The Best of Minneapolis

My favoite parts of the town include the boat tour that goes in the lock on the Mississippi River, checking out the saw mill on the island in the middle of the Mississippi River, the Mall of America and the trails around town.

Quick Tips:

If you like to shop and get the chance to go through the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, try to take a couple of hours to go to the Mall of America. You can take a bus for to the mall and it only takes seven minutes. They leave every fifteen minutes.

It is a great way to visit the mall and not spend much money. I have done this a zillion times and never been late for a plance once (tight though).

Best Way To Get Around:

The only way to go in Minneapois is to have your own car, unless you are just visiting the Mall of America.

This is a simple accomodation offering a bed, television, and the other basics. Animals are welcome, and the staff is not intrusive on guest privacy. Overall this is a perfect place to just hang your hat while you explore the twin city area. The price is just right, even for holiday visits. You need a rental car to get to anything in the area (that tab can add up quickly), so a cheap motel helps stretch your buck a bit further.

One of the best highlights of the Summer is the Minnesota State Fair. I go every year to this event as I completely enjoy the event. This is a day away from the normalcy of life and can be best in the afternoon.

The are plenty of exhibitors to find out more about products, local and national, plus they have a revolving exhibit brought in to discuss space (two years ago was NASA) and national topics.

There is the usual carnival stuff too, which is fine if it is your thing to do. I enjoy looking at the arts and crafts section of the fair. You have a highly competitive area and they have some interesting views, especially the photography.

A day at the fair makes you feel like you are a kid again. It is the best way to walk away from your worries and enjoy what the country side of life has to offer.

Urban renewal has been good to the Minneapolis area. Right next to the Mississippi River you will find some great paths to walk, run or bike. These are paved walks that virtually go for miles along the river. I suggest if you are interested in getting out to see the beauty of the river, this is a great place to go.

There are two walkways that go across the river and both have places where you can sit down and watch the lock (the first one on the Mississippi) or the boats upon the water.

On the North side of the river there is a place where you can step off the path and see some of the original structures of the sawmill first started in Minneapolis. There is plenty of history that goes with the walk along the river. The old flour mill buildings can be seen on both sides of the river along with some of the leftovers of the sawmills. Thankfully the city has put up some great signs to give descriptions of the original settings.

This is a really interesting science tour you and the family should make sure to see. Located right off of the downtown area, you are able to see the first lock on the mississippi river. Okay, so this isn't the Panama Canal, but the same principals are used.

The first possibility when seeing the lock is just walking up and watching the boats go up and down from the shore. There is also a people bridge just a short ways down to watch from too.

Another way is to actually get the chance to be in the boat. These tours are usually in the summer and well worth the time.

For those who are phobic, bring a friend. When you get to the bottom, the walls surround you and scare the heck out of you. It is a weird feeling and you get a little creeped out.

Going up it is a different story. It feels exciting to be rising without even raising a finger. Of course the capatain or one of the guides have plenty of information on how the whole process works, so you will be well versed.

This is a great opportunity for the family and I suggest it if you have a least bit of interest on how man has been working with nature.

This is one heck of an aquirium in the middle of the Midwest. I find it more outragous to find it underneath one of the largest malls in America.

You won't be disappointed at the animals you will see at the aquariums and the admission price (around $14) is worth the opportunity.

One of my treasured experiences at this aquarium is when I was given the chance to touch a baby sand shark. It felt so amazing and I reflect on this opportunity every time I touch a piece of sand paper.

When you get to the Under WaterWorld entrance you are handed a colored fish species sheet to reference and, if you want, an audio of the tour and fish on display. Honestly, I scrapped the audio. Not worth it in my opinion, but I really like fish and found the dialog boring.

The aquarium has two paths for the public to relate to and better understand. First it is the native fish of the region. This includes the local varieties like walleye. The other part is the ocean part of the marine life. They had sharks at the facility when I visited and they also had some really beautiful fish as well.

The variety leaves the fish lover in amazament. My favorite part (and it will be yours too) is the moving walk-way under the water tunnel. There you are able to view the fish just like you were walking under the ocean. The fish like hanging on the sides and the top so you see many fish from all angles. They get the chance to see us too - so you might want to dress nice (just kidding.)

The tour ends through the gift shop and there is every plastic marine life known to man at this place. They do have some nice gifts here, but do watch out for the trashy stuff.

Anyone who likes to shop and likes to be warm in the Winter needs to check out the Mall of America. This mall is big, no huge and you can never find out everything about it.

A basic overview to get you aquainted includes it is four floors, has an aquarium in the basement, a movie complex, plenty of restaurants, a putt-putt golf course and an amusement park in the middle.

All of that is okay, but if you are like me - we need to shop. There are some really interesting shops here and if you look hard enough you are going to find some great deals and local flavor.

On the third floor is the Wisconsin Cheese Shop. You need to stop here. Usually they have out four to ten kinds of cheese. Tasting each one is like heaven and I can safely say I have never had some of the flavors there. The most bizarre would be the onion-garlic cheddar.

Another is the Basement Store on the first floow, a great place for cheap clothes. They actually are of quality too. There are the standard mall stores like Gap and Victoria's Secret, but then there are the locals. Like The MidWest Store a one-of-a-kind trinket store. Very interesting and delightful to the eyes.

Okay the stores go on forever and I have so many favorites I've got to shut up, but I will tell you I have gotten lost for a whole weekend in this mall and had time to shop, play, see a movie and take in some nightlife all in one swoop. You must go (alone).