Many people don't realize that the Mississippi River actually begins in Minnesota. Really, this giant river runs almost the length of the US. So after New Orleans, the southern end (almost) of the Mississippi, it made sense for us to go to Minneapolis.
The mighty Mississippi, beginning in the land of 10,000 lakes, starts off as a small river and splits the city of Minneapolis - providing wonderful parks and walks along its banks. And this time of year, the parks were full of trees in all kinds of glorious colors, flaming autumn.
Actually, we went to Mpls (or MSP, as the airport is called, for Minneapolis-St. Paul) to see my sister and her husband, and two of their daughters, two of my darling nieces, plus great-nephews (or grand-nephews) and a nephew-in-law.
Our visit included time wandering through the city, time with one niece and then the other, as they each took one day out of their busy schedules to just spend time with us - which included more wandering through the city, talking and talking and catching up on life, and of course eating because what family doesn't love to eat? Plus afternoon walks along the river, up and down trails, under bright red and orange and yellow trees. Then a day with my sister and brother-in-law, including a walk around one of those lakes, amongst more fiery trees. Throw in a final evening with everyone, plus an old and dear friend, and you have our quick trip through Minneapolis.
I have to add that Minneapolis has some of the most amazing manhole covers I've ever seen! Most people don't really look at manhole covers, but they can be quite the works of art! I find that in Europe they usually include the name of the town or city, and an emblem of the region - a fleur-de-lys for Firenze, a mountain capped by a hawk for Montefalco. In Minneapolis, the manhole covers portrayed all the products and resources grown in Minnesota - various fish, flowers, corn, wheat, apples, even pine cones! So of course I took a series of photos to capture these off-beat bits of art.
Remember that you can click on a photo to enlarge it - you really need to check out the detail on these Minnesotan manhole covers! They are amazing!
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