Life Is But A Dream - Part One

Day one of two in Minneapolis.

We woke late yesterday morning. A comfortable bed will do that. I was able to talk Brandon into going to get food from the continental breakfast and he came back with a tray piled high with pastries, waffles, juice and cereal. Unfortunately, even though the food was free, neither of us were actually hungry. We moved slowly getting ready for the day. When check-out time came at 11:30am all I wanted to do was go back to sleep (which I did in the car…).

We had only been a few miles from the Minnesota border and the drive to Minneapolis was our shortest yet, three hours. We arrived in Minneapolis at 4pm. First stop? Mall of America (MOA). Holy shit, that place is the size of Milwaukie. We went on several of the rides in the Nickelodeon Universe park in the center of the mall and a few of them were definitely up to par with Disneyland. Log Ride? Yep. Four roller coasters? Only at MOA. We walked around the mall a bit and we found several things we wanted to buy but restrained. 

We left MOA after 7pm and sat by the trunk of the car in the parking garage eating PB&J sandwiches. After this trip is over I am so done with PB&J. We decided to explore downtown Minneapolis. We discovered the Walker Center and Sculpture Garden – so very neat. Afterwards we headed into downtown to try and find a café we could mooch wifi from. It took longer than expected to find a parking place on a Tuesday night and we drove for a while in circles, just hoping. We finally spotted one and quickly took it. We sat in the car for a moment, the rain tapping the windows. It was cold and I really didn’t want to get out of the car. I looked up and saw a bar. “I bet its warm in there. Lets go there,” I said.

“It’s a bar.”

“Yes, it is a bar.”

“What will we do if they card us?”

“We’ll figure that out if it happens.” Really, I had no idea what we’d do.

We walked inside and found a spot towards the back, away from the open doors. Our waitress walked up with a smile and got us water. “Hey, so do you have your ID’s on you?” she asked.

“Uhm, no. I don’t. Brandon, do you?”

“Uhm, me either.”

She looked like she knew and I was prepared to grab my things. “Well, do you promise you’re 21?”

“Pinky promise.”

“O.K., you can stay, but can’t drink.”

She knew, I was sure, but she was kind and let us stay in from the cold. She brought us fries and I asked her about where we should check out in Minneapolis.

“Well, It’s a Tuesday. Not much going on.” But she went on to tell us about some neat neighborhoods we could see. When she came back with our check she said, “I’m totally not trying to creep you out or anything, but I know the best way to experience a city is with a local. I wrote my number on your receipt. You don’t have to call, but it’d be cool.”

She left and I looked at the receipt. And into our lives came Laura.

“You know we’ll have to tell her we’re only 20, right?” Brandon said once we’d gotten back in the car.

“I suppose you’re right.” I pulled out my phone and her number and texted her.

‘Hey Laura, this is Mary from Portlandia. I guess we have to tell you that we’re only 20. Sorry for lying! If you’re going out to where that’s not a big deal, we’d like to tag along. But thanks for inviting us.’

She replied some time later with, ‘I knew it ha. You guys suck. I’m sorry, I can’t help you. Have a great trip though’

We both figured, well, that’s that. We found a parking lot on the East side, we mooched some wifi and we were settling down for a long night when a couple hours later Laura texted again. ‘Did you guys find a place to sleep?’

‘Well, we’re in a parking lot. We might find a new one though.’

‘Do you guys want to crash on my futon?’

Yes please!

We ended up at Laura’s around 1am. This is when we met Jacob, a free spirit from Madison, Wisconsin who she has also taken in.  “You guys wanna have a pow wow?” So there we were, all sitting in a circle on Laura’s floor, drinking beer and wine and listening to old records, talking about things that actually mattered. It seemed they did, anyways. We learned of Laura’s travels through Asia and of her experiences in Portland. Jacob, who is part of a band, told us about his adventures through America. Brandon named her piggy bank Gregory. Several hours and glasses later, Brandon and I decided to hit the futon. 

Before falling asleep Brandon looked at me and said, “What are the odds? That we happened to find that one parking spot right outside the bar? That you had the sudden and unrealistic urge to just sit in the bar? That she’d be our waitress, and that she’d be a traveler herself? What are the odds?”

What are the odds? 

Enjoy every minute,

Mary & Brandon

 <--Lego Land, MOA style.

 (Above) The aquarium below the mall. Fact: It would take eight-six hours to go through the mall in its entirety - only spending ten minutes in each store.

 (Above) Cherry on a spoon anyone?

(Above) The bar that started everything.