Another Busy Weekend

The fall weather in Minnesota has been Fabulous this year - so Fab, that my weekends are exhausting! Here's another quick re-cap on another fun-filled weekend:

Friday night?  Dinner and music at the Aster Cafe on St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis.  Wonderful food.  Great beer and wine.  Friendly staff.  The band playing:  Six Mile Grove.  Kind of country - but very good!  (The brothers in the band grew up on a pig farm...  Apparently they gave out some free bacon to fans.  Too funny.)

(The beautiful Minneapolis skyline...)

(Inside the Aster Cafe - small, quaint, romantic, and cozy.)

(Six Mile Grove)

Saturday?  Breakfast at my parents' house to celebrate Mom's and the Hubby's birthdays.  (I was in Portland over their birthday weekend...)  My little sis, Kayla, was home from college - so fun to see her!  A very nice morning with the fam!

That afternoon, Mike and I decided to go for a drive to enjoy the fall day.  We drove down to the town of Lanesboro, MN - a good two and half hour drive through corn fields...  Apparently, it's a great town to visit if you're biking the trail that goes through town... or canoeing down the river...  or are a little older than we are...  Many of the shops and restaurants we read about in magazines weren't open and there were very few people milling about.  Everything closed at 5pm and we got to town at 4:30pm.  Needless to say, it felt like a HUGE waste of our day.

But then, we realized LaCrosse, WI, wasn't too far away...  so we continued to drive.  We were coming into town as the sun was beginning to sink - so we hurried up to Grandad's Bluff to watch the sunset - BEAUTIFUL!  Totally worth the crazy afternoon.  After enjoying the show, we went into town and found "Piggy's" - a restaurant my dad has talked about for years!  We walked in and instantly knew we were under-dressed... so we sat in the bar  - with a large group of people celebrating Octoberfest!  Lederhosen, german dresses, flowers in the ladies hair...  It was awesome.  Before the group left, they circled around the room and sang a couple of german songs and chanted something in German.  Too funny.  I loved it!  Our food came - a slab of ribs - Delish!  And the band for the evening started up - playing classic "lounge" tunes - many of whom I have on a CD in my kitchen (perfect for cooking while sipping wine!).  Mike rolled his eyes - but I was loving every second! 

(The views from Grandad's Bluff.)

It was finally time to get on the road again...  It was late and I had to work at church the next morning.  We did make one more stop to watch the stars, out in the country, for a bit.  It was just too perfect of a night to not enjoy a few minutes...

Sunday was confirmation and worship at church.  Then, my usual afternoon nap... And a hike at Afton State Park.  The hubby had a prairie he wanted to show me - so up the hills we hiked!  It was a good day - my asthma wasn't too bad, the temperature was perfect, and the trail was a sight to see with the fall colors!  We had a wonderful afternoon...

(Heading home...)

(Living near the St Croix River...  We see all kinds of cool things in the sky!  Hot air balloons usually...  Today, we saw these crazy people!  There were two of the 'chairs with parachutes' - anyone know what that contraption is called?)

Another weekend of life to the fullest!

Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Finding a new place to see music - so cool.
2.  A new favorite appetizer - baguette, roasted grapes, crispy bacon, and brie cheese.  Yum.
3.  Celebrating birthdays!
4.  Enjoying breakfast with the fam.
5.  The one really cool shop in Lanesboro - a quirky "Mercantile" shop - full of funny vintage toys and crazy decorations.  Very fun.
6.  The beautiful fall colors in the bluffs by the Mississippi!
7.  Grandad's Bluff - I haven't been up there in YEARS!
8.  Internet on my phone - helpful for directions...
9.  Octoberfest.  Awesome.
10.  Great music.
11.  Starry nights.