Barb and Dawn's Excellent Adventure

I mentioned previously that my district's "Spring Break" is this week.

I'm on a mini-vacation with my friend Dawn.

We drove to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota--Far enough to "get away,"

 but close enough to not have to sacrifice our first grandchildren to pay for the gas. 

I'm not going to write about everything we did (You're welcome.),

but I am going to share a handful of photos from our trip.

(To read my Trip Advisor reviews, click the appropriate hyperlinks. My T.A. name is CBean63)

Our first stop upon arriving (after a four-hour drive) was the James H. Hill Mansion.

This was my second visit in about 20 years, and I loved every minute of it.

If you like Gilded Age history, incredible craftsmanship, and obscene displays of wealth,

you should definitely check it out.

Trip Advisor Review

Across the street from the Hill mansion is the Cathedral of St. Paul. 

 It's an amazing feat of architecture, not to mention an incredible display of wealth.

Being inside this cathedral made me decide that I really need to get to the Vatican one day.

(Hear that, Honey?)

Trip Advisor Review

All of that exploring made us hungry,  

so we went had lunch at the Cheeky Monkey, just down the street.

We could not have been happier with our experience there.

(My mouth waters to see the food again.)

Trip Advisor Review

Most people would call it a day at that point, 

but if you know my travel style, 

you scoffed at such a suggestion,

and you were right.

With our bellies full, we then headed off to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. 

Everyone raves about that place.

My review might surprise you.

We also headed to the Minneapolis Stone Arch Bridge,

which was teaming with Sunday afternoon visitors.

If you like architecture, this bridge and the area surrounding it will fascinate you.

Here is my Trip Advisor review.

Later that night, I had my first-ever fish taco, at a great place called Roho Mexican Grill. 

(Can all fish tacos be that good?)

On Monday we started out lazy and ate lunch at Hell's Kitchen, 

where I fell in love with my French Dip sandwich, as well as this sign.

(click to enlarge this and any of the other photos in this post)

Think I could get away with putting this up in my classroom?

We also spent four hours at the Mall of America.

All I have to say about that is "Wow."

We're heading home today after a possible visit to the Nicolet Mall 

and Minnehaha Falls.

Wait a second...It just occurred to me that this is my spring "break."

With a break like this, I'm glad I'll have several days at home to recover!