2468 Miles later..

It's been about a month since we returned from our month long vacation in Minnesota. It was incredible. I've tried writing about it before now but Weebly has been a bitch and has deleted my drafts. Twice. Considering  it's taken me this long and I never actually finished the post I debated whether or not I should just give up. But I'm not a quitter so here it is, our trip to Minnesota.

I have wanted to take an extended trip home for a while. I decided this year it had to happen because I was really missing home. Heath losing his job at the end of last year threw a small wrench in the plan but thankfully he was unemployed only for a short time and, even better, his new job allowed him to work remotely so he was able to join us. If not, I would have driven, by myself, with the kids. Yes, I'm a little crazy.  In case you're curious, it's about a 13 hour drive not including bathroom breaks, feedings,  melt downs, etc. 

The drive up was great. Both kids were cooperative and we made good time even though we hit traffic around Chicago. We didn't drive straight through, instead we took advantage of being some place different and stopped in Milwaukee. We ate at a delicious farm-to-table restaurant where I paid more for my meal than I would usually pay when children are present but it was worth it. That night in Milwaukee was also the last time we would sleep in a king-sized bed for a month. Sleeping in full sized beds for a month really, really made me appreciate my bed at home. I'm spoiled, I know. We rolled into Chisago on Mother's Day where everyone had gathered at my grandma's assisted living apartments to celebrate. It was a great welcome home. 

While in Minnesota we stayed in three different places. Chisago City (where I went to school), Northeast Minneapolis and Uptown, both areas that I had lived in the past. In Chisago we stayed with my aunt and in Minneapolis we rented places through AirBnB. Renting through AirBnB was massively cheaper and much, much more interesting than getting a hotel room. We had tried getting one place for the entire month but that ended up being much pricier than we'd imagined. Like, $5000 a month expensive. In the end I'm glad we got places in different areas because we experienced a lot more. 

Our temporary Northeast home was a small-but-cute duplex a few blocks away from a shopping center called the Quarry. It had the coolest Target ever (called an Innovation Store), a Lee Ann Chin's, and a Caribou. Yummy. We walked there several times, walked to local restaurants, and parks. We just happened to be there over the weekend of Art-a-Whirl which is basically a Gallery Hop on crack. We enjoyed several breweries in the area including one that was mostly ciders and one that had the BEST mojito-infused summer ale. 

We enjoyed free things like the Como Zoo and conservatory (open and free 365 days a year) and Free Thursday at the Walker Art Center (thanks Target!). One of my favorite places in the world, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, is located by the Walker so I got to see my beloved Spoon Bridge and one of my old apartments in the background. Ruby was not thrilled about having to go through the Walker and whined that it was "SOOO booooring!" the entire time. The staff followed us around like we were criminals after Ruby stepped onto one of the pedestals under a sculpture. She called the sculpture garden a "mommy park that is fun but not fun." 

Between our time in Northeast and Uptown we went back up to Chisago to stay with my aunt for a week. We hiked in a few local parks which one time resulted in two ticks making Ruby's head their home. I didn't realize how much a of a pain in the ass those little bastards are to pull off. To say Ruby was not pleased was an understatement. Although she did exclaim over and over again, "how cute!" the ticks were-once they were off of her. We got root beer at a local drive-in, visited the Franconia Sculpture Park (Fun Fact: The Josephine Sculpture Park located in Frankfort, KY., was started by people who had originally worked at Franconia), and took pics by the Minnesota sign. We went to a couple of breweries in that general area. One in Stillwater, one in Lino Lakes, and a tiny brewery in Somerset Wisconsin. I'm not a huge beer person (I'm slowly working on finding my style) but I think fondly and often of the Breakfast Pizza we ordered while in Somerset. Heath and I agreed that it was on the the best if not THE best pizza we've ever had. 

In Uptown we did much the same as in Northeast. Ate at local restaurants, tried new donuts, new ice cream, browsed local shops including a killer vintage bridal store. Our apartment was more spacious than than the one in NE so that meant that Ruby had her own room and Jasper didn't have to sleep in the kitchen (there was a lot of adapting and "make it work" moments on this trip). I loved the tall ceilings, antique built-ins, and abundance of natural light. We were also very close to the lake so we walked to it a couple of time. Once I took Ruby to the beach. It was her second beach trip and Jasper's first. Despite the fact that the water was not at all warm Ruby played in it for almost an hour before suddenly realizing she was freezing cold and having an epic meltdown. Jasper liked the sand and thought that rocks were very tasty. I didn't realize just how much I miss being near the water until I was there.

Of course, frolicking in the cities and stuffing our faces full of amazing food and beer was not the point of the trip. We got to spend a lot of time with my family. More importantly Heath got to spend time with my family and they got to spend time with him. Since I moved to Kentucky 12 years ago I think this was only Heath's fourth time visiting Minnesota. In the past I think there have been some wrong impressions from both sides about each other so it was nice to kind of clear all that up. I spent a lot of time with my grandma, who is 93, and my grandfather and spent some time with my aunt and uncle who I almost never saw as a kid but we've connected in the past few years.  Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles, brothers, sister, sister-in-laws, new girlfriends, friends I got to see them all! It was great. Ruby loved playing with her cousins and her "Uncle Daisy" and Jasper crawled for the first time. It was nice to be able to share that milestone. 

The drive back was not as pleasant. Ruby was extra whiny, I was tired emotional and from saying goodbye, and we had a lofty goal of driving all the way to Indianapolis before stopping for the night, approximately a 9 hour drive. We'd get in, get some dinner, enjoy the city a bit. It would be great! Instead it took 13 hours, we were all super grumpy and tired, and Ruby was being hair pullingly terrible. (Notice how I never mentioned Jasper? Other than not sleeping through the night he was pretty chill the whole time) We checked into our hotel room, ordered Indian food, and stayed in for the night. We left right after breakfast in the morning. On the way home we missed hitting a deer on the freeway by seconds. The semi behind us hit it instead. It's just as nasty as you're thinking it was. Then, as we were driving through construction in Louisville a woman decided to use my lane as well as her own to drive in so I was simultaneously trying to not get hit by her, not get hit by the person behind me, AND avoid the concrete barrier on the side closing the shoulder. Thankfully, we were fine but I was pissed. Like, Mamma Bear Pissed. 

Since getting back we've had quite a few people ask, "Are you guys moving to Minnesota?" This trip was not only about seeing my family and eating and drinking. For me it was partly a test for myself. I've wanted to go back to Minnesota for a while but I have to look at the whole thing objectively. My memories of the cities are of being single, hanging out with my friends, dancing, getting drunk and tipping drag queens. I'm not a totally different person but obviously I have more responsibilities now. Would I even like it in the cities anymore? Turns out I still really loved it. I felt at home again.  

Regardless of how happy I was it's not just my decision to make. There are other people involved and there are a ridiculous number of logistical and emotional things to consider. Making the decision to leave would probably be about 100x harder than my decision to move to Lexington in the first place. But part of me wants to DO IT. I am craving something new and different and part of me wants to be forced into a new situation outside of my comfort zone with new challenges.  Of course, I don't really need to move to do those things so that isn't the best excuse. When it comes down to it I don't know but I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that moving back to Minnesota may not be the best for our family and it really sucks. By saying that I don't mean that I don't enjoy anything about Lexington, because there are a lot of thing... well, it's complicated and would make a long, rambling post of its own.