The North Shore Fall

 This weekend I went with Carrie and a couple of her friends from school.  We had a great time!  We stopped for Cinnamon Rolls at Tobie's (a must tradition), on the way up to the Duluth area.  When we got to Duluth we stopped in a small town just north.  We discovered that where we stopped was not especially picturesque, but I managed to get a photo of a little boat hanging out anyway.

 There was also a random train hanging out in the area.  I didn't really get a chance to read anything around the area, but I licked the train anyway.

 I got little view of Lake Superior.  The day was not bright and blue, but fairly overcast so the pictures were not as lovely as I had hoped.

 Carrie's friends had not been up to Duluth or the surrounding area, so we headed to Gooseberry Falls.  I was happy that this time the water was not as brown.  It makes for better pictures when it is white.

 This picture is a little dark, but I sure loved the sky for some reason.

 The same view without the lens I was playing with.

 We were happily surprised to find some leaves still on the trees.

Above, I was just testing out my four star lens.  Carrie's house lights did turn into little stars.  And the final pic is out of order, but it was a lighthouse we stopped at.

Needing some string?

Caitlyn and I made a last minute trip to the World's Biggest Ball of Twine.  This was another Minnesota Adventure to check of my list of things to do here.  We drove about one hour away from my house to get to this amazing ball.

Caitlyn was so excited that I would drive here two hours round trip for a 5 minute picture taking event.

Look at the roundness of this beauty.  The man who made this ball carefully wrapped the twine to make sure it kept its beautiful shape.

There were some beautiful flowers close by.

Community Ed

 For the past three weeks  I have taken an photography class.  I think that I without taking a photography class I have gotten some decent photos in my collection, but I wanted to get better and have a greater understanding of all the functions on my camera.  So, to take a break from the "Adventures of Caitlyn and Claire" I thought I would just post some pics from tonight's trip to the sculpture garden.  It was a very humid and overcast evening (lots of mesquitos), so the colors are not the most spectacular.  Plus, my camera got stuck for a while in an overexposed state.  Even the instructor couldn't get it to stop overexposing.  I actually kinda liked a couple of those shots, so I gave you a little sneak peak.  These are not my best photos ever, but they are a glimpse into Minneapolis. Enjoy!

Spam and Eggs; Spam, Spam, Spam and Eggs

Many of you have already read Caitlyn's post about visiting me in grand ol' MN, but I had some different photos on my camera that I thought I would share.  On her first full day in Minneapolis it was very humid and raining, so we were not really able to work on my house.  I gave her some options of what to do and the next thing we knew we were headed out into the terrible weather and down to Ausin, MN where the Spam Museum is housed.  I was raining fairly hard, but nothing way out of the ordinary.  The Spam Museum was filled with all kinds of fund stuff.

Now Caitlyn gets to model the activities in the museum because I had the camera.  She was trying to compete with the Hormel factory in canning some Spam.  I can tell you see was annihilated.

Spam worker Caitlyn only packed on can of Spam in the time it took Hormel to pack 215 there in Austin, MN.

Instead of trains a little Spam-go-round.

Anyone for some Spam with cheese?  I think my stomach just churned...but don't worry Dad I almost bought a can for Caitlyn to bring home to you.

We watched the Spam movie while we tried to wait out a downpour of rain.  It was rained so hard that no one was leaving the building.  The museum closed at 5pm, but everyone was remaining there.  Cait and I braved the weather and ran out to my car.

This picture does not give the full story.  You can see my wet arm and drench hair.  It was as if we had showered out there.

The was a car next to us at a stop light.  There were several roads we could not take because cars were covered halfway with water.

I love the above blurred photo though.  I love the rain!  We went and got something to eat and then safely drove back to the Twin Cities.  My mom told me we were supposed to make memories, so MN was doing the best it could.

The Hamburger

Today as I was doing my typical blog search I came upon this cake.   I made me want both cake and a hamburger.  Then I remembered that I have eaten my allotted calories in hamburger this weekend.  This week I had a Minnesota invention, the Juicy Lucy. One might ask what is a Juicy Lucy.  Above, you can find a photo of this MN classic.  It is essentially just a cheeseburger with the cheese cooked in the the patty.  There are two places in Minneapolis that both claim to be the founders of the grease-filled dream.  One spells it "Juicy Lucy," while the other goes with "Jucy Lucy."  Well, whatever the name I can tell you that the grease contained in this hamburger is amazing.  When the cheese fat has no where to melt and roll off, you then get the complete opportunity to consume it with pride.  I will admit that it tasted good, but I don't know if it was the best thing I have ever eaten.  Another "MN must do" checked off the list. 

Dreary Minnesota New Years

For the past several days it has been windy and dreary here in the cold state of Minnesota.  So, what have I done?  I have broken a promise at the pressure of my family.  I am spending the last day of 2010 and the first day of 2011 watching Bleakhouse.  I can truthfully say that the movie is much easier to follow than the book.  It is so chilly that I cannot think of venturing outside.  I am proud to say that I rang in the New Year with no friends and no family.  I took a warm bath and climbed in my bed at about 8 pm.  Guess what I woke up and the new year had started without me.  I praying for a good year for me and for all of you.

NASCAR

I had another first time experience after attending the state fair, I went to NASCAR. I was attempting to get all of the white trash experiences that I could while living in Minnesota. Carrie got $5.00 tickets, which included entry, popcorn, and a drink.
I am not certain why I did not think it would be so loud, but I should have brought ear plugs.
Now, you may notice the awesome guy in all of these photos...long gray hair, trucker hat, suspenders, and amazing t-shirt...well I was thinking that we are a perfect match for each other. I was unable to get a photo of him when he first walked in with a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth. That was when I new that we were meant to be eternal companions. Alas, I was to embarrassed to approach him with my thoughts, so I will be single forever.

Fast cars were fun, although the cars that I chose typically lost. Natalie is the one that you should take to the tracks if you are going to place bets.

The Minnesota Duty

To live in the state of Minnesota it is required that one attends the Minnesota State Fair...so I followed state requirements. Poor photo quality, but here is the local beaver welcoming me to the excitement. His facial expressions don't even describe the thrilling and overwhelming aura that is exuded throughout the fair.

The fair is filled with ssssoooo many people. This is just a small sampling of the amount of people at the fair last weekend.
The guy was so trilled about selling his product. The "Shamm-wow!," we all need one. I was tempted.
Everyone also needs a mold of their own hand made for the mantle. This of the things that I could display...smashed beer cans from the side of the road, dead flowers, or even better something that a taxidermist created. I should have gotten one now that I think about it.
I was totally enthralled with the guy at the hot dog stand. He looks more relaxed than anyone else at the fair. I also thought that he looked as if he had just stepped right out of a 50's movie. I hope he ate one of the foot long corn dogs. Natalie did and she loved every minute of it!
Baby blue corn...extra cute.
Love the sales.
Agriculture was one of Natalies favorites. The corn was cool to look at all lined up.
I did not get to witness last years talk of the fair, Farah Fawcett immortalized in beans and grains. This year I was really most impressed by American Gothic. I might need to find this person to do a whole family portrait.

Vintage seed bags, they were awesome to look at.