The leaves around Minneapolis are turning orange again and I actually bought a pea coat, this fall thing is mighty real.
Some of us are less amused than others.
I felt extremely distracted while working from home today so I decided to go to the Pierre Bottineau Library here in Nordeast. The library is in the castle-like old Grainbelt Beer building and pretty nice on the outside.
So we finally went to Psycho Suzi’s Motor Lounge!
Psycho Suzi’s is a restaurant near our new apartment in Nordeast Minneapolis. I started hearing good things about the restaurant within a few weeks of moving to Minneapolis. Tader and I tried to go several times but we were deterred by the chaotic parking situation.
We recently mustered the gumption to battle (literally) for a parking space. I am glad we finally made the trip because Psycho Suzi’s is hilarious. The restaurant has several bars and a kitschy tiki theme that reminds me of the Flintstones for some reason. And there was the volcano drink…
I was going to grow my hair out and get dreadlock extensions from the Hair Police, but the boyfriend was unamused so I got a haircut at Floyd’s 99 Barbershop in Uptown.
I parked at 4:15 p.m. and I was told that there was a 45 minute wait. I went back to feed my meter, waited, and got my haircut. I went back to my car afterward and the entire street was deserted. No car. I had a quick WTF moment and then saw the sign: “NO PARKING 4-6 PM.”
Towed. This was a very expensive haircut.
I walked the 3-4 miles to the impound lot with images of Parking Wars in my head. I was also worried about the towing fee, which is $300-400 cash in Miami. Turns out that the fee is only just over $100 in Minneapolis, so I was thrilled.
The dogs and I went down to the river ended up on the lower trail by the Stone Arch Bridge.
I bought one of their top laptops toward the end of April as a graduation present for myself. The laptop promptly broke and I’ve been back repeatedly for repairs. Things got ridiculous during the latest bout of repairs. I had to go back to the store constantly over the past 7 days. First, Windows wouldn’t start. Windows loaded and then gave me a black screen that flickered on and off. The techs in the front of the Computer Store didn’t know what the heck was going on, so they held my laptop for repairs.
I’m cramming some Lake Calhoun time in before it starts freezing. Dog-hair-in-car be dammed.
With no school year to mark the time for me anymore, I guess summer ends with the Minnesota State Fair. There’s probably a meteorological date or something, but lamb on a stick is a better way to mark the seasons.
I’m ending summer with a new view of the skyline, but I’m still in Minneapolis.
Tader and I went to Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota. Let me tell you, this thing is in the middle of nowhere.
After the series of dirt roads we got to climb through thick woods on a path filled with roots, boulders and wasps! Harley stuck his nose right in the wasp nest. Both dogs were stung and we could hear the screams from the hikers behind us.
…but the view was pretty.
Tader was all about the view…but I think the dogs and I preferred the lake at the foot of Eagle Mountain.
I work from home three days a week, which means I get to overhear the bus stop conversations of the middle schoolers.
Today two of them got into it. We’ll call them Wendy and Rachael.
The last time I visited the Minnesota State Fair it was right before the start of a school year. This year’s fair visit was missing the subtext of school and employment related angst so I could concentrate on overeating everything on a stick.
I stayed away from classic fair fare such as cheese curds because greasy food makes me deathly ill. I did have lamb on a stick and bratwurst though. Pictures after the jump.
This was my first real trek through rural Minnesota since Bemidji. The biggest difference, besides the lack of snow, is that there was a ton of traffic on the way north. Apparently we weren’t the only pair of city folks glamping during the weekend.
At least there were plenty of farms to stare at during the heaviest traffic.
