Saturday
For this weeks farmers market run, the kids and I tried out the St Paul Farmers Market. After hearing about it for years we finally made the trek. Getting here and finding parking was an adventure in itself.
Well, that's because it's not located in a car sewer.
Love all the pretty colors.
Popcorn for these kiddos.
I'm not sure how you all aren't sick of popcorn.
Then we stopped at a Hyvee to get food for a picnic lunch, camp meals for our upcoming trip to Ontario, and school snacks.
Then to take advantage of our new Wisconsin State Park pass, we went to the uber popular Willow River State Park. All the picnic tables were in use so the ground it is.
The only other time we have been here was in the winter. I had been wanting to go in the summer and take the kids swimming. Apparently everyone else does this.
I think next summer I'll have to take them on a Friday.
Meadow would soon regret not bringing her swimsuit.
I later saw a boy hugging Theo. Turns out one of his friends from school was also here.
They played for a bit before heading home.
How sweet!
On our way home we stopped at the smallest Walmart I've ever seen to get more litter box bags. While here we saw the blanket aisle. On our last RV trip we bought a cheap blanket at Walmart. It was too big to bring home so we donated it. Theo has been asking to have that blanket again, ever since.
Our adventures for the day went longer than I thought, frozen pizza for dinner.
I have no recollection as to why I didn't go with nor eating this pizza. Apparently I stayed home becasue I'd gotten sick at some point.
Sunday
I was hoping to feel better before our longtime friend Ben made it to Minneapolis. He just finished a randonneuring (biking) tour through Wisconsin and Minnesota's driftless area.
We picked him up in Apple Valley and then Scott whipped us up a nice backyard cookout.
Monday
Ben was only going to be with us for 24 hours so I took the day off work. Scott showed off more of his cooking skills by making crepes for breakfast.
Ben wanted to do a 60 mile ride today. Mind you, he had just finished a 1200K bike ride.
We settled on something in the 20 mile range.
We also made him use my old Schwinn so he could bike at our pace.
Ben said he loved this place called Bricksworth in the North Loop. Scott and I had never heard of it before. The pizza was really good.
I had other ideas for lunch, but this turned out great.
Ben wanted some coffee to take back home with him to Seattle. We stopped at Backstory Coffee Roasters.
Since we're totally not coffee people we asked our buddy Nate.
This space was pretty cool.
Then Ben wanted another beer.
And then another.
Before his send off to the airport we made one last stop at Pat's Tap for apps.
At Utepil's we talked about going swimming after biking all day. I told the kids to get ready not realizing Ben wanted to get one more drink. By the time we got home Scott and I were pooped but the kids had been waiting to go swimming.
Brooke wasn't feeling up to it, so I took the kids and let them swim while I chilled on the shore.
Whatever virus Scott had caught had finally got to me.
While we were eating that killer Detroit-style pizza with Ben, I got a message from one of my clients. Something had come up and they needed a photographer out in Utah. I happened to have a couple days open, so booked everything last second.
On the night I arrived at SLC, I drove down to Provo, Utah where I'd be staying the night. There weren't many hotels near my shoot plus there were wildfires closer to the shoot. So, this seemed like the best bet.
The old Mormon temple at the edge of downtown was something.
Provo was pretty nice. Utah is a tidy state. Everyplace is almost picture perfect.
I got up way too early to drive the rest of the way down to the Wasatch Valley.
After I shot a boarding school in Mount Pleasant, Utah, I got lunch down in lovely Spring City, Utah.
My campus guide thought I'd like this town. Both for the food at Das Cafe and the old time charm.
A main dining room lead into the old Victory Hall.
The downtown is only a few buildings, but even they are rad.
I had to bring home some of these fancy lollipops for the kids.
Then I drove randomly through town.
Large stone bricks are featured in many of the varied homes.
And some classic cabins.
Amazing!
I just couldn't stop driving around aimlessly.
These days the town is an artist's enclave.
I'd totally like to come back someday and explore some more. I had to get back to SLC to fly home. Or at least I thought I did. Ended up getting delayed until early Friday morning. Ah, well.
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