Minneapolis

People in Minnesota are so incredibly nice! Everyone we met was so gracious, hospitable, and generous. We stayed at an airBnB there and it was one of our favorites we've stayed at so far. The hosts were really fun to chat with and helpful. The neighborhood was really nice, lots of lakes around here. I've decided I am a lake person and really want to live near one someday.

 We only had the weekend in Minneapolis so we made the most of it and mostly for free too! Our first stop was the Mall of America, we had to check it out. That place is unreal, so many shops and a huge amusement park in the middle of it. The rides were a bit pricey so we just watched and had fun going into a few stores. We then headed to the Minneapolis institute of Art, which was free, and had a lot of exhibits. It was a lot bigger than we thought it was going to be, so I think we only saw about half of it. There were a few festivals going on that weekend, actually I think they have one every weekend during the summer here. It made for difficult parking or getting to a few spots but over all not too hard to get around here.

At the art institute

Legos and Star Wars what could be better? Nerd alert I know

We went to the Como Zoo and conservatory, which is also free. The conservatory was really pretty but very hot! The zoo was cute, but some of the enclosures were a little limiting for the animals. Then again we've been spoiled by the San Diego zoo. Still a fun time and the best part was going on the Carousel! Yes, I know Matt loves me because he will ride a carousel with me.

Bonsai trees at the conservatory

Loved this little guy at the zoo.

He found the manliest horse, it had a tiger on its back.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Snow Cones help beat the heat, especially when it's tiger's blood 

Walking across the Stone arch bridge

The also had this festival called Stone Arch Bridge festival while we were there. It was like a really big Farmer's market with bands too. It was really fun walking around through it and seeing all the vendors and people watching too. Afterwards we went to an outdoor movie in a Park too. They have movies and music in the park everyday of the week going on in different parks in the city. This one was showing Divergent (a new fave now). This was also free and they gave out free Popcorn too! On Sunday we went to church to see a friend I worked with in Morocco doing humanitarian work there. It was great to see him and to meet his family. We also had the luck of being in the same ward as the Rowleys too! We love being able to see people we know on this trip, definitely a highlight. We wanted to stay longer to visit but we had to make our way down to Nauvoo next!

View of the city from the festival