Longest drive to Minneapolis

 We didn't rush and left the house about 10:00 this morning. Dropped off Buddy which actually went much better than usual. No shaking and whining and straight back he went. It helped that Kurt brought him in just as they were ready to bring him back. May have to make sure we do it that way in the future.

First stop of the day was Alexander Ramsey Park. We have been here before with Buddy but was a nice spot to stop and get out of the car for a while. About an hour and a half from home. We went and checked out the waterfall first - always beautiful but water was definitely down from the last time we were here. After the waterfall we just wandered some trails. Was very hilly - and steep hills so got a workout in. Stopped at the park for a ride on the big person swing, or maybe it was special needs, not sure but I enjoyed it! 




Went to Barney's Burgers & Brews for lunch in Redwood. I have the harvest burger - bacon, provolone cheese, and granny smith apple. Was quite interesting. It was good, but different. 

Next on the itinerary was Whit Wort Brewing in Gibbon, about a half hour down the road. What a cute little brewery. Kurt and I both very much enjoyed. Great beer and great service. They had a gentleman singing who was actually pretty good. They were actually fairly busy for a Saturday at 3:00. There was some festival going on so maybe that explains why they were busy and the music in the middle of the afternoon. Could have stayed here longer but still had a bit a drive.



Next was Oldenburg Brewing Company in Belle Plaine, about and hour drive. Once again a festival in town, guess it is that time of year.  Here I got a flight - 4 8oz pours. I had a cream ale, blonde, raspberry wheat, and peanut butter & jelly time (Kurt's pick). The cream ale and blonde tasted exactly the same and were pretty good but pretty light. The Raspberry was pretty good. Not a fan of the pb&j - Kurt got to drink that one. We also got a pretzel with chili queso dip. Both the pretzel and dip were great!



Headed out and for the hotel to check in, about another half hour drive. Staying at the Country Inn in Shakopee. Just checked in and ordered an Uber to head out for dinner and some drinks. Went to O'Briens Public House for dinner. I had the Smokehouse Bourbon Pasta. Was delicious although quite spicy. Kurt had a BBQ platter and he said his was quite good too. Ate way to much and needed to walk off a bit. So headed down the road for a little stroll. 

Ended up at Mana Brewing. I had just a light beer, not my favorite. Kurt wasn't real impressed with his beer either. Played Would You Rather while we had our drinks. Well, we didn't really play as I am not sure how you even play but I just read the questions and we had to answer. Dumb questions like Would You Rather lose every hair on your body and have triple the amount of hair you have? Would you rather have a 1500 lb steer live in your house or two live seagulls. Was dumb but kept us laughing. 

As usual, instead of another beer I found ice cream. It was actually a Mexican place called Delicias Del Viejo. Couldn't understand half the menu so just got ice cream. I had strawberry cheesecake and Kurt the Marzipan. My ice cream was great - I thought Kurt's was weird but he liked it so that's what matters. Went for a little stroll while eating our ice cream then ordered our Uber and headed back to the hotel. 10:00 and ready for bed! 

As always, a great day hanging with the hubby!


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