Red Wing

Lance, Harry and I all went to Red Wing this weekend to see the change of the leaves on the trees. We walked around downtown Red Wing to visit the shops, and historic Saint James Hotel.

Lance and I grabbed Harold from the car and walked down by the river past the Red Wing Railroad station which is now a Art Gallery/Visitors Center and then down by the water to see tourists get ready to come aboard the Riverboat Cruise that was bound for St Louis. Here are some pics:

Red Wing Prison

I understand that it might seem strange but we drove by the Red Wing Correctional Facility and I thought the buildings were actually really pretty. Lance said we should commit a crime and hopefully we could spend our days in this jail.

Anniversary Dinner 112 Eatery

112 Eatery is where Lance and I had our 5th Anniversary Dinner. It is located in Downtown Minneapolis near the Warehouse District. The 112 Eatery has such an interesting but short menu to keep the choices down so that the chef can focus on a limited offering so it is the best it can possibly be. Here is a link to their site:

http://www.112eatery.com/

I started with foie gras/lardon salad and for my main course I had Roasted halibut w/ marinated tomatoes.

Lance started with sea scallops w/ oyster mushrooms and main course was tagliatelle w/ foie gras meatballs. We also shared the pan-fried gnocchi/ Parmesan reggiano.

We had one of the best meals that we have had which was perfect because it was on our anniversary.

Anniversary Taylors Falls

Taylor's Falls is a picturesque town on the St. Croix River that has so many turning trees, state parks, and trails. While we were there we went to an old town drive in restaurant: http://www.taylorsfalls.com/index_old.html

Anniversary Franconia Sculpture Garden

On the way out to Taylor's Falls, WI Lance and I drove past the Franconia Sculpture Garden and had to stop. (http://www.franconia.org/about.html)

We were intrigued by some of the outdoor sculptures:

Anniversary Saint Paul Art Crawl

Lance and I also went to the Fall Saint Paul Art Crawl where we visited one of our favorate local artist Barbra Evan. Her focus is more modern type of art.

We also parked our car close to the "art" car featured in the last photo.

Anniversary Saint Paul Farmers Market

Saint Paul Farmers market. Look at these beautiful flower arrangements. In these arrangements they used mini kale and something called "Oscar" which is a seed pod that is like a large green ball with a hairy surface...isn't it cool..

Baby Shower

October 5th Laura and my mom put on a shower for me in Omaha at the Prestige Restaurant. The Prestige was a perfect venue over looking a golf course and we had the restaurant to ourselves. The table and decorations were so cute and everyone had such a great time playing games and chatting about baby Custer. I am so lucky to have such great family and friends :)

Erins Baby Luncheon

October 4th Krissy, Jessica, Erin and I all met for lunch at the Lied Lodge to have lunch to celebrate Erin's pregnancy. We all sat outside for the lunch at the Lodge overlooking the apple orchard.

Arbor Day Farm

On October 3rd, Lance and I went to Nebraska City to attend one of our friends weddings at the Lied Lodge. While we were there, Lance and I went to the Arbor Day farm where they have many activities including acres of apple trees and hiking trails with tree houses. Check it out:

Drew's B-Ball Game

Lance and I went to see Drew play basketball in South Minneapolis. Needless to say, this picture was taken after they played and lost.

Minneapolis Farmers Market

Erin came into town and we all went down to the Minneapolis Farmers market. This Market is full of dozens of vendors selling all types of homegrown and homemade goods.

Minnesota State Fair

Our Minnesota State Fair has long been dubbed "The Great Minnesota Get-Together"...and it really is. This year (2008) the fair attendance was just over 1,600,000 people and it is easy to figure out why. At our state fair there is truly something for everyone. Minnesotans come to the fair to do everything from watch a national act on the Grandstand or watch the judging of apple pies.

I love to come to the fair to eat. This year the popular treat was chocolate covered bacon. Although I did not eat the bacon, I did enjoy some roasted corn, funnel cake, chocolate covered fruit, and a corn dog.

I also love to go to the Agriculture building to see the different livestock and talk to the kids from small towns that are showing their animals. This year I had a great time looking at all the different types of chickens.

MSF

My favorate part of the fair! The animals: