My SE MN Wine Trip, May 30-June1, 2008

Travel Log

It was time for a girl's weekend and having some time on my hands I decided to map out a wine tasting and tour of Southeast MN...

Day 1: two wine tastings
It started where most trips start for me, in South Mpls. We all gather at Cafe Maude for a filling lunch before hitting the road. Thankfully the company and atmosphere won me over cuz the menu did not. Not many vegetarian choices so I ended up with the most boring of dishes: eggs and potatoes. Still though, it hit the spot! The road trip could now commence!

First stop, Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings.

This was when we first realized this trip would go off without a hitch. Once in downtown Hastings, the MapQuest directions really started to fail us so we had a decision to make, go left or right at this t-bone intersection. Instinct told us left. That put us in a traffic jam that was timed to take 20 minutes before we would hit the bridge that was only a few blocks ahead. During the wait, we called the vineyard to see if we made the right decision at the intersection. We didn't! However, we were stuck in this parking lot of traffic. The only out that I saw was to do a u-turn and jump the median. Now, before heading out we really hemmed and hawed about what car to take; the efficient Civic or the not so efficient Tribute SUV. We settled upon the SUV, we decided that even though extra space came with a cost we wanted to pay for that. So we did it, right then and there, we jumped the median! We laughed about how if we were in the Civic and tried that we would have still been stuck half way across it. Now with our re-direction change we found the vineyard in no time flat. The tasting was $10 and that included a souvenir wine glass.

A couple of wines to note:

• Ratafia: smells of oranges. It is a fortified sweet dessert wine, it reminded me a chilled mulled wine. Price, $19.99.
• Isis Ice Wine: a very nice ice wine (you think there would be tons of ice wine in MN!), with hints of apricots, peaches and honey. Price, $29.99.

We had another decision to make as 3:30 crept up on us... hurry the tasting so we could make to the next vineyard or take our time and find something else to do to occupy us. Like troopers we decided to rush and drive to Red Wing for the Falconer Vineyards tasting.
This tasting was only $4. The employees were nice enough to not make us feel rushed either, even though I am sure they were super annoyed that we were there 15 minutes past closing.

A few tasting notes:

• Riesling: Semi-sweet, German style Riesling. Price, $15.95.
• La Crescent: U of MN white grape. Apricot hints. Price, $17.95
• Frontenac Rose: Frontenac is a locally grown grape. This wine has a fruity, cherry flavor. Price, $12.95

We now had a task on hand, find a place to stay! I had done some research beforehand and was finding that even road side motels in Red Wing were pushing the $100 mark. We had a goal of trying to find something for $80. We came across a brand new hotel that I hadn't checked the price on and the lot was deserted so I thought we might have a chance of negotiating the price down to $80. We put Pam in charge of making that happen. Well she walks in, head held high, ready to fight for the $80/night rate. She asks, "What is your rate for one night?". Reply: "$84.50". Well you can't really fight that, can you?? The room was great! Very clean, Bath and Body Works soaps and lotions, and a wonderful continental breakfast (make your own waffles!!) the next day. I would recommend this place and happily stay again, Nichols Inn.

After settling in at the hotel, we got ready for the big night ahead of us in Red Wing. It was the weekend opening of "Sex in the City"! We had dinner at a weird (not so little) local restaurant before the movie, Liberty's Restaurant. They served EVERYTHING - mexian, italian, breakfast all day, burgers, pizza, seafood, etc. I always find that scary, I guess I am use to more specialized joints. The one thing I can say that none of us had a problem finding something to order! Oh and the movie, sorry to the die hard SITC fans, but I found it to be like the dinner we had - sub par. But granted, I had only seen Season 1 and 2 before the movie so I don't think I am as invested in the characters as others.

Day 2: Lanesboro
We tried to connect with Diamond Ridge Winery in Peterson, they are an appointment only winery, however, no call back meant no tasting. So we had to skip this and head directly to Lanesboro. Now, Lanesboro has its own wine boutique, Scenic Valley Winery, but we got there after it closed. Thankfully, all liquor stores in the area (and restaurants) carry the wine. So we could have are own wine sample that evening. They are heavy on the fruit wines: cherry, rhubarb, etc. None of the wines really won me over. I think maybe mixing the cherry wine with a Sprite might be a very refreshing spritzer.

This evening we had made reservations ahead of time and so we drove over to Preston, MN (about 15 minutes outside of Lanesboro) to check in at Jailhouse Inn. I had stayed here before and found it delightful. This was an old Jailhouse that opened in 1869 and operated as a jail until 1970. It has now been fully refinished and converted to a very charming and unique B&B. They have preserved one of the original cell blocks and that is the room we got! I shouldn't really say "preserved", they may have saved the space, but I don't think prisoners had queen sized beds and/or a 2-person spa tub.

As guests of the cell block, we have access to the second floor porch. It was beautiful night so we checked out a bottle of wine, pulled up a rocking chair and all just relaxed for a bit. They only shame is that the porch looks out to the back alley and back yards of the next door homes. They some what obstructed and clouded the view of the bluffs. After a breather on the porch we decided we needed some dinner and we had to get a move on, it was approaching 8:30 and well, in towns like these even restaurants close down at 9pm. We found one open restaurant in Lanesboro and ate there. Again, a wide variety on the menu and we also had a dinner show. There was a party of 4 sitting a few tables back from us that were great entertainment. One of the couples were fighting like I had never seen in public! But then, well our dinner was rudely interrupted by Mother Nature. Out of no where came this storm. We were watching the lightening come in (that should have been a clue), and the next thing I know, we were getting pelted with hail! Those little things hurt! We ran screaming for cover and finished our soggy dinners inside.

Ready for a little ghost story? So, I was finding it hard to sleep that night in the jail cell. It was kinda eerie actually, the way the light hit the jail bars and casted the shadows. It didn't help when at 2 in the morning one of my cellmates decided to clip their nails. That noise for me is such a grinding sound, I can't stand it, I even hate to trim my own nails because of that sound. Well, the next morning when we all were up, my roommate yelled over to the next room, "Which one of you started to clip your nails at 2 in the morning?" Thank you! She was also bothered by it!! Well, our friends in the room over swear they didn't do it. OOOHHH!

Day 3: one wine tasting
Well Sunday arrived, like it always does, and that meant we had to head home. After a little shopping time in Lanesboro we hit the road to drive up through Cannon Falls. There the last wine tasting of the weekend awaited us. Cannon River Winery, wine tastings: $3. I don't know what kind of mood I was in, but the blushes here really won me over. For some reason I was transported to a warm summer night, sitting on a porch, sipping wine - and that is a wonderful thought.

Trip pictures: Click here!

~Posted by Ann

Visit to 35W

A few days ago we decided to head over to see the progress being made on the 35W bridge. There is something surreal about the stage it is a right now; the North and South sides are slowly approaching each other.

As we were staring out at the concrete and steel we noticed how it was raining in the distance, we probably should have taken that as a preview of what was to come, but I wanted more pictures... and I got some. Although, I also got soaked to the bone.

~Posted by Ann

My California Trip, February 16-20, 2008

Travel Log

Oops! I have been bad and not writing up my travel logs. 2007 will now be lost forever. Considering my memory, that could very well be true.

Cali, oh Cali. Well, I can't really give a fair critique of this trip, considering one night was spent throwing up, the next day was spent in bed and the rest of the trip I was nauseated and weak! And, NO, this wasn't my fault. The food poisoning gods had it in for me. I was so jazzed leading up to this trip. I was going to my motherland - Wine Country. I had it all mapped out, places I would like to see, wines I wanted to try. Sigh.

So starting from the beginning... we safely landed in San Fransisco, where half of our trip was to be spent. A quick shuttle ride to our rental car company and we were off to our hotel. Oh, first off, rental cars. I never get the cool ones. We got this horrendous green/sage colored Ford Focus. I guess the type of car was fine, but the color... awful, enough to make me throw up (HA!). We then left the rental car company and after an accidental tour of the neighborhood around Fox Rental Cars, we found the freeway and got ready to sit in traffic! UGH! Seriously, the directions we had were to go around San Fran and stay on the "scenic drive", while we were sitting there I thought that was a grave mistake (I learned when we were leaving that maybe it was not all that bad). We finally made it to our hotel, Buena Vista Motor Inn. Yes, Motor Inn, but you know what, it was an ideal location for us - walking distance to Fisherman's Wharf and other low-key cute neighborhoods, plus, free parking!

We had nearly the whole day ahead of us, so we set out for a quick lunch and then decided to hike it over to Ghirardelli Square . Cute shops, street vendors and free chocolate samples were the attraction here. We were also right by the Pacific Ocean. Now, I have been to the Atlantic Ocean side and gone swimming plenty of times, but this was the first time at the Pacific - I needed to at least get my feet wet, I figured I could wait though, I would have plenty of time (or so I thought).

Lots of walking this day, so I was ready to sit down and have some dinner. We settled upon a sushi place, since I only eat vegetarian sushi, I can't really comment, but I thought it was good! We then decided to do some driving around and see San Fran at night. We checked out the Golden Gate, all lit up at night and then drove around some more, not sure what we were looking for, but then we decided it was best we got some dessert. So we found a crepes place. The creation presented to me was beautiful, a delightful artistic piece of syrups and whipped cream. Unfortunately I got to see the piece again at about 2 in the morning and in very different light.
We were pretty beat, so after dessert we headed back to the hotel to call it a night. The stomach pains kicked in about midnight and by 2 am the bathroom had become my new bedroom. Poor, poor Rachel. The bathroom couldn't have been closer to the bed and should I mention here that the toilet was broken, wouldn't flush. Morning finally rolled around and Rachel was outta there! Sadly she had to roam San Fran by herself because I still couldn't keep down water. My view of San Fran that day was watching an episode of House Hunters on HGTV where the couple looked for a new home in San Fransisco. Sad.

Early afternoon was approaching and I had a big decision to make - could I rally and go on a tour of Alcatraz Island? I had to do it. I was going to do it. We had bought our tickets in advance and I was determined to make it to this island. Worst ferry ride ever. We went on the night tour so the ride over was layered with unbelievable shots of the sun setting behind the Island, but I couldn't move from my chair, I was scared to even blink. We finally hit dry land! It was a huge triumph to me to make it there and it was so cool. Straight to bed after Alcatraz.

The next morning we were ready to begin our journey to Sonoma. First though, I wanted to ride on one of the infamous cable cars. Side note, did you know that the cable cars were invented because horses couldn't make it up the steep hills in San Fran? We headed to downtown San Fran on the cars and got to see fantastic views of the Bay and we got off on Lombard Street (crookedest street in the city and super fun to drive on!). On the way out of town we had to make the obligatory stop to really see the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked half way across and got some great shots. Maybe half way between Sonoma and San Fran are the Muir Woods, a redwood forest. I didn't have much energy to hike (not sure if I was eating by then or not), but we strolled a bit through the park. It was quite impressive.

After our little stops along the way, we finally reached Sonoma and could check in at the Best Western Sonoma Valley Inn. So cute! Fireplace, large room, breakfast delivered to you in the morning in a cute little basket. Loved it.

I was in Sonoma for goodness sake, so I had to suck it up and go to some wineries. We visited:

1. Korbel: I am now in love with champagne.




2. Armida: They are more into novelty than wine I think. I left with a bottle cuz it had a cute picture on it and was labeled, Poizin. Rachel left with a hoodie! The views were breathtaking though.
   
   


3. Porter Creek: Just a guy in shack. I don't think he like us at first, but we won him over with our charm and then felt obligated to buy a bottle of wine.





4. Mayo tasting room: Nice wine, but poor customer service.
   

On the way out of town, we made a stop at The Olive Press for an olive oil tasting. The stomach was still a little shaky or else I might have gorged myself at this place! The grounds were absolutely beautiful.

Pictures: Click Here!

~Posted by Ann

My Western Caribbean Cruise, April 8 - 15, 2006

Travel log

I finally got that trip planned for April! We were really getting close to the wire and 2 weeks before our planned leave date I got something booked for the three of us! A Texaribbean cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line. That is Bob’s favorite word by the Texaribbean by the way. Ha, actually never say that word around him or if you do, be ready for a tirade about it.

The cruise left from Houston – Let me just cut in here and talk about Houston and then I never have to mention it again. Ugly! Ooogly is the more correct term I guess. The port, oh, excuse me, “La Port” was never meant to be a passenger cruise ship port, but with the hurricane of last year it has still left some things displaced. Although, as bad as it was, it was better then being out on the Houston airport runway! When we landed in Houston, we got to enjoy the additional benefit of sitting on a plane for nearly 1 hour. How madding! So close, yet trapped. Apparently there was some mechanical problems with this other plane that was blocking our gate; whatever, I hate Houston. – and so back to the trip, the destinations were: Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras; Belize City, Belize.

So cruise ships. Hmm, I don’t know. I can say, with certainty, it isn’t my favorite way to travel. I mean, I love the concept – being able to stop at all these ports of calls that I would probably not go to on my own, it is a great way to sample places, but ultimately I don’t think cruising is the way for me. Sure, I became a little cynical (cuz that is my way), so by the end I was just glaring at everyone and thinking, “So this is what us white middle class people do. Sit on a boat that burns 1,100 gallons of fuel a day, to visit a town that is so Americanized and tailored to just get us to buy stuff and not really learn anything about the culture or destination that we are visiting because we enjoy spending our free time waiting in buffet lines instead of visiting gyms.” So don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate it, I just found myself questioning this means of travel! There were definitely highlights on the cruise, like the Murder Mystery Dinner. That was fantastic! It had been awhile since my friends and I had done one, but it was just like any of the kits that you would pick up at the game store. The family we ate with and played the game with was great, I totally enjoyed meeting them and solving the crime with them. Oh and I solved the crime, I was the only one in my group to get the right murderer – I am so smart! :)

Activities on the ship…..well there wasn’t enough. I don’t know for some reason I felt really anxious on the boat and I just couldn’t sit down and relax. I couldn’t be outside like everyone on the ship because my sun rash hit the first day (however, I talked to a dermatologist I work with and found out what this all about, PMLE is what it is called, and I now know how to prevent it in the future!). I was kind of annoyed how every lounge, every outdoor seating area had music playing, you could never find a quiet spot. I would have much rather eavesdropped on people’s private conversations than hear “No Woman, No Cry” once more! I tried to attend talks or presentation onboard, but the first one I went to just talked about how Cruise Ships are “Soft Targets”, meaning it would be very easy for a terrorist to take one out and it would make sense for them to take one out. So great, I had that in the back of my mind the rest of the trip!

The evening entertainment, ha! It was better than the entertainment at the Mexican resort at I was at a few months ago, but that isn’t saying much. The worst show: “Sea Legs at Sea”, they actually dropped a dancer on stage.

Cozumel:



Cozumel is all about shopping. Store fronts line the beach in classic strip mall fashion. However, before we shopped we booked an independent excursion through some pusher on the pier. Destination: San Gervasio, Mayan ruin site. So bare in mind, I had just been to Chichen Itza (a grand Mayan ruin site) like 6 months earlier so seeing these ruins were not impressive, but they were cool in the sense they are thousands of years old. Our tour guide was wonderful, Joaquin, he is a native Cozumelian (um, how would you say that?) and he loves Cozumel, thinks it is the best place in the world so it was great that he was our guide for the morning. He told us all sorts of stories and information about the Mayan site and Cozumel, I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the way out of the site we crossed paths with other two groups, each had like 30 people in it. I loved that we booked this as an independent excursion so it was just me, Bob, Gump and two other girls from our cruise. On the way back to the main city he told us of this local restaurant, La Mission, off the strip to eat at and it ended up being my favorite meal of the trip. The rest of the time I just spent shopping.

Roatan:

Approaching this island from the water was like viewing this lush, tropical oasis that had rolling hills and greens of every color. Once we landed though, well some beauty was stripped away. This is a very poor country – very poor. Apparently when they see the cruise ships come in, the kids get out of school so they can beg for money. Considering cruise ships have been docking here for awhile I was shocked at the level of shopping and how there was none! There was only one semi-ok store and it lost power when we were in it! However, I didn’t come to Roatan to shop; I came to zip-line!

We took the most nerve-wracking and scariest bus ride up the side of a mountain to get to the zip-line destination. Once there, we had harasses put on us, were given a helmet (cuz that would really help) and then proceeded to the first station. There was some talk of safety and what to do, but it all seemed to happen very fast. Before I knew it, it was my turn to fly like the birds! I had that 2 second panic where I was like, “what am I doing, I don’t want to do this, it is really high up!”, but I saw the person before me get to the next station and they were like 50 so I had to do it. In a weird way it ended up very peaceful and soothing for me. I believe there were like 13 stations, so each stretch of rope you glided on lasted somewhere between 100 and 600 feet. Each time you were slowly descending so the last stretch deposited you onto solid ground, a sandy solid ground. When we first started we were above the trees, so I am going to guess 100 feet off the ground or so, but you rarely noticed how high you were up cuz the vegetation was so lush and thick, plus you were watching for the next station so you didn’t careen into it. The beautiful beach that we finished on turned out not to be the beach we were going to spend the rest of the afternoon at, we had to get back on the bus and drive to ours.

Our beach, Taybana Beach, is designed strictly for tourist. It was fine though, it was actually quite nice. A ton of loungers were all over and there was shade, lunch was provided, there was a band and they had snorkeling equipment. Gump and I took this opportunity to snorkel. I have decided I totally love to snorkel. There was a coral reef right off this beach, although, I think it was pretty damaged from the hurricane, it didn’t seem that colorful, however the fish were colorful! I saw some great underwater life and a few of my pictures did turn out! So after everything we did today, we still had time to wander back into the city and have a beer at a local bar. There is nothing better than sitting by the water, drinking a beer and watching the sun as it goes down.



Belize:

Belize has been one of the places that has haunted me. I have wanted to go here for years and I feel like it is always taunting me. I see ads for it or it is mentioned in movies and finally I can now say I was here! We started the day pretty early; the ship arrived at Belize at 7am. However, we had to tender to the shore (the barrier reef prevents cruise ships from getting any closer than one mile out from the shore) and by the time we did that and met up with our tour group it was time to hit the road and head out to the rainforest. It was an hour and half bus ride and even though our tour guides did a lot to entertain us, I was ready to get off the bus and walk! So as soon as we stepped into the forest the heavens opened up and it poured, like I have never seen before. But how fitting right? Here we were in the rainforest! After about half hour of walking we came to the river that we would be tubing in. Now, the other night we had had dinner with this couple that told us that they heard there were snakes in the water and snakes hanging from the walls in the caves. Liars. All they managed to do we make me spaz out every time something touched my leg or hand. I don’t mind snakes, but I really don’t want a hidden one wrapping around me or anything – but that goes for anything, I wouldn’t even want a kitten crawling up on me if I didn’t see it coming. So, but anyway, I never saw a snake, I saw bats, but not snakes. Cave tubing ended up being a little more strenuous then I thought it would be. The current wasn’t all that strong so to stay with the group you had to paddle. There were a few rapids that sort of pulled you in and spit you out and that was fun. Although those rapids were responsible for pulling out Bob’s wallet and passport and not spitting it back out! Yup, Bob lost his whole identity in the river! Gump and I were clueless to this whole thing, here we were patiently sitting on the bus wondering where the heck Bob was. Turns out he was hunting in the river along with a bunch of other workers and tour guides! The un-Belize-able thing is, they found it!

After the river tubing adventure it was back on the bus to return to the ship. We all sort of had a big day so the bus was pretty quiet as we were all reflecting and having a siesta; that is until there was a horrendous noise along with smoke bellowing out the side of the bus and tire fragments pelting the window. The driver was desperately trying to maintain control of the bus, cuz you know they drive like madmen out there on these roads that wouldn’t be acceptable in a farming community out here. Of course I am thinking, “wow, so this is how it ends for me, on a tour bus in Belize – sorry mom.” But we gradually came to a stop and after a call to the station to get a new bus sent out we were allowed to get off the bus and roam around. I was the first one off the bus because I needed to get out and stretch my legs and burn off some nervous energy, so I popped out of my seat, headed to the front and waited for the driver to open the door. Now, I kid you not, the door opened and right in front of it, right in front, is this lone grave marker. Are you kidding me!? What kind of omen is that!? I am looking up and down the road and there is nothing, but we stop right in front of a grave marker that has fresh flowers on it! I guess it was a marker for some cyclist that died at that spot like a year ago. I could not Belize it. After a half hour wait we finally got a new bus and back on the ship with no more problems.

pictures: Click Here!

~Posted by Ann (transferring travel logs here)

My South Beach Trip, December 1 - 4, 2005

Travel log

Ah, sunny Florida! If you are unfamiliar with the show Miami Ink on TLC, familiarize yourself with it because it was the catalyst that drove Terri and I to go there!

I am tempted to post the Excel spreadsheet that Terri and I used to plan this trip, some people might be scared. Both of us cannot imagine going on a trip without one! The biggest research project we had was figuring out where to stay. There are so many hotels in that area that this was quite a challenge. I don't think I could count how many frenzied emails we sent back and forth trying to decide! We finally, finally made a decision and went with The Kent Hotel. I think considering the amount we were willing to pay, it was a good decision. Side note, Book It is a great website for finding cheap hotel prices. So the hotel, it was purple. And I mean purple. The bed sheets, purple. The walls, purple. The ceiling, purple. The robes, purple. Get the point? It was kinda fun though, I love anything that has a theme. Oh, but the hardwood floors? That probably is not a good thing unless you can really insulate between floors in a hotel.

After checking into the hotel and paying $15 for valet parking, we decided to reclaim our rental car (our Impala Holla, it was pretty ghetto, there was even duct tape spotted on the bottom of it) and head to Coral Gables to try and make afternoon tea at the Biltmore Hotel. Our flight was delayed on the way out so that really screwed up some plans. Well we hustled but did not make it in time, but once we had arrived at the hotel we figured that was ok, they may not have served us anyway in our jeans and sandals! This place was swanky! I had no idea it was going to be that fancy! It is this mammoth, golden structure in the middle of town and it is just beautiful. Built in 1926, it is on the historic record for hotels. After we shuffled around there a bit we realized it was 5:30pm and we had not eaten since that morning so we rushed off to find some dinner. We found a little Vietnamese place in town and over some stir-fry, discussed whether or not we should return to the Biltmore for the ghost story and Christmas hour that they had. Right now there was one strike against the Biltmore. See, it was the hotel that made us miss the tea and made us feel dumb for being underdressed and mid-Western, so that equals strike one. Well, we decided to go back. That was not the right decision. For the next hour we were subjected to two old women, dressed in handmade outfits fitting the descriptions of Mrs. Claus and the Gingerbread Lady, telling the sappy story of Charlie's magical Christmas and doing bad magic tricks. The ghost story we were so hoping for consisted of this: "This guy died on the 13th floor after he was murdered and he is still around." Which was told very quickly before a horde of children came running up for the story telling hour. Biltmore, that was strike two.

Back at our hotel, we were left with the question of, what next? Terri and I are not big clubbers and the club/bar scene kind of scared me here. So I popped in a movie, and it turned out to be the best movie ever! I have an affinity for Vampire movies, especially low budget, filmed between 1950 and 1980. The Taste of Blood is a cult classic and I can see why, any time someone has a ring that hypnotizes you well that equals cult classic for sure! We got some good laughs out of this movie.

The next morning we woke up all set to see some gators! We were going to go on an airboat ride in the Everglades. I had done that the last time I was in Florida and really enjoyed it. We went to the Everglades Safari Park and it was really nice! We had lunch at the cafe on site (I passed on the gator nuggets) and then we were off on the airboat. The scenery is just very pretty, lily pads everywhere, mixed in with the signature tall grass, it was very nice. At one point our driver, Jamie, diverted our attention and when we all turned around he was holding a snake above someone's head. I can't believe how jumpy people are around snakes! In fact, if this was the airboat ride I would have gone on with Gump he probably would have jumped right off the boat and taken his chances with the gators! I got to hold it after it was passed around to the few people wanting to. We finished up the airboat ride with only seeing a baby gator in the water and some amazing hurricane damage. Part two of this park is an alligator show and a jungle walk. At the show, the gator handler filled us in on some really interesting facts about the alligator and then at the end of the show she singled me out! I was going to be her "volunteer" for this last part. I think the handler thought I was going to be a squirmy, scared little girly girly when she went and placed a 10 pound baby gator in my hands. But I wrong candidate for that job, I was like bring it on, I was just holding a snake 10 minutes ago! Little Snappy was so cute with his little gator smile! We walked around the rest of the park and saw more alligators, crocodiles and caiman.

We returned to South Beach for some dinner, shopping and sight seeing. Even though we were staying in the heart of SoBe we really hadn't explored it yet. Dinner time is crazy time on Ocean Drive. So many restaurants, all offering 50% off happy hour, and every hostess is trying to get you to stop. We walked up and down the strip trying to find this place we had read about, A Fish Called Avalon. After we managed to successfully walk right by it without seeing it, we gave up and ate at PrimeTime (part of the Waldorf Towers). Our waiter didn't realize we were in his section so we were forgotten about for quite sometime, but finally we were served. It was fine, nothing to write home about but it was great people watching! I guess that is when I finally started seeing how fake the beauty was down there....and I mean with the people. I hope to God that corsets never make it to MN as a fashion trend, cuz it is hot down there. After shopping at a cute little art deco Gap and a cute little art deco Banana Republic, hey we tried shopping at a local shop but 300 dollar sweaters are out of our price range, we returned to the hotel for another movie (such party animals!).

We woke up pretty early the next day cuz we knew we had a drive ahead of us if we wanted to get to the Fruit and Spice Park before the tram tour left. The Fruit and Spice Park...what we had read about it, it had made it out to be a real life Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Fruits and spices from all around the world and you were allowed to try them all! Fruits that tasted like chocolate pudding or vanilla ice cream were rumored to be hanging from the trees. Here is a tip: don't go if a hurricane just ransacked the area 6 weeks prior. There was nothing left of the park! Overall we really had not seen that much damage so it never occurred to me that this is something we would have to worry about. So many trees had been uprooted and/or all their fruit stripped from their limbs, it was pretty sad. It really wasn't a total bust though, the tour was still interesting and we did get to sample a few things. I would highly recommend going to this park, but go in the summer when most of the fruit is ripe and make sure a hurricane hadn't visited recently.

On the way back we decided to swing by Bayfront Park. I don't know why really, I think just to see some boats in the harbor or something. Turns out this place was fantastic! We had a late lunch right on the bay and stared at the ships and boats coming and going. We wandered around the shops...I bought a new sweater a cute little bayfront shop. Ok, fine it was Express, I am telling you the real local shops are expensive! We left with the idea that we would return after dinner to go on a city lights boat ride. So we left downtown Miami and headed back to South Beach. We freshened up in the room and then thought about heading out for dinner, but beforehand we wanted to make a reservation for the boat tour. Um, so we called and realized that all the late night boat tours were not happening! We had 1 hour to make the only night tour that was going to happen. So we rushed out the door and drove all the way back, but we made it! The lights were pretty from the view on the schooner that we were on, but it was freezing! So now we could finally go back and have dinner and we found the restaurant we were looking for the other night, A Fish Called Avalon. After dinner we went to Miami Ink...

I think I should now tell the tale of Miami Ink. The first night in South Beach we did a drive by, turns out the place was only 4 blocks from our hotel! There were cameras, lights and commotion all over! Of course that meant that there was no way we were going to try to walk into the middle of that, but I was super happy to see that they were filming another season of the show. The next night we walked over to the shop and discovered that by day it is a normal tattoo parlor but on weeknights is the stage of the show we love. We also found out that you can just walk in and get a tattoo, but we were too flustered to do anything so we just ran out. However, our last night there we made another return trip. This time Terri was actually going to get the tattoo she designed! James was artist on duty that night, he isn't on the show but maybe someday I will see him working next to Ami!

Our last day! In the morning we strolled over to this nice little alley market and had breakfast. You are not going to believe this but we decided to spend our last few hours in Florida by returning to the Biltmore. See, on Sundays they offer free tours. So we went. The tour was to run from 1:30 to 2:30, with another tour starting at 2:30. All that seemed perfect on paper; we had to leave the Biltmore no later than 2:30 if we wanted to make our return flight. I knew it was all going to go horribly wrong when the tour didn't start until 1:45.... Now, our tour guide....I can safely say that the tour did not start late because she was working on her makeup. I wish everyone could see it because it is like a walking PSA on how to NOT apply makeup. Foundation smeared here and there, not the right color tone. Blush was globbed on, traveling all the way to her ear and onto it. It was facinating really. Anyway, she was all excited because she had procured keys to the 13th floor. The floor where the murder occurred, the floor where the illegal casino operated, the floor where the walls were able to rotate between library books on one side and gambling paraphernalia on the other. For nearly a half hour we listened to the lady ramble on about the history of the hotel. I was slightly more interested when I discovered it use to be a Veteran's Hospital, but really all I wanted to see was the 13th floor. Finally she declared it was time to move on! But it was just into the ballroom, from there it was the pool and then, when I really thought we were about to travel to the 13th floor, she steered us into the courtyard. Grr!! I couldn't believe it, it was 2:26 at this point, there was no way we could continue the tour. So while we exited the hotel, the remaining members of the guided tour boarded the elevator to ascend to the 13th floor. Biltmore, that was strike three.

pictures: Click Here!

~Posted by Ann (transferring travel logs here)

My Ft Lauderdale Trip, January 11 - 16, 2005

Travel Log

Remember when I was "in-between jobs"? Good times. Actually, that time did allow me to watch hours and hours of television, swim and go on this trip! I figured I could justify this trip if I only went for 5 days, instead of the full week like Gump and Drew. When you are unemployed you have to look for cost saving alternatives! And yes, I realize one cost saving method is don't go on trips.

I arrived late on Tuesday (or early on Wednesday if you want to look at it that way) and along with my suitcase full of shoes, I also brought clouds. We never really saw nice weather when I was there, but it wasn't a total wash out and thankfully Florida has more to offer than just sunbathing. The first day there we piled into the rental car and drove to the Southernmost spot in the United States, 90 miles from Cuba, Key West! This was a very cool drive, there is just one highway that will take you down to Key West so there is no getting lost. We stopped at a state park for lunch and ate by the water, just lovely. After a long drive we made it to Key West just in time for dinner. I was starved, we all were, so mission critical was finding a restaurant to eat at. Main Street was lined with local restaurants, heavily populated with seafood joints, after a desperate search to satisfy everyone's appetite we settled upon Hard Rock Cafe. I am really not a fan of chains, but the food was good and arrived quickly so we had time to wander around the streets before having to head back.

Some fun things about Key West....

yup, so roosters do roost in trees! Key West is filled with wild roosters, they are all over the street and up in the trees! Odd!!

Also, local legend has it that once you get sand from Key West in your shoes, you end up having a never ending desire to return over and over again.....I did get sand in my shoes....

Back in Lauderdale:
Airboat ride in the Everglades! Scooter! This was a great experience and one I highly recommend. There are many companies around the area that offer this, we went to Everglades Holiday Park. The boats here are not your typical kind, they were all covered, but considering it was raining that worked out well for us. We drove up to the facility via a dirt road, past a row of trailer homes and parked on a grass padded parking lot. Open the car doors and what did we find ourselves surrounded by? Wild peacocks! They were everywhere, it was a little unsettling actually. I could have touched one if I wanted, but then I also could have had my eyes peeked out so I opted for running away from them. After a short wait we were on the boat and out cruising the Everglades (Did you know that the Everglades actually sit upon a river and not a swamp. That is why companies where never able to drain the area and use it for commercial property). Our boat operator and tour guide claimed to be a backwoods Tennessee local, named Scooter. He was great. Although he loved doing doughnuts with the airboat that nearly spun me into a panic attack. After working for years and years in the same area, he had trained some wild birds to eat right from his mouth! We also got to see a 6 foot gator up close and in the water. If you want to know how big a gator is, look at the distance from his eyes to his nose. Five inches equals five feet, six inches equals six feet and so on.

This night we decided to do something other than dinner out and drinks after. We wanted to go to a comedy club. We found that the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, FL had a comedy show so we decided to go. Well turns out this was also the grand opening of the restaurant/casino/club so it was hoppin'. The neat thing was that mostly locals were there so we got a break from the usual tourist crowd.

Gump and I were jazzed to go Miami, Drew had recently been there so decided to sit this out. The traffic was horrible from Ft Lauderdale to Miami and I ended up making Gump get off the freeway and get gas because I was sure we were going to run out. However, I made him stop probably in the most ghetto/scary area outside of Miami that I could find! Sorry, Gump! I learned a little something on this drive, that South Beach is in Miami Beach and Miami Beach is an island pretty much and not in downtown Miami. Loved South Beach. The art deco look of the entire city is really something to see, so glad we went. The next morning we flew out...

pictures: Not on line yet

~Posted by Ann (transferring travel logs to this site)

My Arizona Trip, March 6 - 13, 2005

Travel Log

Bangerter Family Trip! I don't know the last time my mom, my brother and I took a trip together. So how did this come about? Well, my mom's employer offers this perk: use of the company time share along with the company van in Fountain Hills, AZ (located about 10 minutes outside of Phoenix). We also invited my aunt, Marlys, to join us on the trip.

I really enjoyed Arizona. It had been raining for weeks before we arrived, so when we did arrive, the land was so lush and green, it was beautiful. The accommodations for our stay - wow! The home was in a gated community - you actually needed a code or a remote control to open/close the gates. The house was lovely, it was furnished beautifully and the backyard was impressive. It had an illusion pool (you know, where it looks like the water is just spilling over the edge), a hot tub with a waterfall and a firepit. The rest of the backyard, well, it was a golf course, the sixth tee to be exact. I guess at times that was awkward, the players were like right there and probably wondered if we were watching them or enjoying the views.

So how did we entertain ourselves on this week long trip? Well that was easy! One day, my mom, my aunt and I took the van and headed to Sedona. It is this breathtaking, red rock canyon city. Along the way we stopped at a National Park with a cliff side dwelling that was used hundreds and hundreds of years ago, now called Montezuma Castle National Monument. I had never seen anything like that! These people dug rooms/homes into the side of the cliff, they needed ladders to get to their homes. Very neat to see.

Frank Lloyd Wright is my hero. Well, a lot of things he did/said spoke to me. One afternoon we went on a guided desert walk and the home tour of Taliesin West (Wright's Arizona home and school). The desert walk was quite interesting and picture perfect. Our guide informed us of many desert plants and cactus, I was fascinated. Next it was a guided tour of Wright's home. So do you hate how people tend to crowd in the entry way of a home? Well, Wright solved that problem by making the entry ways too short to stand comfortably in. He thought people needed to decide if they were in or out, no stalling by the door. He was also the most stubborn man...after a few years his wife finally wore him down and convinced him to install glass to keep out the bugs. However, the was one room that was decorated just how he wanted and installing glass windows would mean this one vase on this one table would have to be moved forward. He wouldn't allow it, so instead they had to cut a hole in the glass. So the vase remains untouched on the table and half of it sticks out the hole in the window.

One free afternoon I took the opportunity to go Horseback riding. Fort McDowell Adventures was right outside Fountain Hills so I took the short drive over there. Turns out I was the only person signed up for the 1:00 guided tour (the 12:45 tour had 15 people!) so it was just me and the guide! I did not bring a camera and I think the guide thought I was loony because of that, but I had just done the desert walk the day before so I had a ton of pictures, I just wanted to sit back and enjoy the scenery on this one. After that outing I met up with the family back at the time share for a family bbq. I have 2 other sets of aunts/uncles that live in AZ year round or just during the winter.

This day we drove out to visit my aunt Tudy and uncle Dean. They live in Apache Junction during the winter (they have a great view of Superstition Mountain). They told us of this Flea Market near them that we just had to go to. Wow, am I glad we did! This place had it all, some prices were good, some weren't, but that is the way of a Flea Market. You would also find yourself looking at something that a few booths away was several dollars less, so it was the luck of the draw if you picked to buy the item without seeing what was ahead. After spending the afternoon shopping we went to dinner at the coolest place ever: Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, AZ. Imagine a Chuckie Cheese for adults. You order pizza at a counter and then run to find a good seat. The seating is set up in these long tables and benches - it is nothing fancy but it is fun. All eyes face the stage that showcases these organ pipes that are immense (and scattered around are these stuffed animated animals and other instruments, so I guess it is gaudy, but whatever, you just go with it). At show time, up from the middle of the stage floor rises this organ, the sound is incredible. Plus, the organist knows every song out there; I was shocked to hear him play the University of Minnesota song! It was a fun night!

So yeah, it was a good little family trip. I still found time to lounge around by the pool and visit a local spa for a massage, so it was great, I would love to visit Arizona again!

pictures: Not on line yet

~Posted by Ann (transferring travel logs to this site)

My North Shore Trip, August 26 - 30, 2005

Travel Log

How about I break this down by day, it was such a whirl-wind trip that this might make it easier to follow along...

~Friday
Right after work Bob and I hit the road! We quickly made it up to Two Harbors by 9:30 or so (after making a dinner stop at Culvers so I could spend $13 on fast food). Our lodging that night: The Voyageur (be sure to say it in a French accent). It was your typical highway motel, very JoyRide-esque.

~Saturday
We awoke in the morning to a sunlit, 20 foot tall, paper-mache looking man in the parking lot, I guess this was the Voyageur? We headed out for breakfast and ate at a cute local cafe, Vanilla Bean Cafe. After a moment of exploring the local cemetery, we were off to our first hike: Gooseberry Falls. Talk about mob, so many people were milling about the Falls, I was sure that I was going to see a 2 year old (or Bob) take a head dive off the cliff. We wandered off down some path and found it easy to lose the crowd then, most everyone just plays by the Falls.

After walking around at Gooseberry we had worked up an appetite and found the greatest lunch spot: Lemon Wolf Cafe in Beaver Bay. Even the bathrooms were decked out! It was totally the cliché looking MN cabin, but adorable, plus the food was actually good!! After refueling at lunch we were on our way to Grand Marais. However, we didn't make it far because we stumbled upon SugarLoaf Interpretive Trail. LOVE IT! The trail was densely wooded, with an inch of pine needles to soften your walk. Every few yards or so there was a numbered post, you would use that number to correspond to the number in your guide book (found at the entrance) and there would be a little history lesson about the site you were at, trust me, it was fun! Although there was a blind dog that followed us back to the car, it actually ran into a post, that stressed me out, I just wanted it to return to the center! We climbed back in the car and then it was onward to Grand Marais! I now believe it is time to introduce you to Five Mile Rock. Bob and I traveled this stretch of road more times than I would like to count and Five Mile Rock faithfully greeted us every time. I have no idea how that stupid rock got a name and why the city paid for a sign to alert us to the rock, but it was there. We stayed at The Outpost Motel for the night. It was the smallest motel room I had ever been in but it was very clean!

~Sunday
Mmmm...donuts....Mmm...World's Best Donut Shop... Ok, how could you go wrong with a bakery name of World's Best Donuts!? Needless to say Bob and I stopped for a donut, or two. It was a cute little shop, the place is plastered with pictures and notes from people who have traveled all over the world representing World's Best Donut Shop. Countless collages of people gleefully holding a mug that says 'World's Best Donut Shop' with the Eiffel Tower in the background or the Great Wall or Coliseum in Rome or, well you get the idea. After that filling and energy producing breakfast it was onto Devil's Kettle. The woods quickly enveloped us as we started the hike on the earth trodden trail. Several minutes later, after a continuous ascending climb, we came upon stairs, 171 stairs to be exact. Thankfully on this round they descended, but I was already dreading the fact I would have to climb them to complete this trail. But on with the hike for now, we stopped for a quick photo moment at the Upper Falls, but I could hear Devil's Kettle in the distance and was eager to see it. Devil's Kettle is a very mysterious water fall, just before the water crashes over the cliff into the river below, it separates so there are essentially two waterfalls. One waterfall powerfully empties into the peaceful river below, while the other waterfall, well it disappears into this cavern (aka: kettle). The thing is, no one knows where this waterfall eventually empties out! They have tried dyes and debris but they never see the dye or items again. Best guess is that there is a network of underground rivers that possibly travels all the way to Lake Superior, but it is quite the mystery, plus I think no one really wants to solve it, it would take away the magic of the place.

Hey we are in Disney World! Oh, no, wait it is Mt. Rose Trail. I don't know, there was something Disneyish about this trail. Maybe it was because it was fully paved or because we had an annoying family in front us that yelled the entire walk up. This was probably not my favorite trail. Although, the lookout on top of the "mountain" was quite the payout and on the walk up we learned about local trees, but I was hoping for more.

And now the story of my death....the Grand Portage Trail. Again, this trail started out fully paved, but Bob and I quickly spotted a trail that branched off and lead us down to the water, which we took advantage of. Here I paused for a left-over donut break and some pictures, then it was on to view the tallest waterfall in Minnesota. It was magnificent, but we were off, we spotted on the park map another hiking trail. Ok, so some advice, if you read a sign that says "use extreme caution, extreme hiking trail", you might want to start out with more than a donut in your stomach and a half a bottle of water. The trail was amazing; at times it was hard to know if we were even on the trail it was so back-woodsy. But I was slowly wasting away, the humidity, the intensity of the trail, I thought I was going to have to tell Bob to go without me and leave me to the bears. However, I survived and actually made it to one lookout view but then we had to head back.

Ann and Bob cross the border! We successfully made it to Canada! People, here is a tip, don't go to Thunder Bay. Ok, I am being mean, but just be prepared. It is not charming, it is dirty and industrial and gray. We spent a good part of the night driving around and looking at the city, it was like the residents had all given up. No one had a garden, no one had any bit of color on their house, it was just depressing. The only saving grace was the White Fox Inn. This is the hotel we stayed at, it is a diamond in the pile of coals. It was clean, it was cute, they had their own maintained trails on site! The only downside was the food, not good, not good at all. However, I wrapped myself in the hotel's plush bathrobe and nothing could get me down for the rest of the night.

~Monday
The wet and dreary morning began with a cheese tour, at Thunder Oak Cheese Farm. It was actually interesting and there was oodles of free samples to snack on. Bob and I both left with an armful of gouda cheese and then we were off to our next stop; the 600 foot long suspension bridge! Who knew that if you drove an hour out of Thunder Bay you would come upon sheer rock faced canyon walls that reached to the sky and lush canyon beds filled with trees and meandering rivers? Eagle Canyon Adventure is the place to go if you can. The sights are amazing and it was fun to walk across the suspension bridge.

Well our time with Canada quickly came to an end and we were back to Minnesota to stay at this Northern hide away, Naniboujou. Interesting place. Don't go there looking for a drink with dinner (manager's choice) or a television in your room (manager's choice). There is this eerie Christian vibe to this place, but it is still remarkable. The dining room ceiling and walls has this vibrant, Native American design that has not been retouched since the 1920s when the lodge opened. It was originally a private country club of sort, with members such as Babe Ruth and local wealthy folk. When the depression hit, the lodge couldn't survive and closed it doors. It opened a few years later as a public hotel for all to enjoy and has been going strong since. The food is wonderful and I would list it as a not to miss place if you are in the area.

~Tuesday
You think Bob and I would just head home after several days of hiking and activities... well, not us! I think, for the both of us, the North Shore had lost its charm and we were looking for some new scenery. That is how we ended up in the Iron Range, more specifically, Ely. For those that haven't been there, go. It is the most charming Northern city I have been in! It beats Two Harbors and Grand Marais, hands down. Oh and Hwy 1! Best highway ever! I only wish we had more than an hour to spend there. We stopped for a quick lunch at The Chocolate Moose (which I heard later is where all the "out of towners" eat at). We then got back in the car, longingly looking at the city that we wished we could explore and drove to the next town over, Soudan. On one of our hikes we saw a brochure for a mine tour, a mine tour where you get to travel 2,341 feet underground! That was the only hook we needed and how we ended up at Soudan Iron Mine. Bob and I donned our hard hats and entered a cage for the trip half a mile underground and where we learned all about the world of underground mining, from an actual old miner. Once underground we also traveled 3/4 of a mile in a tram to the last and deepest area mined, um, there were bats. It was a very interesting tour and I could tell our guide got a kick out of turning out all the lights when we were underground, it was a little unsettling. I plan on returning hopefully in the near future to check out the underground Physics department that the mine also has. However, we ran out of time on this trip and had to leave.......the road trip had come to an end.

pictures: Click Here!

~Posted by Ann (transferring travel logs to this site)

My Mexico Trip, October 14-17, 2005

Travel Log

Can we say train wreck? No, no, I joke, but there were some classic Ann and Rachel traveling event! For instance:

• Minneapolis security: Rachel gets scanned
• Cancun security: Rachel gets scanned (and only because she pressed the button and she lost)
• Cancun security (return): I get scanned

All I am saying is that every time I turned around it seemed like airport security was focused on taking us down. It must have been Rachel's middle eastern heritage (Lebanese), she is such the terrorist.

• Cancun airport: Girl heads off with my bag, thinking it was hers - don't be dumb, double check the tags when you pick up your suitcase - and I have to chase her down in the Cancun airport!
• Cavie was on my flight/transfer bus/resort. Not that I have anything against Cavie, it is just for once I would like to leave Richfield behind, I was going to another country for Pete's sake!
• Rachel discovers she does have a shrimp allergy.
• Beware of the bugs. I thought there was a small sparrow type bird flying towards me, turns out it was a moth. I then of course stopped saying "birdie" in a welcoming tone and instead ducked and screamed.

Resort:

I have zero complaints and would highly recommend the Barceló to everyone. Rachel and I were actually lucky enough to get a room with a view of the ocean (you would be surprised how hard this can be, the hotels are designed so not many rooms face the ocean, because if all the rooms were lined up with the beach, well come hurricane time all the windows would be blown out). We had a free mini-bar that was filled everyday by the mini-bar fairy; beer, candy, pop, water, everything you want on a trip! The first day we realized the sink was leaking when we stepped in the bathroom and nearly drowned. I was slightly worried that we would have to put up with that the whole trip, but they fixed it the same day we complained about it.

Food:

GREAT! The two main questions I heard when I got back were: how was the food and did you buy vanilla (the seasoned Mexico travelers always asked me that). The hotel had a choice between the ocean-side snack bars, the buffet or the sit down fancy like restaurant. The snack bars were probably my favorite, they had pizzas, fruit and the best guacamole I have ever had (go figure, I guess I was in Mexico). The buffets were probably on par with OCB, not stellar, but tons of variety and something to suit every appetite. The food was really fresh and every time we walked into the buffet restaurant we were greeted and offered a drink (champagne, margarita, etc). We were able to make reservations for one night at the fancy restaurant (no shorts, sandals allowed), the atmosphere was lovely, a ton of waiters were there to fill up your drinks when they got half empty (best Sangrias ever!). This restaurant was actually really lacking in the vegetarian department, the only time I ever had a problem on the trip! They had egg dishes for me to eat, eggs are not my favorite, but I believe Rachel's meal was excellent.

Activities/Entertainment:

The resort had an abundance of free activities, we partook in a couple. Snorkeling was by far the highlight of the trip for me (Rachel may have a differing opinion on that). After spending a moment being beat and battered against the rocky shore, I made it past the breaking waves and into this incredible underground city. I had the best time letting the current move me around while I peeked into this undersea life. There were tropical fish of all sizes and shapes, some would swim right up to me, others would sneak a look at me from under a coral cliff and some would take off so fast I couldn't see anything but a silvery tail in the distance. Patches of the coral were so vibrant, pink fans would wave at me from afar, almost beckoning me out further. Stark white cactus-shaped, bonsai-sized trees lined the dark rocks. Dirty white mounds of sponge in the shape of brains were scattered around, it lead me to imagine that just maybe this underground paradise did have an intelligence of some sort that guided them all.

Other resort amenities

• Mini-golf: Free! We went after dark one day and it was actually a little spooky. The course is set up in a jungle. Very wooded (bugs can be bad) and dark if one of the lights on the course were to be out. Fun time though.
• Arts and crafts: Well, it wasn’t free, but still, arts and crafts! I love arts and crafts! We purchased the items we wanted to paint and then sat down and tried to keep the paints inside the lines, I have more respect for kindergarteners now. Once we were done we were told we could pick up our items the next day, they glaze them for us and add a black border around the designs that cover any mistakes!
• Nightly Entertainment: Wow. Now this was a train wreck. Granted the entertainment was free, so I wasn't expecting much and well, this was not a Vegas show. Oh, this singer must have thought he was Michael Jackson and not just impersonating him. Granted this guy could moonwalk, but who can't? Just walk backwards without picking up your feet, I never really understood why that was so cool. I can't even explain why this was bad, maybe the Day-Glo outfits for Thriller had something to do with it. However, I did find it surprisingly hard to pull myself away.
• Pools: The pools were huge, not crowded and wonderfully clean. Most resorts are now using this new kind of filtration where chlorine is not needed. Some form of soft salt is used instead that is just as effective as chlorine at killing the bacteria but it does not leave you all smelly, that was pleasant. The pool bars were great, it is so relaxing to wander around the pool and sip a margarita.
• Beach: The definition of paradise. There were lounging chairs all along the shore and 95% of them were unused. The palm trees were scattered along at perfect locations so you could easily pick between a shaded chair or a sun soaked location.

Excursions:

CHICKEN PIZZA! Er, I mean, Chichen Itza ! This was a very long day, but so worth it. It started at 8 am with Rachel and me waiting at the front lobby for the tour bus. I won't get into it, but it might be possible that the bus and everyone on it was waiting for Rachel and me. We were standing exactly where we were told we should the day before, but well, thank god for the Mexican that looked like Ryan Paetznick (my landlord)! He steered us in the right direction. So we boarded the bus and seven hours later we arrive at the ancient Mayan city! Thankfully, it was not a solid seven hours of driving. There were many stops along the way. We stopped at a Mayan market, aka, a tourist trap. Eee gad, the stress! As soon as you walk in the workers surround you. They try to find something that interests you, something you linger on and then watch out, they will not let it go. I managed to bargain for a necklace here so I felt pretty proud, it is not a place you can browse at. Next stop was a cenote (a natural well). This was magical. We descended this enclosed, stone staircase and emerged on a landing, how do I even describe what I saw....breath taking. Long vines trailed down into this sun-sparkling pool of water. From overhead, small waterfalls splashed into the pool below. The water was cool, but very refreshing. We only had 30 minutes to spend at this place so it was in and out. Wonderful stop. Back on the bus and on the way to lunch. It was buffet style and decent enough, but, ugh, I was ready to move on and see the main purpose for this excursion! We finally arrived! Once there we broke off into two groups; the Spanish group and the English group and off we went. Our guide was Mayan so I think she offered a very interesting perspective on the happenings of this ancient city. It was just fascinating and we did not have nearly enough time. All the buildings and structures are amazing, but the main temple is what it is all about. Built perfectly in lined with the sun, 91 steps grace each side of the structure leading to a main room on top (add it up: 91*4 + 1= 365). It is a wondrous thing that something like that could be built so many years ago. During the excavation they discovered that the main temple had a smaller one inside of it; that is what I climbed. There was just a small hallway carved out that could be used to climb to the top. The stairs were steep, the heat was oppressive, the lighting was dim but when you reached the top, incredible. There were two remaining statues from the time, untouched by looters. There was a man carved out of stone, with his hands open as if as an offering and behind him was a jaguar statue, painted a vivid red, with green spots and jade eyes. Neat.

pictures: Click Here!

~Posted by Ann (transferring my travel logs to this blog)

Oh, Minnesota

Is this because we consume the most or because we recycle the best?

Recycling Fun Fact:
The Metrodome recycles more beverage containers than any other stadium in the country. Last year, they recycled 44.2 tons of brown plastic beer bottles and plastic cups.
Information provided by: www.StarTribune.com