Another Dot on the Map

On Memorial Day weekend, I added another dot on my travel map. Not just any dot, but the newest one on Southwest's City Map - Minneapolis, MN (MSP). We started service there on March 8 of this year but long before that, about the time it was announced we would start service to MSP, my family started planning a trip.

Aunt Judy, my grandmother's sister, has lived in the Minneapolis area for about 4 years; Jan (her daughter) and Connally have been there for much longer. Yet none of us had made it up to that part of the Midwest to visit them. The newest Freedom to Fly addition was the perfect opportunity.

My parents and my grandmother flew up on Thursday with no problems. Being a holiday weekend, my trip on Friday wasn't as easy and I ended up spending the night in Chicago (don't worry, a little Giordano's made it a worth while stop), then flew up to the Twin Cities the next morning.

The first stop was a place for which Minneapolis is well known - The Mall of America. I can't imagine trying to do your regular mall shopping there, it could take days! Among the highlights were walking through the amusement park, the Lego store, the American Girl store, and the largest scrapbooking store I've ever seen (Holly - the fastest scrapbooker I know - you would have loved this place!). We also found some Mall of America postcards in the official mall store.

Mom and I above the Lego Place.

The amazing scrapbooking store

After the mall, we all hopped on the light rail (I just love cities with good public transportation) and stopped off at the Metrodome - where the Twins play baseball. Most of us got our pictures made with the "team" while we were there. See if you can find me :)

The rest of the weekend included hamburgers and horseshoes at Jan and Connally's house (I wish I had a picture - they've fixed up a 1950's house and it looks amazing) and antique shopping on main street Anoka, where Judy lives. We also took a walk to the Mississippi River and enjoyed Judy's potroast dinner.

Evidently May is the time to visit Minnesota, after the cold and before the bugs. We had perfect weather and a great weekend.

The Joy of the Public Library

The wonders of a library have never been lost upon me. They have always been these peaceful, yet exciting places. As a kid, my mom would get the local library to give us a longer loan time on the dozens of books we'd take on our long summer road trips. Libraries have often been photo ops, like these in Chicago and NYC. Of all the beautiful buildings in D.C., what's my favorite - the Library of Congress. And, though many would disagree, I think this may have been Benjamin Franklin's greatest contribution to our country - the postal system, electricity, bifocals - all great, but nothing compared to the first public lending library.


So it was quite a surprise when I realized after living in Dallas for over 4 1/2 years, I didn't have a library card. In fact, the few times I'd been in a Dallas library branch were just to kill some time and if I read at all, I brought my own book. If you've seen "my library," you might understand when I say I have so many unread books of my own, so it leaves little time to read borrowed books.

A few weeks ago the drought came to an end. I own very few non-fiction books, so when I went to add The Greatest Generation to the current reading list, I decided to check out the library's copy rather than buying it (although it is a great book and well worth owning). Since then I've made several trips to the various branches close to work and church.

The reminder of the library's "joy" came from last week's visit - sitting in a comfy chair reading in a library full of other people doing the same. And even though I came in for one book, a few minutes of browsing had me leaving with four. Just as much fun as a trip to Barnes & Nobles, but a lot cheaper. So check out your local library - it is a great place!

Birthday Weekend

As expected, the birthday weekend to Disney World was fun-filled and very busy. Everyone arrived without a hitch, which is always something when you have multiple people coming from different locations.

Saturday was split between Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). Diane and Mike hadn't been to Disney in years (actually, this was Mike's first trip ever), so we had to make sure and hit all of the classic stuff at the Magic Kingdom. I'm pretty sure they both enjoyed Splash Mountain a lot, but it was too bad they rode it as the sun was going down instead of during the heat of the 95 degree day!

I enjoyed getting in a few hours at Hollywood Studios. It was just enough time to hit the three rides I wanted to make - Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and the new Toy Story Mania. The Coaster was the highlight of my day - going 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds with Aerosmith blaring in the headrest - that is my kind of ride.

Sunday was all EPCOT, all day. My favorite ride is SOARING! the hang gliding ride that takes you over California. Plus, I just love all of the countries. For dinner, we ate at the Biergarten restaurant in the German Pavilion with Donald (Mom's brother) and Al, who were just getting to Orlando that day. They come at least once a year - Al said she knows where all the bathrooms are :) - and just happened to be come when we were. The dinner was a buffet and we all love German, so we were plenty full!

Here's a few of the Disney pictures:

Gearing up for the first day at Disney

Getting our FastPasses for SOARING!

Lady and the Tramp - EPCOT had these amazing topiaries of all the favorite Disney characters for the International Garden and Flower Festival.

Look Grandma - your kids went to Disney World for Mother's Day!





The impromptu part of the weekend was getting to see the Atlantis shuttle launch! Diane was chatting with some folks in the hotel who had come to see the launch and once we remembered how close we were to Cape Canaveral, we decided to drive over and see it ourselves. The closest we could get without paying an arm and a leg each was Titusville, just across the river from the launch site. Not surprisingly, hundreds of people were there, all clambering for the best place along the waters edge. We found ourselves a great spot - a piece of the Highway 1 median - where we had a clear view of the launch pads. We were still 12 miles away and of course could only see for seconds before it went above the clouds, but it was a very impressive sight. I was amazed at how much brighter its flames were in person.

Nothing like professionals, but here are some shots we got:

Waiting for the launch

3-2-1 Liftoff!

High in the sky

I've Caught the ...

Travel Bug!!

I know, I know. Most of you reading this are probably thinking, "When do you not have the travel bug?!" And it is true. Most of my life, I've been coming back from one place and going to another. Planned out or going on a whim, I really think it is just part of my DNA.

But every now and then there is a destination or a trip that makes me excited. This "second wind, bouncing off the walls, super giddy Jenise" comes out. Seriously, kid in a candy shop excitement.

Anytime I get this way, I always think of this picture:

It is from a trip to Chicago exactly 3 years ago this weekend. A group of us convinced Eric (a Chi-town native) to let us crash at his parents' for the long weekend trip. And despite the unexpectedly cold weather (I know it is the Windy City, but it was frigid for May!), it was everything you could want in a visit to Chicago - Cubs game, Giordano's pizza, Sear's tower, biking along Lake Michigan... All of this, combined with great company, made for one giddy traveling Jenise.

What I love about this picture is that it wasn't just a cheesy smile for the camera, I actually remember being this excited. And I recall how taken aback my fellow travelers were. I'd know most of them for less than a year, so they had not been exposed to this version of me. Some might think me quiet and reserved; these are people who've never traveled with me :)

So, what's the destination which has me jittery this weekend - Disney World!! Yes, you may remember I posted about going there just 3 months ago. But this time we are going for my birthday, spending the whole day at Epcot (my favorite park), and well, there is a reason they call it "The Happiest Place on Earth!" Plus, my aunt and uncle are coming along with my parents and I, making the trip even more FUN!

It's a good thing there are walls around my desk, because my co-workers might be thinking there's something wrong with me, this goofy smile I've got. 11 hours and counting...