The Excellent Minnesota Adventure

 

My sister Meg and nephew Sean make regular treks to Connecticut from Minnesota to visit.  It was beyond time for me to make the trip out west and cross off a few project50 items while I visited.

 

Lessons Learned

If You Don't Use It, You Lose It

I have to admit it was a wee bit disconcerting to make this trip by myself. Once upon a time, I traveled alone.  I felt very comfortable just picking up and going and wouldn't think twice about being on my own. That was over 25 years, a husband and four children ago.   When you travel with others there's a safety net, a second set of eyes and ears that will catch things you might not and then there's the whole comfort in numbers piece. I got used to being part of a team and haven't had to rely solely on myself for a long, long time.

What I found is that it's like any other skill and requires practice to increase your comfort level. Just like riding a bike, it only took a short amount of time for me to get into the groove.  The added bonus: I had a sense of accomplishment when I mastered the maze of boarding pass, security and gates. And dare I say I felt free? Please don't misunderstand.  I love my family with a deep abiding passion but it's important to remember who I am aside from them.  All my energies are usually focused on caring and providing for my family.  To have no one to care for but myself was odd but energizing.

I am not the most well traveled person in the world.  In fact, I've never made it further west than Chicago.  This trip added a few hundred miles to that mark.  I finally crossed the Mississippi River.  California cannot be far off!!

 

You Only Have To Taste It

Two items on the project50 list involved food.  I started with some food challenges to move me out of my comfort zone and also wanted to eat a restaurant meal cooked by my nephew.  I managed to cross both off the list on this trip.

I was treated to some amazing meals and flavors as I ate my way across Minneapolis.  Tuna tartar, avocado ice cream, shaved ponzu, sriracha, fois gras, prune coulis, braised fennel, fig and perneau puree, waygu beef, squid ink, chicken liver, duck liver, the list goes on and on and I said YES to every one. There were some flavors I enjoyed more than others and no one ever asked me to eat a bug.  Each dish was made all the more enjoyable with a tour guide.  There were odd combinations like tuna tartar with avocado ice cream and strawberry with carrots and fois butter.  But my tour guide Sean talked me through each one and I began to not only understand but appreciate this different world.   

 

Sean has been working as a chef in Minneapolis for over five years.  It's one thing to eat one of his home cooked meals and a completely different thing to eat one of his restaurant meals. Perhaps even more enjoyable than tasting his extraordinary culinary creations was watching him in his element.  Tilia Minneapolis has an open kitchen and chef's bar that allows you to watch the chefs as they prepare your meal.  It takes dining to a whole different level-- meal preparation as entertainment.  It's not just about the food.  It's about hitting all the different senses to create an experience.  There's a dance that takes place as each chef and cook moves around the small kitchen prepping, cooking, plating.  Each individual plate is a piece of art that is refined for maximum visual, olfactory, flavor impact.  It was a window on a world that I had heard about but never experienced.

Your Day Will Come or 

Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright

I was nineteen when Sean was born and lived with him until he was about four.  With my sister's indulgence, I call him my first baby.  I was there for a portion of the time she raised him and was able to learn and help as she parented. I think it was a boot camp that prepared me for when my own kids came along.  

As I watched Sean during my visit,  I was filled with awe as he created culinary masterpieces and expedited orders in a crowded, chaotic kitchen. Everywhere we went he was embraced and greeted with enthusiasm, warmth and generosity.  Each person I was introduced to could not say enough about him. It was good to see him settled in his own apartment with his own style. I was struck by what an amazing man he has become.  We often say that parenting is a job you don't truly know you've done well until your children are launched and on their own for a while. My sister has raised an incredible human being and I am grateful that I had a part to play in that process. Job well done Meg.

 

Forgiveness Is A Gift You Give Yourself

As with any sibling relationship, Meg and I have had our rocky moments.  There have been things I've done that have hurt her and vice versa.  We have gotten past our hurts through patience, understanding and forgiveness. If you had told me ten years ago that we would have made it to this place, I would have been doubtful.  It makes me hopeful that even the most damaged relationships can be renewed and grateful that Meg and I stuck with it and came through on the other side.  I would have missed out on a fulfilling relationship with a beautiful woman.

 

Do The Things You Love (Or Fear) With People You Love

I went to the Mall of America, rode a roller coaster, got lost in a parking garage, ate organ meats, searched for geo caches, appreciated great art and not so great art, explored a sculpture garden, cruised the Mississippi and a dozen or more other things.  Doing all this with people you love makes the tougher things (roller coasters and organ meats) easier and the enjoyable things joyful.  These experiences can revitalize and are the moments I can recall to lift me when the darkness threatens.

 

Two Lakes Down, 9,998 To Go

I am incredibly grateful to have had this experience and to have had Meg and Sean all to myself for a few days.  Minnesota is the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  I was fortunate to see Lake Harriot and Lake Calhoun.  You know what that means.  I'll have to go back.   My next visit will be longer, Mark will come with me and I will fast for two weeks before departure.