On Friday I decided to make my drive north by driving along the Mississippi River until I could cut over into St. Paul. It was raining, but still one of the most beautiful drives I’ve had in a long time.

I decided that a goal of mine one day is to definitely kayak down the Mississippi, from start to finish. Anyone with me?

But more importantly I discovered this weekend that I truly do love St. Paul and Minneapolis. I could live here easily. Yesterday Michelle gave me a tour of her favorite haunts. I cannot express how amazing this state is. We drove along the St. Croix through the cutest little town called Stillwater. We didn’t stop because we were on a goal to…oh wait, we didn’t have any goals. That was the beauty of the day. We just drove and saw so much. We ended up hitting Taylors Falls which is the most amazing place where you can see these huge natural potholes in the rocks that surround this peaceful cove, reminiscent of the gorge at Big Sur where we used to jump off the cliffs into the water when I was in high school.

On the way back we noticed this giant sculpture garden in the middle of nowhere so we stopped and discovered it was actually the Franconia Sculpture Garden and we were glad we stopped.

But the best part of the weekend was when we headed out last night to grab some food and take in some music. First we ate at what I have to say is the best sushi place I’ve ever been to. I’m not exaggerating, people. I’m including Seattle in this, and Fujiya in Minneapolis beats any sushi place I have been to in my life. We sat outside and I ordered some of my standards (maguro, tamago, edamame, miso) but then I tried a roll of theirs called the crunchy wasabi roll. It was amazing, as was the cucumber seaweed salad. I’m going to dream about this place. Maddy, I wish I could fly you out here to go with me. You would love it.

Then we headed over to the Speakeasy to hear Michelle’s friend Karl play with his band. Despite a rude bartender, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this cozy place, appropriately located in the alley, illuminated by a red light outside the door. Of course the highlight was Latchhook which was a three piece band with a cello, light drums, and Karl on guitar and vocals. Even a little piano was thrown in and I have to say, I loved them. There was a certain comfort in the low mumbling song coming from Karl accompanied by a crisp unique sound from the cello or piano. I guess the people in Latchhook must rotate because on the site it says they are a husband wife team with Karl added on guitar. If you go to the website, follow the latchhook link on the bottom of the page and click on the “to mp3s” link to hear three of their songs. My favorite right now is “Hue-Saturation.” I would love to know what some of you think, although it’s not the same if you’re not sitting in the Speakeasy with great company after a great day. Or maybe it is. 🙂

So, who wants to move here with me. Anyone?