Tripping

"You Betcha" Stick Sculpture at Minnesota Arboretum. Amazing!

My husband and I recently returned from a quick trip to Minneapolis with our daughter and her husband from Oregon. We had a grand time. The weather was exceptionally calm for the month of July with moderate temperatures, low humidity and nary a storm cloud in the sky. Our itinerary was action packed and we made the most of every minute. Here are a few insights I learned from our trip.

1) I am not a share-a-family's-home Airbnb person. In an attempt to find a non-hotel place for our little family to hang out, I dipped my toe into this world. Unfortunately, my selection was a disaster. The messages I started receiving from the host 48 hours before arriving should have sent me running but it was too late to make changes, so I hoped for the best. The psycho cat yowling behind a random door, the daughter's boyfriend making non-stop noise on the floor above us, the host's boyfriend clomping around at 4:00 a.m., a non-existent second bedroom and kitty cat #2 invading our space resulted in a restless night for all. We packed our bags and checked into a hotel. Lesson learned. I prefer staying at places where hosts have at least an hour or two of training in hospitality.

2) If you were bad at bowling a decade ago, you will still be bad at bowling ten years later. Our daughter selected a cute little retro-pub/bowling alley for our entertainment one evening. I knew that my role was to make everyone else feel successful. Mission accomplished. My score was abysmal. My dear husband ( a league bowler for many years) attempted to give me tips for improvement. Keep your eyes on the little dots on the lane floor. Keep your thumb pointed upwards. Don't lob the ball. Relax, Etc. Etc. All this was good advice, but my skill level makes me a rather hopeless participant. I had a good support team as they cheered me through all my gutter balls and wobbly single pins refusing to fall. Despite my ineptness, I am looking forward to my next round of bowling. Ten years from now.

3) Food plans must stay flexible. Due to the Airbnb debacle and a tight entertainment schedule we had no time to pick up ice for the cooler, therefore, our cache of fruits, vegetables and hummus had to be sacrificed to the trash gods. No complaints as we noshed our way through food truck cheese curds, pulled pork sandwiches, fish and chips, brats, nachos, popcorn and chocolate chip cookies. Tasty and not a green leaf in sight. Vacation cuisine, for sure.

4) It's always a good day when the Minnesota Twins beat the New York Yankees. We ended our whirlwind trip with a night at Target Field. The seats were good, the weather was great and the game was spectacular. I know just enough about baseball to cheer when I am supposed to and groan when necessary. When the game ended, we almost needed a tether to keep my husband from floating away as we left the stadium. Good had triumphed over evil and we were there to witness it.

Much too soon, it was time to say good-bye and head homeward. Lawns needed mowing, gardens needed tending and real life needed attention. Our trip was not about hotels with perfect photo ops, or stunning local excursions or trendy cuisine scenes (unless you count the cheese curds). We were content with our happy memories with the people we love.

Final Score: Twins-8  Yankees-6