Gardens, antiques stores, thrift shops and water, i.e. river or lakes, are the criteria my friend from Indiana and I use to determine our annual get together destination.
This year it seemed right for her to come back to Minnesota to see my home, surroundings and the places I like to hang-out. It had been over 12 years since she was in Minnesota. We spent time in Northfield, Uptown (Minneapolis), Cannon Falls, Faribault, Chanhassen and Bloomington. The forecast was for rain all weekend but we only had a partial day of rain on Friday, which didn’t dampen our spirits. The other three days were sunshine and blue skies!
We ate outdoors as much as possible. We visited many gardens including the MN Landscape Arboretum, two Japanese gardens, Lakeside Cemetery and viewed many neighborhood gardens and a garden center. We shopped several antique stores and thrift shops. We had to call for directions to one thrift shop and were abruptly disconnected on our end. When we explained what happened to the cashier in the store he said he prayed for us after we were disconnected! What a wonderful thought!
We walked around ponds and along rivers as we talked and laughed and caught up with each others lives. God blessed our time together with renewal, refreshment, safety and fun. And…in two weeks we are driving to the East coast and stopping at her home in Indiana for an overnight with her and her family.