friends.
I don't mean to get sappy, but you guys! I got to see Alissa! And Jesse! And Tony! (Obviously I see my brother a little more often, but it's still pretty awesome.) It was like a mini Morris reunion, but with people I actually love. The fact that they (and Ashley) live in different parts of this huge state gives me actual anxiety. How could I move back to MN and choose who to live near?? Can you all please consolidate into one town or city? Thanks. :)
S U N D A Y
On Sunday afternoon Jesse and Alissa drove down with Keya, their adorable Corgi, and met us at Tony's house. We decided to try out this sandwich shop called Erbert & Gerbert's. The four of us piled into Tony's car, which he lovingly calls his drug dealer car, and we kept an eye out for cops. Not because of Tony's driving, but because apparently the car's owner before Tony had his same name (not surprising with a common Scandinavian name living in the northern Midwest) and was wanted for something or other. So he gets pulled over a lot. And without the usual pleasantries that come before the "license and registration" request. But I digress. E&G had the strangest combinations on some of their subs, but somehow it all seemed to come together. Definitely a fun change from the run-of-the-mill subs. I would go there again.
Oh Scattegories. The game from childhood that is still so fun. I don't remember the game being so cutthroat back in the day, but these days you'd better not write "Jelly" for type of fish (guilty) or as a pizza topping (a Hail Mary from Jesse) and you'd better be able to defend the existence (or nonexistence) of Pigeon farming. Is it a thing? Alissa claims it is, the rest of us voted no. But she kept it, against the stated voting rules I might add. Pretty sure that's what gave her the win at the end. ;)
It was dessert after that, which brought us to DQ. I thought maybe it would still be closed for the season, but it was open! The one we went to growing up didn't have indoor seating. You just walked up to the window, placed your ice cream order, and ate it at one of the outside tables. This one was an actual store front. After ordering, we sat down in a booth and laughed about our memories from Morris until someone from the staff came over to tell us they were locking up for the night. She couldn't help but smile when she saw us giggling at all the ridiculous antics we and our dorm mates pulled a decade ago. Life is so, so different than it was back then.
M O N D A Y
Monday was a packed day. After spending the morning at the Children's Science Museum with Ash + Co., she dropped me off back at Tony's and he and I left almost immediately for Mall of America. Had to snap a picture of the amusement park which used to be Camp Snoopy, though I don't know what it's called anymore. Tony and I did a little shopping and I came away with a cute Minnesota mug from Caribou. #shoppinggoals
The plan was to get to open mic night at 8pm. We booked it back to Farmington for dinner at Bourbon Butcher, which Tony wanted to make sure I tried. They are known for their amazing BBQ and bourbon. Tony can speak to the quality of bourbon, but we both had their famous smoked brisket. Super delicious. We made it to open mic just as they were getting started. It was amateur night, and I think it started with the comedians newest to the gig. Tony and I agreed – the first few were terribly unfunny and awkward but it got a lot better as the night went on.
T U E S D A Y
Tuesday started in the best way: sleeping in. We spent the day hanging around the house watching a Netflix documentary series called "Dirty Money". Lunch was another culinary win: craft burgers.
To the airport! We made a pit stop at BlueNose Coffee, a fantastic local coffee shop. Ashley and I had stopped at earlier in the week, and it is seriously good coffee. Good enough to try twice in one week. :)
