Minneapolis, Minnesota: Day 2 - The Local and Touristy Mini-Apple

Good morning... and my right eye has gotten worse and swelled up. I rinse it out thoroughly and change my contacts. I feel some relief but waiting for time to pass for the swelling to reduce.

Dan and I head out to tour Minneapolis.

First stop is Glam Doll Donuts - voted best homemade donuts in Minneapolis.

  

These are the vegan donuts.

These are the others

Dan cannot contain his happiness!!!

Mine mine mine!!

 
We head out to the Mill Ruins Park.

Walk across the Stone Arch Bridge and get a view of Saint Anthony Falls.

The Guthrie Theater Endless Bridge overlooking the stone arch bridge, Saint Anthony Falls and Mill Ruins park.

We go inside the Guthrie Theater

And to the Endless Bridge

The blue view

And then the various views from the Endless Bridge

We go up to the Dowling Studio (or the yellow room). I'm standing up glass. I get a little scared at first until I get comfortable with the fact that I will not fall down.

The same views of the city through the yellowness

I get braver and more cocky.

Panorama

Tough guy :P

Minneapolis from the other side

Vikings Stadium

Time to leave the Guthrie Theater

We are a little hungry and it is lunch time. We head out to one of Dan's favorite restaurants: Psycho Suzi's Motor Lounge.

We sit by the Mississippi River

And enjoy a cocktail in this humid weather (relatively humid)

We order a round of appetizers for lunch.

Time to dig in.

After a delicious lunch I need to walk off some of the calories, so we head out to the Mall of America - just to do it. Now I can actually say I have been there. I have no interest in shopping for anything.

OH MY !! They have a LEGO land. I just became 5 years old.

Can I go...

Can I go, please??

Please ... please ... please

Oh pretty please!!!

YESSSSSS!

If only I could play in the play pen without feeling embarrassed.

We walk around and Dan points out the Microsoft Store is almost opposite the Apple Store. Which store do you think I walked into?

We go back home, and I take a short nap and blog a little and head out to downtown Minneapolis for some happy hour specials.

We walk into one of the popular places called The Local.

An Irish bar.

I order what is called a Big Ginger.

Dan is just an awesome host.

I head out to the bathroom and notice this.

Holy Moly, they have couches and mood lighting.

We are sitting at the bar and then I strike up a conversation with Merrill from Kentucky. Later she brings out her husband Alwyn from Wales, and the four of us have a wonderful conversation. We find out Merrill is hooked to Alwyn's accent - she married him for it. Kidding but also serious at the same time. Ask her for details.

We decide to bounce and get some food at another restaurant called Dan Kelly's Bar & Grill. I think Dan has a Irish Pub/Bar theme going for the evening.

Get some bar food. Not great but not bad either.

And then head back to the house. My swollen eye has almost healed. I think tomorrow it will be almost if not back to normal. Time for bed.

Thank you Dan for a wonderful adventure in Minneapolis. Thank you for hosting me at your home and also taking the day off to entertain. I appreciate your hospitality, fraternalism, and friendship ... and the mixed drinks. :-)

Expenses: $124.74
Breakfast: $14.55
Lunch: $40.22
Beverages: $30.00
Dinner: $39.99