A Weekend Away

It's tradition (as of last semester) for Sherlynn and I to make the long trek (8-9 hours) up to Minnesota once a semester to visit Andrew. Thursday was Veteran's Day, and since Emporia is the founding city of Veteran's Day, we didn't have class. What a perfect opportunity! (Yes, Friday, we still had class, but what's the point of being young if you can't be bold and audacious every now and then?!)

We pulled out of the parking lot a little after 6:00, made a deliciously quick stop at Starbucks, and were on the road by 6:43 AM! Be proud!




We arrived in the Twin Cities around 3:30 and headed straight for the Lodge, the name of the house where Andrew lives with 6 other guys. We cooked supper (enchiladas, salad and dessert) for him and a couple of his privileged buddies! The dessert suffered through a few difficulties, but the guys never noticed!




Friday, Sherlynn and I spent the majority of the day shopping at the Rosedale mall. I navigated my way through the cities with skill and ease. Okay, well, I may have had a few missed turns. Note to self, just because a sign says "exit" doesn't mean it takes you to a gas station. Sometimes it just takes you to a different highway!

At the mall, I was able to meet up with an old Ouaga friend of mine, Lindsey Burg. We "grew up" together! It was WONDERFUL to see her again and catch up on her life.




Saturday was a SNOW DAY in every best sense! The heavenly storehouses dumped about 9 inches of snow on the Cities throughout the course of the day. But Mrs. Putnam (our favorite family hostess) had the fire going, the K-State vs. Mizzou football game was on TV, and Sherlynn and I were dabbling in homework in-between making cornbread to go with the chili Mrs. Putnam had made, and cookies for Andrew. We were all warm and cozy and splendidly happy! The only time I had to go outside was when I went to get the newspaper for Mrs. Putnam.





Amy came over later on in the afternoon and we played 221 Baker Street--a board game where you solve cases, sort of like an advanced game of Clue! It was super fun!




Sunday, we headed home, but not before making 2 different stops at Caribou coffee! Yummh....! Look at how different the streets are when we leave.



We decided we would stop at the first Caribou coffee sign we saw. We pulled off of the interstate with great joy and expectation only to read the next sign that said "Caribou 7 miles"! So we took a little scenic detour that ended up being very educational. We saw the headquarters for Malt-O-Meal! I can't stand the stuff, personally, but it was exciting seeing where it was made nonetheless. We were also able to pick out our Christmas tree, but since we had forgotten our ax and couldn't really strap it to the car, we had to leave it in Minnesota.






It was a great trip! I would go back in a flash!

More Highlights from the trip:
- We discovered a Christmas station upon entering the state of Minnesota and from that point on, it was all we listened to......unless Andrew was driving! You would not believe how many different versions of "Winter Wonderland" are out there!

- Playing "Star Wars" with Andrew....included with stunning audio effects!