Day 231 – Great River Road (Part 2)

DAY 231 OF YEAR LONG ROAD TRIP FOLLOWING SCENIC BYWAYS IN THE USA

Mall of the America’s

Since Hastings was only about twenty miles from Minneapolis/St. Paul, I took a detour for a simple drive by as I had never been there.  I had Gina, my GPS, take me to the city hall of each town, that way I would at least get a glimpse of downtown.  I crossed over a few bridges, passed by several office buildings connected by skywalks, and even spotted a few historic churches in the mix before I ended at Mall of the America’s.  While I can’t think of anything I like about shopping, I figured I had to at least see the largest mall in America. Continue reading “Day 231 – Great River Road (Part 2)” →

Day 215 – North Shore Drive

Day 215 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

Despite the thermometer in VANilla reading 82 degrees at midnight, today was remarkably better than yesterday.  We had a busy day traveling Minnesota’s North Shore.  I left from Duluth and drove 30 minutes north to Two Harbors. At Two Harbors, Petey joined me for a walk around Agate Bay where we admired an old tugboat, watched the ore shipping process, and searched for geocaches around the lighthouse.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
lake in chippewa national forest

Day 214 – Northern Minnesota Circle

Day 214 of Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways

I began with a great start to my morning.  My coffee from the shop was served in a paper cup with the question, “What keeps you awake?” printed on the side with a variety of answers from local patrons. My personal favorites were “Extra innings and overtime” and “When I hear my three-year old ask, ‘Mommy, what letter does “s” start with?’”

After my morning Joe, things went south.  This may qualify as a do over day.  I headed northwest out of Grand Rapids on Highway 2 and was supposed to turn north on 48. I unknowingly missed the exit and didn’t notice for a while. As a result,  I backtracked to Deer River and eventually reached Avenue of the Pines Scenic Byway which cuts through Chippewa National Forest.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!