Getting Out of Dodge

... or Minneapolis

I love road trips - hitting the highway with sandwiches packed, watching the sun set (or rise) as we drive, stopping now and then for water and junk food...it's the life.

As you're probably aware if you know me or have been reading this blog for any length of time, Ben and I were long distance for almost two years while he and I were in grad school in Ohio and Minnesota, respectively. As a result, road trips were a pretty consistent part of both of our lives. At least a couple of times each year, we met up in Lake Mills Wisconsin, which was relatively equidistant for both of us, and kind of fell in love with the town. We got to know people, settled into our favorite haunts... Lake Mills really became "our place."

So, it was only a matter of time before we made our way back. Once again, we stayed at the Sweet Autumn Inn - Teri, who owns the inn, is almost like another mom at this point. We even called her from the road to let her know we'd be late, and as soon as we arrived she filled us in on all the gossip from the microbrewery.

Even though we were only in town for one day, we managed to pack in all of our favorite activities, and even left time for shoe shopping!... not something we normally do, but in our hurry to beat the worst of rush-hour traffic, I ran out the door in my boots with 3-inch heels and completely forgot to pack comfy shoes. One pair of grey flannel moccasins later, my feet were in heaven.

fall table settings...

....and Pumpkin-Stuffed French Toast

beautiful autumn colors

Water House Foods - One of my favorite lunch spots anywhere. Local, organic, artisan and delicious.

... the best lemon bars on the planet

catching up on all the important news...

After getting a bit of work done at Water House (and mentally congratulating former Twin Carlos Gomez for scoring the winning run in the ALCS!), we headed out on the town ... or at least as much as you can get "out on the town" in a small town in Wisconsin :) First we hit up a wine tasting:

Our favorite of the evening - the Meiomi Pinot Noir

...good grief. Need to do something about these eyebrows...

...Wine tasting was followed by dinner at the Blue Moon, a great creole and pizza restaurant decorated with all kinds of random chotsky

...and a trip to the microbrewery

enjoying a pint of my favorite pumpkin spice beer: Tyranena Painted Ladies

return of the Pumpkin Heads!!

Sadly (thankfully?), this visit to Tyranena was devoid of drunk ladies declaring their undying bosom friendship and smooching me while squashing my face. Despite a jam-packed evening we made it out swimmingly on the other side, if maybe a little squinty from the bright sunlight...

...and then, just as the weekend began, it was time to hit the road back to Minneapolis. Cruel, cruel Monday morning...why do you arrive so quickly??

Welcome home!!