Sven + Ole's? Gone! & More Excursion Options

Hill Family Reunion 2016 Exclusive *

* Public Service Announcement:  Once again, you are unlikely to reap the benefit of all the special features of my blog, which include special headings, fonts, colors, highlights, links, etc., if you are reading this entry via the Norfolk Daily News website. If you read my blog from the Facebook link, you get all the special features . . . I think. **

** And I will continue to remind you that I LOVE the NDN . . . subscribe to it . . . read it faithfully every day. ***

*** And if I am out-of-town, my wife or our daughter typically collect the NDN from our front step & store them inside where they are immune from the ravages of wind, rain, snow, hail, tsunami's.

**** FYI:  It's possible that I may be the only LHS principal who can boast on his resume' that he has experience canceling school because of a tsunami alert.

Sven & Ole's Bait & Tackle Shop and Luxury Wedding Emporium . . .    Sad News to Report

Despite INTENSE efforts from my F.R.S.A. *, all attempts in recent weeks to re-establish contacts w/Sven & Ole's have come to naught. I am reluctantly forced to conclude that this legendary enclave, which "we" have tried so hard--& here-to-fore somewhat fruitlessl--to establish a firm link of communication to--may have been lost in the forest-range fire that ravaged the Mesabi range in northern MN a few weeks ago. Since this is/was a tragedy, I will speak no more about it & hope that we can all move past it.
* Family Reunion Surveillance Associates

More Excursion Options *

* Source:  "AAA Tourbook North Central (2015) **
** I HIGHLY recommend AAA as a source for road trip & vacation planning. ***
*** I receive no remuneration for this blatant "product placement."

Since Sven & Ole's no longer appears to be a viable option, I feel like I would be derelict in my duty if I did not--along w/my friends from F.R.S.A. [SEE reference above.]--do SOME heavy lifting for you  & reveal some more possible options for "day trips." CAVEAT:  Today's day trips are outside the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. I'm posting them this week because . . . 

1. This gives YOU more time to do your homework. Like I said . . . I am doing SOME of your heavy lifting for you . . . but NOT ALL . . . Time for my Associates & ME to quit being enablers.
2. This also gives you more advance notice to factor in the additional time, mileage, expense, effort, etc., of additional "road trips" during our limited time together . . . [Notice again . . . I have NOT included any mileage or travel times. MOST of you are capable of using Mapquest . . . Start location: "St. Paul, MN."]
3. I have chosen sites that I think appeal to the broadest spectrum of interest.
4. That's not entirely true. I've chosen sites that appealed to my personal sense of adventure, because, as always . . .  
5. It's my blog, so if you don't like the entirely unselfish sacrifice of MY OWN time & effort . . . do YOUR OWN Hill Family Reunion Blog . . . I DARE you! Here we go . . . 

AUSTIN, MN  

Spam Museum.  Cost:  Free. Notes:  It's all about the canned meat, NOT the "spam" that some of our more youthful immediate family [Remember--I recently documented that I have a familial connection, keeping me slightly below the rank of Sister or Brother but elevating me far above the rank of "camp follower."] & camp followers may not be aware of.

BEMIDJI, MN  

Paul Bunyan & Babe the Blue Ox. Cost:  Free. Note: The side by side statues " stand in a landscaped parking lot . . . near the shores of Lake Bemidji . . . Paul stands nearly 19' tall; Babe--who is indeed a bright shade of blue--stands about 10' tall & measures 23' from nose to tail. The side by side statues make a great photo-op. Personal note:  Been there! Done that! Lois & I can vouch for this site's high quality.

DULUTH, MN.  Requires several bullet points . . . *

* Lois & I last drove thru this exotic location over 35 years ago, so I can't vouch for the quality of any of these sites. 

• Shopping area:  "Retails in Downtown Duluth are connected by 3.5 miles of of enclosed skywalks . . . "
• The Aerial Lift Bridge . . . "spans the canal entrance to Duluth Harbor . . . " No cost.
• Great Lakes Aquarium . . . Cost: $16.50 ($13.50 age 62+; $12.50 students $13.50 w/I.D.; $10.50 ages 3-12; + $5 parking.)
• Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum " . . . features original handwritten documents & manuscripts covering such topics as art, music, literature, & science . . . " Cost: Free.

PIPESTONE NATIONAL MONUMENT, MN.  

Cost: $3/person (ages 0-15 free). Note: "Within this tract of 300 acres are the pipestone quarries where the red stone used to make ceremonial pipes is found . . . The visitor center shows a 20-min. orientation film & houses a museum . . ." Personal note:  Been there! Done that! Lois & I can vouch for this site's high quality.

ST. PETER, MN.

Treaty Site History Center. Cost:  $5 ($4 ages 65+; $3 ages ages 6-17). Note:  "The center focuses on regional history, w/particular emphasis on the 1851 treat between the U.S. government & the Dakota Indians. Personal note:  Lois & I can vouch for this site's high quality.