Take Away The Cone

and this is what Steve had last night before we came home.  Me?  No, I was a good boy and stayed on my diet. 

Fun To Get Away

-We are home – after an exciting and fun weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

With perfect weather, perfect temperatures – our weekend wound up about 7:30 p.m. last evening when we returned to our home here in northern Minnesota.

We left our home on Friday morning around 8:30 a.m. and arrived in Minneapolis about 11:30 a.m. – making a couple of stops along the way.  Our Friday schedule was open – and Roseville, Minnesota was our first stop to see the movie “The Ugly Truth” with Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl.
The movie is about:

Abby Richter is a romantically challenged morning show producer whose search for Mr. Perfect has left her hopelessly single. She’s in for a rude awakening when her bosses team her with Mike Chadway, a hardcore TV personality who promises to spill the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick.

You could sum this movie up in one word “funny”. One of the best movies I’ve seen all year. I’d rate it at an “A+”.

This is a simply “must see” movie.

I know Steve enjoyed it – as he thinks Gerard Butler is “hot”.

After the movie, we went to “Chipotle” for our Friday lunch and supper combination.  “Chipotle” is one of our favorite fast food eateries in the Twin Cities.

Our meal being over – we headed to the Double Tree Hotel on I-394 west of the downtown Minneapolis area .. about a 3.0 mile drive and checked into our hotel room.  Steve and I have stayed there a number of times and absolutely enjoy this hotel – as it is one of the nicer Twin Cities places to stay.

We spent the evening doing this and doing that … and ended up at the Minneapolis Eagle later that evening to enjoy an evening out – having a couple of beers.

Saturday morning we were up around 9:00 a.m. after an enjoy evening in bed .. coupled with some romantic time – and headed off to Valley Fair, which is located in the south and west region of the metropolitan area.

It was Pride Alive Days for those who were gay … with a picnic is from 11am – 1pm, free food and a reduced admission into the amusement park.  I’m not sure how many guys participated … but we did see a fairly large group of men and small clusters of men in various areas of the park throughout the day.

The weather was perfect, the sun was out – and it was just a great day to enjoy the park.  Steve went on several of the “faster” rides, while I contained my excitement with a ride on the ferris wheel.  I’ve never been been on amusement park rides from the time I was a kid – I just always got dizzy and never enjoyed them.

We arrived at the park about 11:30 a.m. and left the park about 4:45 p.m. – having spent over five hours there.  It was truly just a nice day and it was good for the two of us to be away from home and for Steve to be away from his two jobs – to relax.

Supper on Saturday evening .. was Old Chicago in Minneapolis Uptown – where we enjoyed an always good meal – and perhaps it was a “bit” to much to eat – but certainly always very enjoyable and ever so tasty.

We were actually both exhausted and Steve’s right shoulder had been bothering him most of the weekend – so we actually did not go out on Saturday evening – but instead just enjoyed the out of doors and later returned to our hotel room for some much needed rest and relaxation.

Sunday … yesterday, we spent at Ikea and the Mall of America.  We purchased a few household items at Ikea and then spent a couple of hours walking around the Mall of America – and stopping at both the Verizon and AT&T stores to look at new phone hardware.  Steve and I had been toying around with buying an iPhone from AT&T – but after talking about it and looking at our needs – we decided that we really didn’t need so put out that kind of money for an iPhone.  Granted it would be fun to have one, but from a practical and financial standpoint – Verizon actually has a faster network in the Duluth area and is a better choice for us all around.

Both Steve and I are going to be ready for “cell phone” upgrades a week from today … Steve’s phone has been ready for an upgrade for several months and mine actually will be ready next Monday.  Strangely, you can get a better and fast deal – by buying your phone on the Verizon website – and immediately getting your mail in rebate – right up front.

We’ve got our eyes on a couple of the Verizon phones and will probably make that change sometime this week or early next week.

Mid afternoon on Sunday, Steve texted his softball team manager to let him know that he would not be playing last night due to his should injury … and as luck would have it – by the time we returned and drove past the ball fields – it had started to rain last evening – so nine chances out of ten, the game was postponed until a later time.

-We arrived back in the Duluth area about 7:30 p.m. last night … having had a great weekend away together and a very loving one also.

It was just fun to get away, and see how the rest of the world lives.

After all, that’s something each of use needs to do every so often.