Sweet Home Minnesota

Well, I just got back from a week in Minnesota with my whole family. It was so much fun. I must say, Minnesota is still home for me. Here's a rundown on all the fun things I did while in MN:

We arrived at 6:00am after a red-eye flight from San Francisco to Minneapolis. We immediatly met my great aunt and great uncle on their boat for breakfast and a tour of downtown St. Paul and downtown Minnneapolis from the Mississippi River.

We spent two days in my home town: Winona, MN. I saw my place of birth and my old houses, schools, and church.

We drove to my aunt and uncle's house in Wahpeton, North Dakota to have dinner before we drove to my grandparents' lake cabin just outside of Lengby, MN.

We spent the rest of the trip at the lake cabin while we celebrated my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. All my paternal extended family was there. I rode my grandfather's jet ski and ATV. I waterskied and kneeboarded and we swam a lot.

The only downside was that the weather was not ideal. It was jsut as hot in MN as it was in San Jose last week. The temp in Minneapolis the day before we left was 103 degrees. We did get to see one of the coolest thinderstorms I've every seen one night. For 15 minutes it was like daylight outside because there was so much lightning happening all at once. Also, we saw the Northern Lights in the night sky. If you don't know what the northern lights are, just search google images for "northern lights". This phenomenon can't be seen in San Jose.

Well, I am back in California and I miss Minnesota already. The landscape and culture speak to my heart. I love going there because I love the outdoors. Maybe I'll live there at some point in my life. We'll see. By the way, GO SIOUX!