COVID is Over! Is it? No, but the world is moving on. This is the first flight of ours in over 2 years where masks were not required. It was great! Not that we were the best at wearing them in 2020 or 2021, but it is extremely nice not having to worry about an extra item to carry.
During COVID, flights were extremely cheap so we visited quite a few places in the United States that we never really imagined visiting. When I looked at a map of locations we still had not been there was a clear void in the center of the United States — the midwest. The Midwest, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. With this trip, we can check off 4 of the remaining 5 states. The only state we have not visited is North Dakota! Not sure why we would go there, but it is on my list.
Before most trips, I create a list of must-see attractions, if we have time places, that are cool but we aren’t anywhere near this (or so I think), and places we have to eat at. This legwork helps in places like the Midwest because knowing where to go right off the plane can be difficult. They have flyers, but often advertise things that are not anywhere close to where you are.
(X) Plane Ride from San Diego to Minneapolis
We fly Sun Country for the first time. A nice budget airliner that gave both Grant and me a window seat and a free drink. No problem with our oversized bags. Friendly flight attendants. We would fly this airliner again for sure.
(X and X) Get a Rental Car and Check in to Hotel
We lucked out and got to Budget before everyone picked up their bags. There was one attendant and about 20 people looking to pick up their cars. We waited about 10 minutes and snagged a Jeep Compass. Not the most fuel-efficient car, but a serviceable car. Grant booked us downtown at the Royal Sonesta, a 4.5-stars hotel cheaper than most 3-stars.
It was 1 am by the time we got checked into the hotel and were starving. Thankfully, there was a pizza place called Pizza Luce that was still open. For some reason, I imagined this place was going to be good. Dud. I am not sure what I was expecting from a pizza place downtown that was open until 2 am. My bad.
(X and X) Target Center and Target Field
The next morning I got up before Grant and started wandering around. The location was great for going to a sports game. We were right next to both Target Center (basketball) and Target Field (baseball) where the Timberwolves and Twins play. The weather was not the most cooperative as it was cloudy and rainy, but I snapped a few photos. Right around the corner for those stops was the Orpheum Theater. Every city in the midwest seems to have an Orpheum for some reason. By the time I was ready to move to the next spot sleeping beauty woke up. I walked back to the hotel and rendezvoused with Grant.
(X) Mills Ruins Park
Our first stop together was Mill Ruins Park. Mill Ruins Park opened on Oct. 1, 2001, to celebrate the history of 19th-century ruins that were once mills and powered by St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi. During the 19th-century, flour became what put Minneapolis on the map and was exported around the nation and world. An explosion happened in 1878 that ruined the industry and literally grounded it to a halt. The ruins were later converted into a tourist destination. Here we visited the Guthrie Theater, Mill City Museum, Mill City Farmer’s Market, and wandered around one of the stone bridges. It was pretty, but how exciting is flour? This would have been a glutted-free dieter's worst nightmare. After picking up a cookie and ham & cheese croissant we were off to our next stop.
(X) Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
A free activity? Well, I do think we can handle this one. A fair size zoo and garden that we wandered around. Grant spent most of the time in the bathroom, but I made sure he saw the anaconda to freak him out.
(X) Minnesota State Capitol
A quick drive-by was all this one was worth. It’s a capital and compared to the other ones we have seen — just an okay one.
( ) and (X) Matt’s Bar and Baker Wife
The time change kind of messed up our eating schedule so it was about 1:00 pm when we realized that we hadn’t eaten. The one place to eat in Minnesota that kept coming up was Matt’s Bar home of the original Jucy Lucy. The correct spelling according to this place is “Jucy” and not “Juicy,” which is strange. Evidently, it was created after a patron wanted cheese in-between two patties and the brilliant idea of a “stuffed burger” was born. Unfortunately, with this being “the place” to go in Minneapolis it was quite crowded and cash-only.
We attempted to get cash at the gas station down the street, but to our dismay, they did not give us cashback. So we stocked up on chips, cookies, and water for nothing. We did meet the friendliest gas station attendant ever. Minneapolis is known for its manners and how friendly everyone was and it was on full display. Everyone we talked to in this state was just the friendliest person.
After walking back to the restaurant I made my way inside and used their ATM to pull out $40. The line was literally out the door and I couldn’t convince Grant to stay so we scratched this one. [Checklist Fail] Instead we went to the Baker’s Wife where they make homemade pastries from scratch. We ordered the pastries we wanted and then Grant kept ordering. We paid, and then he wanted tea. Then he tried to cookie and it was so good he wanted more— so we paid again. We must have spent $40 on pastries. We also must have made someone’s day because somehow in all of the “paying”— I dropped the $40 cash that I had just gotten. Ouch. That was an expensive bakery visit, but definitely worth it.
(X) and ( ) Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe
By this time we were hungry, but so hopped up on sugar that we just wanted to make it to the largest attraction in all of Minneapolis— the Mall of America. It was packed. Like Disneyland during Christmas time packed. There was a line for food, a line for attractions, and even a line to get into Hot Topic. Saturdays are not the day to go to this mall! We attempted to make the best of it and wandered around looking at all of the stores. There were four floors and going around the bottom floor only was exhausting.
Saturday around lunchtime lines for food was a non-starter for the two of us that don’t wait in lines. Instead, we took this as an opportunity to do some of the attractions. First up, was a 5D ride. This 12-minute action-packed stationary rollercoaster never really got off the ground. Up next was Fly Over America. A virtual ride that lifts you up and over some of America’s greatest sites and monuments. Two shows were going on simultaneously — America and Hawaii. We had just been to Hawaii so we wanted to “soar” over America. We would stand in line— they be just starting the Hawaii show. We would leave and come back— they just let in America.
Mind you— we were still hopped up on sugar so instead of waiting, we wanted action. We went to the center of the mall where Nickelodeon Universe was housed. An amusement park inside the middle of the mall is adorned with Nickelodeon-themed rides. While none of the themes spoke to us— we decided to look for the most thrilling of rides. We purchased our tickets and then proceeded to get in line. Again, Saturday is not the day to go. The lines were overflowing out of their shoots. At this time we were frustrated so we went to customer service to ask for a refund and the strangest thing happened— they granted it. No questions asked.
We went back to Soarin and again it was Hawaii. At this point, I am thinking they are just messing with us. I ask Grant to work his magic again to convince them to just give us a refund. We leave and look at our checklist of Minneapolis. Having checked off the majority of most do items we hit the road for Des Moines, Iowa.
Still Outstanding / Missing
( ) Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
( ) Matt’s Bar (Jucy Lucy Burger)
( ) Minnehaha Regional Park —Minnehaha Falls
( ) Nickelodeon Universe
__________
(!) Bonus: Pizza Ranch
The distance between Minneapolis and Des Moines was about 2 hours. Close enough to justify going. The road to Des Moines was boring. Imagine cornfields on top of cornfields on top of cornfields. Now imagine it being off-season and all of the corn is gone leaving dirt. Yep, that’s what we saw for two hours straight. It was about 3:30 pm when Grant and I realized that we had not eaten. We unexpectedly passed a Pizza Ranch. An all-you-can-eat buffet we had in Wisconsin before that is reminiscent of Cici’s Pizza, but with an entire buffet of fried chicken in addition to the pizza. Grant and I were starving so we stopped at the next one we saw in some small town in Iowa. The pizza that was there on our arrival was stale, but come 3:45 pm and that was the place to be. Droves of people came out and fresh pizza started coming out frequently. Both Grant and I laughed as technically this was our anniversary dinner so it was very fitting for us.
After stuffing one more chicken breast into my overfull stomach we continued our journey. Grant had the brilliant idea of watching the season finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race that had aired, while we were on the plane. He downloaded and we watched it as we drove. We laughed because it was the quickest download ever and joked that this was probably the first download in this area. The longest season that started on Grant’s birthday and ended on his anniversary was over and the two of us were happy with the winner.
(X) Diamond Jo Worth Casino
Along the way, I mapped out a few places to stop at and one of them was Diamond Jo Worth Casino. If you ever need a place to stop on a long trip do so at a casino. The bathrooms are going to hopefully be cleaner than a gas station and they offer free drinks for gamblers. We didn’t gamble so we absconded with our drinks and kept going. Plus this one had an amazing corn door handle, which really impressed me!
(X) High Trestle Bridge
Around this time, we noticed that the weather was turning quickly. Grant looked up what was going on and it turns out there was a Tornado Warning in the area that we were driving into. He wanted me to stop and I wanted to keep going. I stopped at the next gas station after getting a tongue lashing for being reckless and we waited 5 minutes before the warning expired.
We continued to what I wanted to see the most, which was the High Trestle Bridge. Imagine an art installation in the middle of nowhere Iowa that overlooks protected plains. Now add trippy neon lights at the end of the bridge and you have the High Trestle Bridge. As we made our way out there it was eerie. The rain had subsided and the sun was just peaking itself out before it fell. We found the entrance to the bridge and we were the only car there. We had to walk about a mile down this creepy path that had no lights.
About 10 minutes into the walk, we began to see the bridge and the lights. After posing for a few photos and admiring the view, we started walking back and ran into a few people who were coming out to do the same. With the storm and the stops, what should have taken 2 hours took closer to 4, but we made it to Des Moines.
(X) and (X) Des Moines Capital and Traveler’s Umbrella
Earlier that day, we thought we would end up in Omaha, Nebraska as night fell. Well, night had fallen and we still hadn’t made it. This is where it got complicated. Grant had a change in his flight as he was going back a day earlier. I was going out of Minneapolis, but he was going out of Des Moines. He wanted to see Omaha so when we got there he immediately picked up another rental car and hit the road to Omaha.
I stayed back and checked out the sites. When doing research on Des Moines as the “most” see sites— there wasn’t many. The Capital came up so I snapped a photo there. The other thing that popped up was the Traveler’s Umbrella. A weird site to see that dated back to when Traveler’s Insurance was there. They are no longer there, but they still have it lit up. I walked the streets and checked out the East Village. It was nice, but nothing to rant and rave about.
(X) Zombie Burger (fried cheeseburger)
Now the food on the other hand— RAVE REVIEW! We had eaten poorly so far on this trip and we were going to go for a heart attack today. The place to check out is Zombie Burger. A super kitsch restaurant with a horror theme. If you look past the silly zombies that line the restaurant you will find an unhealthy, but amazing burger. I ordered fries, cheese curds, and the Walking Chen Burger. The bun is two fried macaroni and cheese patties sandwiched a burger patty with bacon. Holy Moly was it good, but I couldn’t even get past half of it before tapping out. Since I was driving to Omaha myself I saved the rest for Grant.
(X)Hotel in Omaha
It was getting late and I had already checked everything off of my must-do list. I also was reeling from the fried bomb that was in my stomach so I drove to Omaha to be with Grant. Another two-hour drive. It was a lot, but I finally made it. I sped the entire way and even with all that I did I was only 20 minutes behind Grant. Slowpoke. ;) He ate my cold leftovers that were still super tasty and we both went to bed.
(X) Old Market
The next morning to my utter surprise, Grant was up before me. I blame the fact that my arteries were clogged. We put Downtown Omaha as the destination and drove past some interesting sites. We saw the Mutual of Omaha headquarters, the University of Nebraska campus, and the Dundee area (foodie area). When we arrived at “Downtown Omaha” we were kind of left going…huh? It was one of those anti-climactic arrivals. Turning lemons into lemonade, Grant saw that there was a restaurant called Kitchen Table and went in. He was left unsupervised and ordered a patty melt, which made my stomach queasy after the Zombie Burger the night before. It was super tasty, but I can’t do any more burgers for a while.
The main tourist area was called the Old Market where visitors can stroll along the cobbled streets and explore the many preserved buildings. The neighborhood has many restaurants, art galleries, and upscale shopping. Most of the stores were closed as it was early for a Sunday, but we went into one or two. One of the interesting things that we noticed was how the locals dressed compared to the tourists. Tourists such as ourselves were in large heavy coats to combat the 40-degree weather. Locals were in shorts and T-shirts. I guess your body gets used to the weather where you are at, but— it was way too cold to be wearing shorts!
Grant had seen enough and knew that he had a 2-hour drive back to Des Moines for his flight home. We said our goodbyes and he hit the road.
(X) Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge
My first stop after Grant left was the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge. The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is a 3,000-foot footbridge across the Missouri River between Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska. I parked, walked over to it, took one step on it, felt the breeze, and said…Nah. '
(X) Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium
I hopped back in the car and drove to the main attraction in Omaha, which is Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. This place is famous because it has the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp; the Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforests, and the "Desert Dome" is one of the world's largest indoor deserts, as well as the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world. This zoo was a lot of fun. This place housed so many more exotic animals than I would have ever thought possible as they used their doom to its fullest extent. One floor was desert, then nocturnal animals, and even a swamp.
Afterward, I cheated as I didn’t want to walk the entire park and took the sky bridge. This ski lift gave me a bird's eye view of the rest of the park and I even got to hang over rhinoceroses and giraffes. The hordes of kids screaming started giving me a headache so I took off.
(X) Durham Museum
But, the last place on my list to see was the Durham Museum. This place is an old train station that they turned into a museum. From the photos, it appears to be locked in time for the 70s. The main lobby was the biggest draw as you got to see the time board and the benches. I hate to admit this, but I walked it…saw it, and left. I was too embarrassed to even snap a photo inside because the ticket booth was right when you walk in. I saw the main draw and didn’t need to pay admission to see the rest.
Up next for me— was Sioux Falls, South Dakota to finish up my 4th midwest state.
Meanwhile, Grant had may his way to Des Moines and was seeing the same sites that I saw the night before.
(!) Bonus: Sioux City Iowa Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Geographically, Omaha is on the border of Nebraska and Iowa so to get to South Dakota I have to cut through some of Iowa. The halfway mark was Sioux City, Iowa where I stopped at the Hard Rock Hotel for a refresh. Clean bathrooms, free drinks, and neat entertainment apparel adorned this casino. I wandered around the city itself, but there wasn’t much to note.
Having completed a 4 hours marathon drive, another another 2 hours was torturous, but I did it. This was my view the entire time:
(X) Ramada by Wyndham Sioux Falls Airport, Convention, and Water Park Hotel
Grant was taking off back to San Diego right when I touched ground in South Dakota. Unlike other states, there was not a sign or anything to indicate you had made it to a new state. My first stop was my hotel, which was unique. Imagine in 1980 when a hotel constructs an indoor waterpark inside a hotel. Now imagine 40 years later what that same park without any updates may look like. Tad dah! It may have been dated, but there were plenty of families swimming and having a great time.
(X) Sioux Falls - Falls Park
I threw my bag on the bed and didn’t waste any time exploring this new state. My research did not reveal a lot to see so I was excited to see what I had missed. Turns out— nothing. The only attraction in this area is the falls themselves.
Here is the thing about these falls. They are cool, but the city itself has ruined it. They are allowing construction along the river and when you snap a photo there are cranes and other construction equipment that ruin it. There is one good spot where you can snap a photo, but the rest kind of looks bad.
I scoured the city looking for other cool things to see and do and came up empty. I snapped a few photos of the surroundings, but it was pretty bleak. There is a reason why South Dakota isn’t on many people’s bucket lists unless they want to see Mount Rushmore.
(X) Chislic
7:00 pm hit and I realized besides splitting the patty melt and inhaling a bag of gummy bears, I hadn’t eaten much for the day. I quickly look up — what is South Dakota cuisine? It is Chislic. It consists of deep-fried cubes of mutton, lamb, beef, or venison prepared rare to medium-rare, sprinkled with garlic salt or other seasoned salts, and served with toothpicks.
I found a place that had good reviews called “The Attic.” It advertised itself as the best “Chislic” in town. The place was hopping for a Sunday night, which caught me off guard. The hostess was weirded out that I wanted to eat by myself but obliged. I ordered the chislic, fry bread with queso, and more cheese curds. I couldn’t help myself. It may have been that I was starving, but everything was really good. If you ever find yourself in Sioux Falls, South Dakota — put this on your place to eat list.
By this time, I was exhausted and all I wanted to do was crash. The shower was calling my name and I turned the heat all the way. No hot water. Ugh. The last thing I wanted was a cold shower to wake me up. I took one and then thought— the water at the pool /hot tub is warm. Sure enough, the water on the slide and hot tub were warmer than in the shower. I put on a pair of ill-fitting running shorts and used them as a bathing suit.
I dried off and went straight to bed. If being without hot water wasn’t bad enough— the real problem was the location of my room. Right next to an exit. Even with white noise blaring on my phone and iPad— I could hear the exit door open and slam shut. It was jarring. So I slept from 11 pm to 1 am. Then a loud family showed up, couldn’t figure out how to open the door, and I was awake. I finally went to bed again around 3 am and woke up at 7 am when housekeeping was using the door. I packed up and left for Minneapolis.
Hindsight— should I have gone to Sioux Falls? No. Would I have regretted not going? Absolutely.
The commute between Sioux Falls and Minneapolis is 3 painful hours. Snow begins to fall and there are patches of ice on the road. I make it back by 10 am. Now, what do I do?
(X) Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Well— I look at my handy “list” of things I didn’t do and start crossing them off. The first stop is Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. 40 sculptures strewn about 11 acres. With snow flurries falling— this became more of a photo op than anything else. I didn’t even bother paying for parking because I wasn’t going to be there that long. The main sculpture was a spoon that had a cherry on it. It was a cherry on top to see this!
(X) and (X) Matt’s Bar and Baker Wife
Seeing this cherry reminded me that I was hungry. I wanted to make sure I ate before the airport so I needed a place. Duh…Matt’s Bar, which I missed out on during Round 1 of Minneapolis. It didn’t open until 11 am so I may have gone over to the Baker’s Wife and got Grant another half dozen of his iced sugar cookies that he liked. Shhh…it’s a secret. :) If he picks me up from the airport then he will get them!
The restaurant opened right at 11 am and I was the first one there. I ordered the jucy lucy and a side of fries. Great burger. I enjoyed it. The cheese oozed out of it and was worth the wait.
(X) Minnehaha Regional Park
If you are counting— that is three burgers in less than 72 hours. I feel like Grant’s brother Jake, who could eat a hamburger with every meal! I needed to exercise, stretch my leg, and just really do anything that wasn’t sedentary. One of the things on my — “if we have time list”— was Minnehaha Falls. We had just been to Hawaii so you’re not going to get better waterfalls than that. This was a good size waterfall that was in the middle of the city.
I started the hike, went the wrong way, talked to a nice couple who pointed me in the right direction, and was there in no time. I snapped a few photos and then started walking back to the car.
(X) Nickelodeon Universe
Time had a funny way of moving slowly this entire trip and so it was not a shocker that even after doing all of those activities and driving 3.5 hours I still had extra time to kill before waiting at the airport. I had exhausted my list and thought— well is there anything I want to do again. The only thing that came to my mind was the one bad experience— The Mall of America. Let me try it again on a Monday instead of a Saturday. Ding ding ding! Much better! The hordes of families that were strolling through the mall and blocking paths had been cleared. It was a different experience this time around.
To finish the experience, I purchased a ticket for one of the rides at Nickelodeon Universe. The experience was night and day. I was able to get through the line and on the ride faster than it took me to find the end of the line on Saturday. It was a short rollercoaster than packed a dizzying punch.
I left the mall, filled up the gas tank one last time (4x in the last 72 hours), and made my way to the airplane. Hopped on the plane and am writing this while in the air.
This trip had a lot of things to do and see and we were able to check everything off the “must-see” list for all 4 states that we went to. These are the trips that I enjoy the most because I get to see a different part of the United States than the big city. With COVID relenting, it may be time that we start cracking open the piggy banks and heading international again. We have now been able to check off 44 out of the 50 states. With only Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Maryland, and West Virginia left to go.