Land O Lakes

Sledding at the Gust home in Maple Grove

I love Minnesota.  I was born and raised in the lovely, peaceful, beautiful suburbs of Minneapolis, and can’t think of a moment in which I wasn’t content with my surroundings.  Of course I didn’t know any better, but looking back with 20/20 hindsight, I still wouldn’t choose any place other than Minnesota to have had my formative years.  Though I haven’t lived in MN for 12 years now (OMFG – I’m old), I still love going back and Minnesota will always hold a near and dear place in my heart.  My parents are still living in the house in which I grew up, and most of my high school and some of my college friends are still living there as well.  I just returned yesterday from another lovely, albeit somewhat chilly, weekend in the Grove.  Maple Grove that is (Go Osseo!).  I can’t think of enough wonderful things to say about Minneapolis and St. Paul, or about the state itself.  Of course everyone knows it’s the land of 10,000 lakes, and if you didn’t grow up on a lake, you had a cabin on a lake, and if you didn’t have a home or cabin on a lake, you had 10 friends that did.  I personally was lucky enough to grow up in a home on Eagle Lake, and not only did we have the lake as a continuation of our roomy backyard, but we also had a pool (though we were never granted our wish of installing a waterslide from the 2nd story deck to the pool – so deprived!).  Our winters were filled with snowmobiling, sledding and ice skating, and our summers were filled with tubing, skiing, swimming and jet-skiing.  If we weren’t enjoying these activities on a lake somewhere, we were enjoying the 1000′s of miles of walking and biking trails, or canoeing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, stepping over the rocks on the little stream that constitutes the beginning of the Mighty Mississippi, or attending concerts, plays, and theaters in the only city that boasts as many venues per capita as New York City.  I still miss the sound of snow crunching beneath my feet, and the smell in the air when it just snowed or is just about to.  Minnesota is clean, expansive, friendly and modern.  The sky is huge and the trees are gorgeous.  The wildlife abounds, even in the city.  In fact just this weekend in my parents suburban backyard I saw Canadian geese (shitters!!), fox, deer, and rabbits.  A few blocks away is an eagle den, and the lake is filled with aquatic creatures (when it’s not frozen!).  A few miles away, I find myself in downtown Minneapolis in one of the trendy, upscale neighborhoods like Uptown, or in Historic St. Paul, or perhaps on the banks of the Mississippi in St. Anthony Main, looking across the river at the skyline while sipping the latest martini concoction.  Despite my 18 years of living in Minneapolis and my subsequent 12 years of frequent visits (including my awesome wedding!), I’ve yet to see and do much of what the cities and state have to offer.  Beyond the sights to see and the endless things to do, this entry would be far from complete if I failed to mention other notables – including mouth-watering cheese, down-to-earth residents, and great infrastructure!  The cheese is delicious, and so are the milk and the butter.  If you don’t think there is a difference, you’ve obviously never tried the brands in MN – just try a glass of Land O Lakes milk and see how it compares!  The steaks are juicy and the potatoes plentiful, and you’d be hard pressed to find a Minnesotan who wouldn’t offer you a home cooked meal.  It’s not called Minnesota nice for nothing, don’t cha know. 

Despite all of the wonderful things about Minneosta (many more than I can describe here), plus the nice people and the funny accent, I do have to say I just don’t see myself moving back.  Now I’d never say never, but I can say with some certainty probably not ever.  Why, you ask?  My Colombian husband’s blank stare one -25 degree night in MN is one reason, but there are others.  MN is definitely on the conservative side (and I’m not talking politics – it’s a blue state!), and I always get the feeling that I can’t really be my true self when I’m there.  Minnesota is sensible and organized and continuously ranks in the top 10 states for healthcare and education.  I, on the other hand, can’t always claim to be sensible nor organized, and I have a passion for working with people who have never been recipients of good or even mediocre healthcare or education.  My skin is dry and it’s just that much drier in MN, my lips get chapped within a day, and my hair resembles the haystacks that clutter the landscape just on the outskirts of town.  Temperatures routinely drop to -20 in the dead of winter, and it snows in April.  I’m somehow drawn to chaos, change and risk, and MN is a place where none of these is a frequent visitor.  I love to travel and discuss travels; the more unknown and unique the place, the better – however most of the MinnesotansI know in don’t even have a passport, and don’t really care to obtain one.  The world is a big place, and I’ve decided to chase my pipe dreams across the expanse of the globe rather than settle in my hometown. 

Despite these facts, I am fiercely proud to be Minnesotan, and being away makes each visit that much sweeter.