Everyone needs a break. Whether it’s a weekend away from work, or just the day-to-day hustle, everyone deserves the chance to just get out of town and have some fun. For us this weekend was our escape. While it was just a short jaunt up to Minnesota, it was worth it.
We packed up a small suitcase and hit the road bright and early Saturday morning. We did have a task to complete while we were up there. We were on a mission to view apartments (no, not for us unfortunately), we were viewing some places for some family members and decided to make a little getaway out of it.
Our first stop once we got into town was breakfast. On to Mickey’s Diner we went. Now if your anything like me you prefer to eat at local places full of character. Mickey’s has everything you could ever want. We ended up at the second location just outside of downtown St. Paul for convenience but the food was just as amazing as the old side car location.
Next we went over to one of the first apartment locations and quickly decided it wasn’t a good fit. So on to the next. After driving around the area close to the Mall of America we discovered a nice little trail down to a bunch of ponds. The perfect location for fishing or hanging out under the trees for a midday nap. We enjoyed exploring the area and snapping a few pictures.
After our outdoor adventure we ended up going on an apartment tour and then went to our hotel to check in. My biggest recommendation when visiting Minnesota is to not stay in downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul. Instead look to one of the surrounding suburbs for an inexpensive hotel. We ended up at the Crowne Plaza in Bloomington. The drive was only a couple minutes down the freeway and we ended up saving a good $50-$100 bucks just by looking outside of the popular areas.
Once we checked in and took a quick nap we went out the door for dinner to one of my favorite places for a Juicy Lucy (basically the most glorious cheeseburger you will ever eat). There is a pretty big debate among some people about which Minnesota restaurant is home to the original Juicy Lucy but between the 5-8 Club and Matt’s Bar, our favorite is hands down Matt’s Bar.
This tiny dive bar doesn’t look like much from the outside but once you get seated and order a Juicy Lucy for yourself (be careful the cheese is hot) you won’t want a cheeseburger any other way. Visit Matt’s early or be prepared to wait in a line (sometimes out the door), be ready to order and have cash on hand to pay your bill.
After dinner we traveled down Cedar to walk around the Mall of America. Such a tourist destination but always interesting to people watch and pop in and out of some of the stores we don’t have in Des Moines.
Retreating back to the hotel for the night was glorious. After a day of exploring we were ready for bed. The next day we woke up eager to try a new place for breakfast. A quick search led us to The Bad Waitress. Perfectly named considering you are in charge of writing out your order and delivering it to the front counter. Mujo ordered a breakfast burrito with fries (which ended up being chunks of seasoned potatoes) while I ordered an egg scramble with hash browns.
Although we ate here for breakfast we noticed a place down the street called the Copper Hen, which also looked incredibly cute. I would also recommend stopping in the little store in the same strip called Greater Goods, they had adorable cards, posters and other goods for sale.
Over in the Uptown area we visited Patina, another shop that has a variety of goods for sale. I ended up getting some really cute earrings which were less than $15, what a steal!
(The unicorn jewelry holder is also from Patina.)
Next up was The Future Shop, I found out about this shop through one of my favorite makers on Instagram, Tuesday Bassen. She was having a pop up shop and I couldn’t resist stopping by to check out her work and the cool shop. I ended up getting a rose quartz crystal and Mujo picked out a beautiful amethyst.
Over all we had a great weekend and can’t wait to head back up to one of our favorite states! Leave any suggestions in the comments for where we should visit next or any recommendations for our next adventure to Minnesota.
Theresa Macdonald 