Uff Da

Most twenty-somethings head off to Mexico, California or Florida for spring break. I booked a trip for White Bear Lake, Minnesota and convinced my best friend to come with me.

I’m not from Minnesota, I’m actually an Arizona native. My dad’s whole family lives there though, and I always loved my family’s yearly trips to visit when I was growing up. We would spend a couple of weeks each summer at the lakeside cabin my grandparents owned. It was a completely different world from the desert landscape I came from and it was always my dream to bring a friend with and show them this magical place.

This trip was my first visit since they sold their lake place and moved to a low maintenance townhouse in the St. Paul suburb of White Bear Lake. I was sad to see the cabin go, but maintaining the property was taking a toll on my octogenarian grandparents who still prefer to stain their deck and wash their windows themselves.

My dream did come true in some capacity, though. I was able to bring my best friend, Sabrina, with me to see what Minnesota was all about.

It was the perfect blend of family time and exploring the cities. We got to attend a concert in downtown Minneapolis, visit Como Zoo and Conservatory, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Uptown Minneapolis, Mall of America and some kick-ass bars.

Each day, before and after touring the Twin Cities, I got to spend some quality time with my grandparents. We played cards (Sabrina even taught us a new game!) talked about current events, and I got to take them out for their 65th wedding anniversary. Not only that, but I got to connect with family members I never really got to see when we were always at the lake. The best part was bowling with my cousins and having 15 Westbys pack into my grandparents’ two bedroom townhouse for tacos.

I still get sad when I remember the cabin is no longer in the family. No more summer days on the lake or winters in the quiet woods of central Minnesota. While the location has changed, the feelings have not. The house is still filled with love, laughter and too much food. It turns out, the place wasn’t the most important part of our vacations, the people were.

There are so many things I love about Minnesota. Cheese curds top that list, for sure, but family is number one.

Related posts:

Many people are familiar with ChatGPT, a powerful technology capable of tasks such as copywriting, answering questions, translation, and almost anything else related to the text. It has become so…

The cost of a data breach isn’t limited to financial loss. The repercussions of inadequate data handling processes can extend further and last longer than a one-time fine. A few years ago, the…

I find it intriguing, that we can become so attached to a group of people or person in such short time periods and then forget them in even shorter time periods. That people can replace other people…