Vacationing "up North!"

In the last several weeks, I have discovered some of Minnesota's best kept secrets.  They may not even be secrets, but having traveled all over the country with my family while growing up, somehow we missed the beautiful country in Northern Minnesota! The upper Midwest has some gorgeous country in the North Woods, especially along the North Shore of Lake Superior and in the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Canada.  Having made connections with all the right people, we have been able to experience and enjoy some of this beautiful country over the past month!

I got to know a couple, Carol and Dave, from our church Holy Trinity, and they invited my housemates and I to join them for a weekend at their cabin in the Boundary Waters.  We packed snacks and a good music playlist for the road, and drove 5 hours up the North Shore and down the Gunflint Trail to find their place. We enjoyed playing around Duluth for a few minutes on the way up.

Their cabin was a beautiful piece of art, as it was covered in rosemaling--a Norwegian art.  These patterns covered the ceiling, every piece of furniture, the clocks, toasters, trash cans, you name it.  It was a nice tribute to Norway.

We spent the weekend canoeing and portaging through many of the lakes, hiking scenic vistas, and taking in all the beauty: with no humidity and no bugs. I realize what a special treat that was!

 We even caught 10 rainbow trout for lunch and dinner. First time fishing for me, which was great!

 The rest and relaxation was much needed.  It was such a treat to spend the weekend with people who love the Boundary Waters so much, and loved playing tour guide. They drove us all around, so we got a good sense of this place that I have only heard about.  On our drive home, we took our time driving down Lake Superior, stopping at Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls and Duluth again.  I was lucky enough to drive along the North Shore with fall colors in October with the Ward Family and with snow in November with my landlords, but it was fun to see it in the spring! It is almost like being at the ocean, so for being a landlocked state, they have some gorgeous coastline!

 2 weekends later, I went camping with a few friends in Taylor's Falls, MN right on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin on the St. Croix River.  I recently read a book about the Swedish Emigrants that came through this very part of Minnesota (thanks Mom for the recommendation!), so I really enjoyed touring a place I had read all about! While this weekend was slightly less relaxing (lots of rain, heat, bugs, and a few other camping mishaps) we shared many laughs.

Next weekend, I am heading up to another friends' cabin in north central Minnesota with a group of friends from LVC.  I feel very lucky to have a) so many free weekends, b) so many adventurous friends willing to go all over to explore with me and c) the connections to all these great places. I am so happy that warm summer weather is here and that I continually have the excuse to get out of the city a bit to enjoy more of this great state!

Christy - Carl - and Caroline!

Thank goodness my sister works for the Norwegian American Weekly, thank goodness the world celebrates Syttende Mai, and thank goodness I live in the most Norwegian city in the US...all of these factors meant that Christy was able to fly out here on a business trip and Carl got to come too! We had 4 days of exploring together, lots of sunshine, and plenty to catch up on, so naturally we had the best time!  Christy and Carl were the last of my family to come out for a visit, so I was happy to finish off the Olsen set with them this May.

 I often try to color coordinate pictures with people, but we just happened to be wearing matching clothes when they flew in.  Good taste in 2012 colors I might say!

 Christy and Carl got to dress up and celebrate Syttende Mai with lots of people who love Norway. 

 I had a list of restaurants and bars that was a little too long for their 3 day stay, so we went bar-hopping Friday night--enjoying 4 of my favorites in Uptown/Downtown Minneapolis!  The Cafeteria, Chino Latino, The Local and Brit's Pub.  80 degrees until 10pm, so we had a great way to experience the roof top bar culture Uptown!

 

 Saturday we got to do a lot of exploring.  We drove to all of my favorite lakes and river parkways around Minneapolis and St Paul. I think they will both agree that it is such a beautiful city.

 That afternoon, we found a soda shop that was just opened by our second cousin twice removed, or some relation like that.  We enjoyed Swedish fish and old fashioned root beer floats...yum!

 On Sunday morning, we went to a Norwegian church service that was packed with Norwegian families.  And so many adorable children dressed in bunads-the traditional Norwegian dress.  At the end of the service, we joined the 300 person parade around the neighbor hood, waving flags and marching along with the band.  It was a little silly, but a blast.  We finished the celebration with great Mexican food.  No room in the church basement for us to enjoy the potluck, so we went for the famous corn pancakes across the street!

It was a fabulous weekend--lots of awesome food, many laughs, and great sibling bonding time. I love showing my new home to everyone, so I was thrilled that they would be able to experience it too.  While I will be sad to leave Minneapolis in a few months, I am excited to be close to these two next year in Seattle!

Have I mentioned that I have the best job?

All year, I have been convinced that I have the best LVC placement around... or at least my perfect placement.  The end of each week is so rewarding.  It is truly amazing to work in a place that cooks and delivers nearly 10,000 meals every week to people who are sick in the Twin Cities area.  That is a lot of food! And a lot of love poured into those meals.  I feel like I get to incorporate my skills and interests into my job on a daily basis. I am in charge of a lot of details, I get to organize groups of people to pack meals each morning, I am in charge of celebrating client birthdays (you all know how much I love birthdays!), I interact with the most wonderful volunteers and staff all day long, and am learning an incredible amount about cooking, food, nutrition and how those things come together to help us lead healthier, more sustainable lifestyles. What a great thing to take with me when I leave Open Arms!

Beyond the day to day work that I find so rich, we have amazing opportunities for outreach and fundraising...which takes the form of the Moveable Feast each May!  Moveable Feast is an event where we have 400 guests join us for a night of drinks, silent auctions, games, limo rides, and 5 course meals at restaurants across the Twin Cities.  We made nearly $250,000 at this fundraiser, which translates to tens of thousands of meals that we can deliver.  The theme this year was 1920's...here are a few favorite photos from the night:

 friends Jeff, Jeanne and Ellen

 Some of my crazy staff!

 My favorite co-worker ladies

 Ellen and I are both in year-long volunteer programs at Open Arms--it's great to have someone who knows just what I'm doing...and someone to have so much fun with!

All in all, it was a fabulous night and a great representation of the teamwork, joy, silliness and pride that comes in the work that we do.  So happy to work for Open Arms!