A home for my words.

2024 has been the year where I kicked domestic travel into a higher gear. For the most part, that consisted of visiting Skyscanner and sorting flights from low to high. That led to my buying the first flight out and the last flight back for same-day trips to both San Francisco and San Diego. This meant that I didn’t have to drop money for a hotel room and could be a tourist for the day, while still showering at home and sleeping in my own bed that same night. However, when I saw how reasonable not only flights, but hotels were for a trip to Minnesota, I decided to make it a weekend trip. After all, it would make for a much longer plane ride than California.

Although the blistering cold explained why everything was so reasonable for a weekend trip to Minnesota in January, I had a blast! I even stayed at a way fancier hotel than I would normally spring for. Here were the highlights:

U.S. Pond Hockey Championships

I had to reason with myself that I wouldn’t fall through the ice. The locals were not one bit frightened and a few even seemed to know how to glide across the ice while in their winter boots! A news reporter also interviewed me, but I don’t think I was interesting enough to make the final cut 😀

I missed the best photo opportunity of the winning team for the women’s division taking shots off of a set of skis! I went to snap a photo of their second round of celebratory shots, but local police stepped in and reminded the women that they weren’t able to drink liquor that came from outside of the venue. Womp womp. Still, it was great to get a glimpse of their celebrations.

Mall of America

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mall of America isn’t that thrilling of a trip for Minnesotans, but as an outsider, I’d hoped to visit it for many years. While I didn’t buy anything particularly fun, I just loved being surrounded by all of the shrieks of joy.

One thing I personally found hilarious is that the Mall of America has a walk-in clinic on the third floor! I couldn’t imagine being sick and having to visit one of the largest malls in the world to get treatment. Think of it – – you’re delirious with a fever, barely able to walk, but you have to pass ice cream shops and kids with face paint in order to seek treatment? Talk about a fever dream :p

Museums

If I didn’t mention it enough already, Minnesota was freezing. So it was great to step into museums (and delayer) to view some art in the warmth.

Honorable Mentions

I saw a play named “Art” at the Guthrie Theater and really enjoyed it! It’s about a group of three male friends who have their friendship challenged when one of them purchases a very expensive, yet very basic piece of artwork. Apparently the play was originally in French and has traveled around the world for the past 30 years. I’d recommend it if you ever see a showing. I love to travel alone, but it would have been nice to discuss the play with someone afterwards to see what they made of it. I’ll just have to visit a Reddit thread instead!

I also visited a packed thrift market and a few nice restaurants. My Minnesota trip was brief and frigid, but the people were pretty warmhearted. So if you get the chance to go, even if it is freezing, you just might enjoy it as much as I did.

I had a few other firsts while in Minnesota. Like seeing people in tents ice fishing and even some sort of ice wind surfing! There was another ice event I was unfortunately unable to attend because ironically even though it was blisteringly cold by the time I arrived, Minnesota had been uncharacteristically warm in the prior weeks and the ice wasn’t thick enough for certain events to take place. Although I generally do everything in my power to avoid feeling cold, Minnesota is one of those places that stands to remind me that certain experiences can only take place in the deepest of winters ❤