Skip to main content

Blueberries Aren't That Fun to Pick, But They Sure Are Yummy

Brooke had us up bright and early to go blueberry picking: my favorite and least favorite berry to pick. We were all hungry so the kids and I got some donuts from KwikTrip. Plus an egg and sausage biscuit for me. We're such Wisconsinites at heart.

The blueberry farm is only open until 12. If we left at our normal pace it would have been closed by the time we got there.

She is right.

The kids and I tried to go blueberry picking last week during Scott's surgery but they were closed due to short staffing. 

Blueberry picking is so much work. And it was hot.

I will never complain that it's hot again after camping in Texas in July while pregnant. Nothing can compare to how miserable that was. 


Unlike last year, where we got so many blueberries on one bush, this year was more of a hunt. 

At least Meadow is as into as I am. 


I was hoping to get a whole bucket, but this amount would do. 

Usually we save swimming for the end of the day but decided to do it right after. 

Apparently this lake at Square Lake Park is extra clear, but also you might get swimmer's itch.

With Scott's recent surgery and my recent mole biopsy, only the kids got to swim. I was jealous. I wanted to try the clear water. 

Brooke and I took turns sitting in the sun.

Even though neither of us could go swimming, we played in the sand with the kiddos.

Then for some reason we drove over to Osceola.

We thought about having lunch in Taylor's Falls. I said we should see if the Creamery in Osceola had reopened. 

Sadly the creamery was still closed for foundation repairs. 

We ended up at some dive bar along their main drag. P Y's Bar to be exact.


I thought the giant fried food basket wouldn't have many fries, but it did. Then when my burger came out I had even larger serving of fries. Whoops.

Near P Y's was the waterfall we tried to see last spring. The staircase was still closed. We decided to take on the challenge again and find the falls via the Eagle Bluff Trail. 

This time we'd make it to the waterfall. After going the wrong way again, we figured out that the path to the waterfall was under the bridge that crosses the St. Croix.

The map and the trail made it look like you cross the highway. Once we figured it out we were like, duh. 

Even in a drought the Cascade Falls were still flowing.

Maybe it was a good thing we didn't make it last spring. This time we could play in the water. 





After the hike to the falls we drove up along the St. Croix to Taylors Falls for an ice cream treat. Brooke really wanted the world's smallest sundae at the Drive-In. I got a very cherry sierra mist float.

We were both still pretty full from lunch and regretted our decisions. 

Then we surprised the kids with a visit to the Franconia Sculpture Park.

Scott used to take the kids here all the time, I hadn't been in years. 






We hadn't been here since Meadow was entering kindergarten. She'll soon be in 4th grade. Much of the art had weathered since their major expansion.



The heat was starting to get to us so we went through the last few quickly and headed home. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japan Family Trip - Part III: Exploring Asakusa, Akihabara, Ginza, Yanaka and Tsukiji in Tokyo

After being away even for one night it felt strange to be back in the busy city. We arrived at  the end of the line for the Tobu Nikko line,  Asakusa Station .  Then we had to walk over to the Asakusa Line which took us most of the way to our aparthotel in Asakusabashi. It may sound confusing, but Google Maps never lead us astray. We made it onto the A line train for a short ride to  Asakusabashi. The kids look pooped. Eventually we followed the road next to the Chuo Sobu Line. Restaurants and cafes are tucked into many of the railways. A clever way to bring some life to what would otherwise be a desolate space. Our last stay was at the MONday Apart. The Asakusabashi Akihabara location. We were starting to get used to slipper life. In Japan you separate your trash into burnable trash and plastic garbage. We decided to get dinner nearby at Pizzeria Buono Buono, but when we arrived there was a note on the door that they were out of pizza dough for the night. ...

Japan Family Trip - Part II: Exploring the Shrines and Wilds of Nikko

We had originally planned on taking the bullet train down from Tokyo to Kyoto for a day or two. While being epically fast, it was a bit spendy for the four of us.  After talking to Brooke's coworker we settled on a two day trip to Nikko and its World Heritage Sites to break up our week in Tokyo. This turned out to be an amazing decision. The town is teaming with beauty from ancient shrines to epic waterfalls and some of the best meals we had on our trip. Kyoto didn't seem all that appealing to me when I started researching which location to go to. I too am glad we chose to head north to Nikko.  When we booked our Tobu Nikko Spacia X tickets I upgraded to the premium seats thinking that we'd be sitting facing one another. Instead we ended up with 4 individual seats, two in the first two rows and two in the last two rows. It turned out just fine with the kids sitting in front of us in two groups. Meadow and I were seated at the front of the car. Once in awhile we'd pas...

Stillwater Waterfall and MN River Valley Hiking

  Scott had to take some sunset photos in Stillwater.  A fall color aerial 360. I hadn't been there in awhile so we tagged along. We left as soon as Meadow was done for school and headed for the St Croix Boom Site. I had heard there was a hidden waterfall and wanted to check it out. There's not a specific trail to it. From what I read you go down the stairs and take a left following the river.  I think it's an old state trail that isn't maintained and has way too much graffiti.