Pleasant Lake, MN
September, 2013
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Pleasant Lake is in the city of North Oaks, which is located in the Twin Cities, just northeast of St. Paul. This was our second time working in this area.
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It's a long drive from Tennessee to Minnesota, so we are avid listeners of audio books...
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Once again we stayed at the Country Inns and Suites in Vadnais Heights, and took advantage of the big hot tub (with indoor swimming pool and slide) every evening after work!
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This put us in close proximity to some favorite local food haunts...(see our previous MN listings).
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| One of our new discoveries in the White Bear Lake area was Rudy's Redeye Grill (http://www.rudysredeyegrill.com). This had a nice dining room, but the rooftop deck took the cake!
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Another place we tried was Admiral D's (www.admiralds.com). This tavern had a large outdoor patio right on the water, and live entertainment.
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Searching a little farther afield, we met up with some of Randy's friends for dinner one evening at The Blue Door Pub (www.thebluedoorpubmn.com). Words cannot come close to describing these unususal gourmet burgers and tater-tots! A must try if you are in the Twin Cities....
Another evening found us in St. Paul at the GreatWaters Brewing Company for a delightful dinner (www.greatwatersbc.com).
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| Of course, the guys new favorite local beer was "Morning Wood", which is brewed locally in White Bear at the Big Wood Brewery (www.bigwood.com).
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A fascinating fact about the Twin Cities is that Minneapolis has 8 miles, and St. Paul has 5 miles of Skyways that link buildings and attractions -- one of the largest systems in the world. This Skyway is a series of climate controlled walkways above the streets that allows individuals to move about in comfort, regardless of how much snow may lay along the streets. There is an intricate map to help guide pedestrians through a seemingly complicated maze of elevators and walkways -- but the locals seem to get about with ease.
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| The varied terrain in Minnesota is beautiful! These pictures are from a piece of property where we went hunting for agates......
Minnesota Rocks!
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We spent
a fun day at the
Como Park Zoo
and Conservatory
which had truly
lovely gardens and grounds.
It was a cool day,
so the animals were
out and active...
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Of course, the Cafesfian's Carousel, which was built in 1914, was a big hit with Lisa! This is a fabulous place to take a picnic, explore the grounds, and spend a day (or two).
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| What a totally fascinating night we had at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (www.mnbookarts.org)! This place had old printing presses galore! Here, you can take classes on papermaking, letterpress printing, screenprinting, bookbinding, and who knows what else....What a rare and unique setting--the largest of it's kind in the country. We got to observe classes, and ask questions, while wandering about in this wonderful old building.
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| Afterwards, we had a light dinner up on the roof of the MCBA--although to Les, this was just an appetizer...
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We learned that people from the mid-west and Canada call a bathroom a "biffy"...
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Looking forward to coming back to Minnesota!
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