’s incredibly well known but very much off the beaten path. I happened to go in the winter but I do suggest going all-year-round just because you get a […]
If you’ve never heard of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, it’s not a surprise. I hadn’t heard about it either. I stumbled upon it during a visit to the Union Depot. I decided to take a walk to Legacy Chocolates and it just so happened to be in the same building. Which is the […]
Happy Winter Solstice! Or longest day of the year! Or maybe you call it Yule and celebrate with a Midwinter Festival. It’s the day that marks the beginning of Winter in the Northern Hemisphere. No one does a more beautiful solstice in Minnesota than the American Swedish Institute. Tour the Turnblad Mansion, feast at Fika, […]
(from site) Canal Park is a tourist and recreation-oriented district of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Situated across the Interstate 35 freeway from Downtown Duluth, it is connected by the famous Aerial Lift Bridge to the Park Point sandbar and neighborhood. Canal Park Drive and Lake Avenue South serve as the main routes in Canal Park.
In the interest of exploration, I stopped by the Midwest Music Museum at the Mall Of America tonight for the “Ladies and Gentlemen… The Beatles!” exhibit. Get a glimpse of the 1965 Metropolitan Stadium concert, musical artifacts, interactive stops and tons of rare photos during the height of Beatlemania. The exhibition runs through September 7th, stop […]
Weisman Art Museum, WAM is part of the University of Minnesota and is next on the #mnbucketlist. I’m splitting it up into two because the building and the layout has its own personality and is in it of itself a masterpiece. Its really unique and open, with a great deal of spacial awareness. If you […]
James J Hill was the railroad tycoon of the Great Northern Railway and a huge part of Minnesota’s history. He built an empire, became a major contributor to higher education (ie. seminaries, colleges and universities) and he was even mentioned in the Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald! So, of course his home would be […]
Now that the wedding is over, its back to the bucketlist The Mill City Museum in Minneapolis is next. The Ruins of the Flour mill are part of the #Minnesota historical society (I’m sure you’ve seen the gold metal flour logo from the Mississippi riverfront). You will almost always see a slew of photographers, as […]
If you are looking to get out during this gloomy week, try somewhere that even more beautiful on the inside, like the Landmark Center in St Paul next to Rice Park. It is home of the Schubert Club Museum and used to be the Federal Court House and Post Office. It now hosts special events, […]
Helping other people cross off things from their bucket list at the Schmitt Music Wall, music by Maurice Ravel. A little history: This building became an unofficial landmark when Robert P. Schmitt (the son of Robert A.) decided to beautify one of the large exposed exterior brick walls. Like other American cities of the 1970s, […]
