I am back-tracking to the trip my girlfriend and I took to Des Moines and Minneapolis. In retrospect the trip provided a great bonding experience for us. Initially we arrived at Des Moines airport and received a free upgrade from a compact car to a Mustang (things were already looking up). We immediately drove to Minneapolis anxious to arrive at the Marquette Hotel, a 4 star (we were able to get for $65 because of Priceline Negotiator).
As we arrived, we admired the hotel room for a good 2 hours then decided to see what downtown Minneapolis had to offer. One thing became immediately evident, all the buildings downtown were connected to each other via a 2nd floor Skywalk (I later found that it connects an astounding 80 blocks). With the weather being an awesome 75°F, (and not wanting to get lost in the skywalk) we decided to walk down Nicollet Mall (an outdoor mall of sorts with a collection of cafés and stores).
We glanced over several menus and decided on The Newsroom. The service and Happy Hour prices were unreal. We ended up getting 3 hearty appetizers for just $4 each and quite a few beers. Drunk and content we continued walking down Nicollet to an area where they were holding a free outdoor concert.
The next day we visited the Sculpture Garden developed by the Walker Art Center. For moments I forgot where I was, the garden managed to fly me away to Norway and for a while I felt true bliss. To me it’s odd that I have come to appreciate art. I enjoy it and would like to see more of it in public.
After achieving moments of nirvana, we headed to the monstrosity that is The Mall of America. I hate malls with a passion but on vacations I enjoy buying my girlfriend things. In any case we spent some time there and headed back down to Des Moines. I thoroughly enjoyed Minneapolis and definitely would not mind going back there.
6/18/08 – 2.12 miles in 20:49
6/23/08 – 2.12 miles in 27:20 (slow run with Paulette and Sparky)
6/25/08 – 3.245 miles in 30:56
6/28/08 – 2.5 miles in 28:05 (slow run with Paulette and Sparky)
Excellent coverage! I say I’ll give Newsroom a try! Thanks!
Thanks. I’m not sure if all places have great happy hour prices… but Newsroom does for sure.