Skip to main content

Blueberries Aren't That Fun to Pick, But They Sure Are Yummy

Brooke had us up bright and early to go blueberry picking: my favorite and least favorite berry to pick. We were all hungry so the kids and I got some donuts from KwikTrip. Plus an egg and sausage biscuit for me. We're such Wisconsinites at heart.

The blueberry farm is only open until 12. If we left at our normal pace it would have been closed by the time we got there.

She is right.

The kids and I tried to go blueberry picking last week during Scott's surgery but they were closed due to short staffing. 

Blueberry picking is so much work. And it was hot.

I will never complain that it's hot again after camping in Texas in July while pregnant. Nothing can compare to how miserable that was. 


Unlike last year, where we got so many blueberries on one bush, this year was more of a hunt. 

At least Meadow is as into as I am. 


I was hoping to get a whole bucket, but this amount would do. 

Usually we save swimming for the end of the day but decided to do it right after. 

Apparently this lake at Square Lake Park is extra clear, but also you might get swimmer's itch.

With Scott's recent surgery and my recent mole biopsy, only the kids got to swim. I was jealous. I wanted to try the clear water. 

Brooke and I took turns sitting in the sun.

Even though neither of us could go swimming, we played in the sand with the kiddos.

Then for some reason we drove over to Osceola.

We thought about having lunch in Taylor's Falls. I said we should see if the Creamery in Osceola had reopened. 

Sadly the creamery was still closed for foundation repairs. 

We ended up at some dive bar along their main drag. P Y's Bar to be exact.


I thought the giant fried food basket wouldn't have many fries, but it did. Then when my burger came out I had even larger serving of fries. Whoops.

Near P Y's was the waterfall we tried to see last spring. The staircase was still closed. We decided to take on the challenge again and find the falls via the Eagle Bluff Trail. 

This time we'd make it to the waterfall. After going the wrong way again, we figured out that the path to the waterfall was under the bridge that crosses the St. Croix.

The map and the trail made it look like you cross the highway. Once we figured it out we were like, duh. 

Even in a drought the Cascade Falls were still flowing.

Maybe it was a good thing we didn't make it last spring. This time we could play in the water. 





After the hike to the falls we drove up along the St. Croix to Taylors Falls for an ice cream treat. Brooke really wanted the world's smallest sundae at the Drive-In. I got a very cherry sierra mist float.

We were both still pretty full from lunch and regretted our decisions. 

Then we surprised the kids with a visit to the Franconia Sculpture Park.

Scott used to take the kids here all the time, I hadn't been in years. 






We hadn't been here since Meadow was entering kindergarten. She'll soon be in 4th grade. Much of the art had weathered since their major expansion.



The heat was starting to get to us so we went through the last few quickly and headed home. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yardwork, Ikea and Pumpkins

My new parents-in-law got us a dehydrator for the wedding. Knowing we were going to be cleaning up the garden and going to farmer's market, we took a gander at our millionth kitchen device during breakfast.   Scott added granola to his oatmeal.  The oatmeal was rather bland, just the way Brooke likes it.   Scott was actually cleaning up so I had to take a quick photo of him as proof.  Scott told me he was, "putting a blanket down for Peanut," while singing. During the winter months peanut needs a warm place to peer through the window. Seeing as it was nearly November, I setup his blanket for him. Seeing as the farmers market season is dwindling down, we headed to the market...once again. The close proximity to the cities central farmer's market has to be one of the best assets of living in NoMi. We were both amazed by the bounty of produce still on sale. We quickly filled up our first bag and took it back to the car....

Camping The Driftless

Last month we went to a birthday party at Choo Choo Bob's Train Store . Since then Meadow (or should I say Scott and I) have been hooked on getting Meadow more trains and tracks. I found this awesome deal on Craigslist for a giant bag of trains for only $20. The best part of being a parent is getting to live out your childhood dreams. Craigslist makes that a lot easier.

Work Trip: Cincinnati Rules or How I walked and biked the inner core of Cincy

Another week, another 360 college campus shoot. This time I was photographing the University of Cincinnati. I was stoked to go here and tried talking Brooke into going, knowing that it's an awesome place for old house nuts like us. Unfortuntely Brooke didn't say yes until after rewards tickets disappeared. First stop was Short Vine right next to the University of Cincinnati campus. Reddit told me I needed to try out Al-Madina so that's where I headed. With no car I just walked everywhere the first couple of days. I found a place to eat behind the local library. Al-Madina is well worth a stop. This part of town was already making me fall in love with this city. Why is it not mentioned alongside Boston, New Orleans and Savannah as great American architectural cities? My room at the Graduate Hotel had a corner dedicated to local rock and roll acts. A nice touch. Cincinnati was rad. A place that felt equally East Coast while being squarely in the Midwest. Missing teeth in pla...