Tag Archive for: rhubarb

It’s hard to believe that our road trip has come to a close.

Our last day was filled with some memorable adventures.

An Amish Gardener

We woke up to an overcast morning at our bed & breakfast.

You know what the best part of staying at a B&B is?  The breakfasts!

We started out with strawberries and bananas on a bed of sweetened cream followed by french toast, sausage and eggs.

Do you remember my telling you how popular rhubarb is in this area, in my last post?

Well, during breakfast, we also had a slice of rhubarb pie.  Can I tell you a secret?  I don’t like rhubarb.

An Amish Gardener

Speaking of rhubarb – it was growing out in the garden.

lovely fountain

Speaking of gardens, theirs was beautiful.  This lovely fountain surrounded by petunias was the focal view from the dining room.

violas and chives

A circular bed, edged in stones held flowering violas and chives.

White daisies

White daisies filled the other perennial beds.

I think that daisies can brighten up almost anyone’s day, don’t you?

old Victorian home

Along the side of the 100 year old Victorian home, was a side garden with a curved stone pathway that led to a covered arbor.

Purple 'Wave' petunias

Purple ‘Wave’ petunias surrounded by bacopa took center stage from this window.

I always get a kick out of the fact that we grow many of the same annuals in the desert – just at a different time of year.

Amish country

The bed & breakfast was located in Amish country.  As we ate breakfast, I noticed an Amish girl working in the garden.

She was busy using hand pruners to prune away old, woody growth from some shrubs.

*Amish people do not like pictures of their faces to be taken, which is why I am only showing her from behind.

toward Minneapolis

After breakfast, we got into our car and headed toward Minneapolis, which was to be our last destination.

Our flight wasn’t scheduled to take off until 7:40 pm, so we had the entire day to fill.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

We decided to spend some time at the Mill City Museum.

Did you know that Minneapolis used to be the flour capitol of the world?  It’s true.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

As someone who loves carbs with a passion and would rather eat bread then sweets, I knew that I had to check out this museum.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

The museum is housed in the old Gold Medal Flour factory, which used to be the world’s largest flour mill.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

It is 8-stories high and much of it was destroyed by a fire in the 90’s.

You can see the girders and where the floors used to be in the ruins.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

The interior had some great exhibits about the history of the early flour industry and how the city of Minneapolis used the power of the Mississippi River to power the mill.

One very cool part of the museum was the Flour Tower tour.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

I apologize for the bad photo, but wanted you to see the large freight elevator that visitors went on.

As you sit, a guide takes you along a journey up and down 8 floors of the mill.  Each floor opens up to a display that recreates the history of the mill.

Mill City Museum Minneapolis

At the top of the mill, we were allowed to get up and walk to the top of the building.

Gold Medal Flour

You could see the old sign, which stood tall above us.

Mississippi River

From the rooftop, you could see the Mississippi River flowing by.

Mississippi River

I wonder if I will ever tire of seeing the Mississippi River.  I hope not.

old Pillsbury Flour Mill

Across the river, you could see the old Pillsbury Flour Mill.

Minneapolis

After leaving the mill, we head a little time left before we had to turn in our rental car and head to the airport.  So, we decided to go and see Minnehaha Falls.

The falls are located in the middle of the city and flows from the Minnehaha River before joining the Mississippi.

As you stand along the viewing area, you are sprayed by the water, which is really quite refreshing.

The falls are 53 feet tall.

Minneapolis

During this entire road trip, my mother has been enjoying taking pictures with her new iPhone.

Many of her photos are of me taking pictures of my camera, like this one at the falls.

It was time to wrap up our visit to Minneapolis and start toward the airport.

Minneapolis

Our time at the airport was much longer then we had planned for.  Our 7:40 pm flight was delayed for 4 hours until 11:30 pm.

Thankfully, I had my laptop and some knitting to keep me busy while we waited.

Sunset in Minneapolis

Sunset in Minneapolis.   I was really wishing that I had been on a plane by now.  I missed my husband and kids.

Road Trip Day 8

The airline brought out a cart filled with snacks and drinks for all of us who had to wait.

I ate my fill of shortbread cookies and Ritz cheese crackers.

Our flight finally arrived and we soon left for home.

We had a wonderful time on our road trip and I appreciate your comments so much.

BUT, my road trip posts aren’t over yet.

I’ve saved the visit to my friend and fellow garden blogger, Amy’s garden for my last post.

I can’t wait to show you what’s growing in her garden – so come back soon!  

Today was spent driving from Wisconsin, over the Mississippi River into southeastern Minnesota.

Bridge over the Mississippi River toward Minnesota. *Cell phone + dirty windshield = grainy photo

Bridge over the Mississippi River toward Minnesota. *Cell phone + dirty windshield = grainy photo. 

Mississippi River

You know how people who haven’t lived near the ocean, find it fascinating when they get the chance to visit?

I think it is somewhat the same for me in regards to seeing the Mississippi River.  The immense size of the river is amazing.

This is the third time that I have seen the Mississippi River and it is still something that I always look forward to.

Winona, Minnesota

We arrived into the town of Winona, Minnesota – we drove up to Garvin Heights, where a path leads from the parking lot to a viewing point located over 500 ft. above the river and the city.

Mississippi River
Mississippi River

Isn’t it beautiful?

Mississippi River

Off in the distance, you can see the bridge that we drove over, which connects Wisconsin to Minnesota.

Mississippi River

My mother has been enjoying her first smartphone.  During our trip, she had taken multiple pictures of me taking photos of plants and/or scenery.  

Road Trip Day 7

It makes me feel happy and special at the same time 🙂

antiques

During the first part of our day, we spent some time shopping for antiques.

My mother loves antiques and I like to find old pieces that I can use as planters in my garden.  In the Midwest and Eastern regions of the US, antiques are a lot less expensive then in the west – so we like to take advantage of nice antique stores when we can.

I found a large, old coffee pot (the kind they would use in a chuck wagon for a lot of people) that I plan on using for a flower planter in my smaller vegetable garden.

You may be wondering how I am going to get my coffee pot home.  Well, that leads to a tradition that my mother and I started during our first road trip 3 years ago.  We wait until the last day of our trip and then go to a local UPS store and send our souvenirs home.  It makes our life much simpler and we have less to carry in our suitcases.

Another grainy cell phone photo taken through the windshield

Another grainy cell phone photo taken through the windshield. 

As we headed toward the southeastern corner of Minnesota, we found ourselves alone on country highways for long lengths of time.

Road Trip Day 7

Not that I’m complaining about the absence of vehicles.  I’m sure that after spending a day or two at home that I’ll be wishing for fewer cars on the road.

Road Trip Day 7

The weather during our trip has been very nice.  There was some rain, which fell during the night, so it did not affect our activities.

Lanesboro, Minnesota

Our day’s journey ended in Lanesboro, Minnesota, which has been the recipient of the Great American Main Street Award.  Lanesboro, is located close to Amish communities and we have seen some Amish folk during our travels today.

The main street is lined with historic buildings that have been transformed into trendy shops and eateries.

Unlike many Amish communities that I’ve visited in the past, Lanesboro has upscale, trendy shops, which I really enjoyed visiting, instead of shops stocked full of Amish souvenirs.

old antique

A few of the shops had a combination of both new and old things, like this old antique that was transformed into a planter.

dish planted with real grass

This shop had an interesting planter with a galvanized pipe with flowers sitting in a dish planted with real grass.

wooden boxes

A variety of succulents were displayed with old, wooden boxes.

plants and antiques

This alleyway was filled with plants and antiques, which I love.

rhubarb

One interesting observation about our travels this day is the popularity of rhubarb.

It was planted along the main street.

Rhubarb ice cream

Rhubarb ice cream was also available in many of the shops.

I bet you didn’t know that rhubarb was so popular did you?

Rhubarb ice cream

I admit that I didn’t try the rhubarb ice cream flavor.  I went for salted caramel crunch – yum!

Road Trip Day 7

Remember the cheese curds that I tried on day 5 of our road trip?  They are everywhere.  I usually see them offered fried.

As our trip draws towards its end, here are a few observations in contrast to living in California and Arizona (places that I’ve lived).

– In almost every restaurant, Coke products aren’t offered – Pepsi is the drink of choice.

– In all of our driving, we have only seen one highway patrol car (in CA and AZ you often see one every few minutes).

– Starbucks is a huge favorite of my mother and during our road trips, we usually make at least one stop there each day.  On this trip, we have hardly seen any Starbucks stores.  But, there have been quite a few other coffee shops, including independent ones.

Tomorrow, we will fly home in the evening from Minneapolis.  My husband has been wonderful taking care of the kids and house while I’ve been gone.

But, I’m not sure about what he has been feeding the kids…

Road Trip Day 7

My 12-year-old son posted this picture of his dinner the other night, which consists of french fries, cheddar cheese and bacon.

I protested the lack of vegetables, which my husband responded to by saying, “We each had 4 mini-carrots to round our dinner.”  He then went on further to say, “And we had vegetables on our pizza for lunch.”

I told my kids that I have quite a few dinners planned when I get home that will have lots of ‘greens’ in them.

*Tomorrow, we will spend the day in Minneapolis and I’m looking forward to visiting my friend and fellow garden blogger, Amy of Get Busy Gardening.  I can’t wait to see her and her garden.  I’ll be sure to share my visit with you!