lionsmane's Letterboxing Trips and Events: A Day in Minneapolis

Sunday, April 7, 2013

A Day in Minneapolis

We started this morning a little later than we usually would. I think the past week and the traveling caught up with us. We were both so tired by the time we got to the hotel last night that we ended up sleeping about 10 hours. This morning we left the hotel around 9:30am to head out for breakfast and to find our first letterbox. The sky was very cloudy but thankfully no rain - but for the entire morning we letterboxed in 32° to 39° temperatures.

Wild Turkeys

We headed for a coffee shop to find Wake Up Call by Tricky Troy. As we parked and got out of the car we encountered about 7 wild turkeys just walking along the sidewalk and in someone's yard. We asked a guy walking by and he said that it happens quite often. Anyway we made our way to the coffee shop but they really didn't have anything for breakfast so we got a coffee and the letterbox and sat and stamped in. WooHoo!!!!! My first box in Minnesota and that makes the 39th state that I have letterboxed in. After returning the box and finishing our coffee we went and had breakfast at a place called nuff. It was a great breakfast - I had a black forest ham and swiss cheese omelet and one pancake and some orange juice, Thomas had french toast and scrambled eggs and coffee. After eating we continued our letterboxing. Our next stop was at the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery to find R.I.P. Creepy Oatmeal Guy. This was a quick and easy find and I stamped in while sitting in the car. Once I was done and the box was back in place we headed to our next stop. This was at St. Anthony's Cemetery. Here we found Ancient Gods Series: Baba Yaga by estella_naparella. This was also a quick and easy find and again I stamped in while sitting in the car. I rehid the box and we headed to our next box. We parked at Deming Heights Park and started our hunt for Ancient Gods Series by estella_naparella. After a short search I found The Nymph and took it to a bench to stamp in. I then put the box back in place and returned to the car to head to the next box in the series. There were two people right where I needed to be to find the box so we decided to head to the next box and then return here. So we drove a little further up the road and found a spot to park. I took a short walk and found The Stag. There was no place to sit and the ground was wet from the rain yesterday so I stood and stamped in. I then replaced the box and returned to the car and then we backtracked to the second box. Now the coast was clear and I went in search of The Archer. I ended up empty handed. I am not sure what I did wrong but I couldn't find the box. So after 15 minutes of searching we decided to stop and head back to the hotel so that Thomas could get ready for his conference. By this time the sun was out and the temperature had risen to 54° and the day was beautiful.

Spoonbridge and Cherry

I left Thomas at the hotel to get ready for his conference and I decided to go to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. My main reason for going was to see the Spoonbridge and Cherry (which I learned about on Roadside America) but once I got there I really enjoyed the entire area and the sculptures. I spent about an hour just walking around and taking pictures. After leaving the gardens I drove around in downtown and saw the Mary Tyler Moore statue (also seen on Roadside America). By this time I was feeling worn out and decided to return to the hotel and get something to eat. I ate in the hotel restaurant - The Beacon Public House. I had nachos with ham hock, cheddar cheese, pepperoncinis and kalamata olives with a local beer (Summit Oatmeal Stout from St. Paul). I also ended up getting a buffalo chicken taco as well. It was all good and I just sat and relaxed and ate and had my beer - it was a nice way to end the day. Now I am showered and in my pj's just relaxing in the room. Tomorrow I have the whole day by myself, not sure yet what I am going to do. I will fill you in tomorrow night.