Tuesday, August 5, 2014

The Big Trip!

The Big Trip 2014! Here is Matt and I somewhere between Boise and Provo on the first day of the trip. We're so excited!
 
 
The Midwest was beautiful! I didn't expect it to be so lush and green. There were lots of beautiful rolling hills, and trees growing spontaneously between farms. This is a very flat, humid area of Nebraska.
 
 
 The purpose of the Big Trip was to go see my sister-in-law, Andrea, and her husband, Steven in Minneapolis. We surprised her by just "happening" to be at the same restaurant she was going to with Steven the day we arrived. One of our days in Minneapolis, we went to the Mall of America. Here is Matt wearing a unicorn mask in Urban Outfitters.
 
 
It's difficult to see in this photo, but there is an amusement park INSIDE THE MALL! So cool!
 
 
I almost never get a picture of Matt just plain old smiling. Haha!
 
 
While in Minnesota, we went to a resort near Onamia along Mille Lacs Lake (what a redundant name! In French, "mille lacs" means 1000 lakes. So the name is essentially, 1000 Lakes Lake.) This is Mille Lacs Lake. It was surprisingly warm and huge! Well, huge to my standards. But in comparison to Lake Superior, very small.
 
 
Next is a cheesy filter on a cheesy photo of Matt near the lake. Enjoy.
 
 
And now another cheesy edit on a photo of a cute little carousel at a burger joint called Happy's.
 
 
A beautiful photo with a cheesy frame.
 
 
 
There were TONS of frogs at the resort. Also toads. This is a little guy I saw on a lily pad.
 

 
Evidence of Minnesota's beauty.
 
 
One day we drove North to Duluth to see Lake Superior. We went on a boat tour, which was pretty cool. Pictured below is my mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law, Andrea, and Stephanie (left to right).
 
 
As per usual, odd faces of the Emma and Matt variety.
 
 
I thought Duluth was a really bizarre place. Like it stepped right out of the industrial age. There was this sad, brown, worn out feel to the whole place. Even Lake Superior was kind of brown.
 
 
I really love this guy.
 
 
 
We found a beach in Duluth. The water was pretty cold, so everyone pretty much just waded in the water. But I like to swim, so I took the plunge into the great lake and got to cross that off my bucket list!
 
 
 
I married into a really fun, cool family. Matt, Andrea, and Jared (left to right).
 
 
Here I am post-swim, happy and invigorated!
 
 
Lake Superior holds 10% of the Earth's fresh water. At its deepest, it would completely cover the Empire State Building PLUS eight more stories.
 
 
We went back to Minneapolis after our resort trip and saw the sweet park with lots of sculptures. This fish one is one of my favorites.
 
 
This is a really sweet view of Minneapolis overlooking the Mississippi River from the Endless Bridge.
 
 
In this photo, you can see the Endless Bridge (blue and not really a "bridge") and the flour mill ruins. The mill is in ruins because it exploded like ten years ago or something.
 
 
Some more mill ruins.
 
 
On our return trip from Minneapolis, we stayed in South Dakota so that we could see the sights there. Mount Rushmore was breathtaking!
 
 
Can you guess how Matt feels about Teddy Roosevelt?
 
 
 
We also saw the Crazy Horse monument. It's not finished, you can see his face, the starts of his arm, and the outline of his horse traced in the mountain.
 
 
One day it will look like this.
 
 
One night we stayed in these sweet cabins run by a Ma and Pa operation. It was charming.
 
 
Here's Matt dressed in his Sunday best in front of our cabin. Once again, isn't he handsome?
 
 
 We had a great time on our vacation! But I have to say, I'm glad to be home now. Sometimes you need a vacation from your vacation because traveling is rather tiring.