Within just a few short hours’ drive, we were in The North Star State, or as most people know it, “The Land of the Jolly Green Giant.”
We didn’t drive by the Green Giant on this leg of our trip, although we’ve happened by him many times in our MN travels. Much more impressive in person than on a can of green beans.Our first stop in Minnesota was to an idyllic place, “Mitchell Farm.”Mitchell Farm is home to three horses named Remi, Max, and Dakota.Mitchell Farm is also home to three Chows named Jade, Diego, and Shiloh.The four-footed ones share their farm with a couple of two-footed humans named Mark and Paget. Mark is Jay’s cousin.
Mitchell Farm is in Dover, MN, which is about a 20-minute drive south of Rochester. Paget grew up on the farm, which has been in her family since 1868.
Mark and Paget get lots of visitors, many of whom have RVs. Tinkerbell felt right at home.Because we were the first RV visitors who required a 50-amp hookup, which Mark dutifully installed a year or so ago, Mark named the 50-amp after Jay. Paget and I enjoyed an evening of good conversation and Chow.Mark and Paget introduced us to one of their favorite places, “Four Daughters Vineyard & Winery.“Look what Paget found at Four Daughters: DrinkerBell coasters!Our time at Mitchell Farm was mostly rainy butt quite beautiful as we were surrounded by lush plantings around the homestead.
Ziggy had enough of the rain. He took off to explore Mitchell Farm. Soon, he was covered in good ‘ole Minnesota black dirt.
Ziggy got to take a shower in the Mitchell Farm guest bathroom 😉
During our visit, Mitchell Farm had a surprise “overflow” of their septic system. It was probably the inches of rain that poured down in a few hours’ time. Or, maybe it was something else…?
Having left our mark at the Farm, we headed westward to the big city of Savage, a 20-minute drive south of Minneapolis. Just so you know, the high society pronunciation of the town is “Saahh=vaaahshhh.”
We were grateful to find a campground so close to Minneapolis. Town & Country RV Park sits between industrial parks and walkable neighborhoods.We got in a workout before meeting our friends for dinner. Jay was soooo happy this Planet Fitness had tootsie rolls!
We choose Savaaaahhhgge because that’s where Jay’s youngest sister Leslie lives. Leslie recommended we meet at a restaurant named Snuffy’s Malt Shop; she knew how much we loved burgers and ice cream. Snuffy’s did not disappoint!
Jay enjoyed a root beer float that made him float into heaven!Leslie’s two handsome, young sons Parker and Hunter brought their girlfriends, Janis and Nayely, to meet us at Snuffy’s. Young love is almost as sweet as the malteds at Snuffy’s!Parker and Hunter gave their Uncle Jay a big, wet smoocheroo!
Our hilarious nephews regaled their girlfriends with a grand tale they remember from Uncle Jay’s Superpower at work in the Clinton White House. The story involves Middle East Peace Talks, a President, and a tiny bathroom.
Perhaps if there had been more than one bathroom… or, perhaps if Uncle Jay had been on duty somewhere far away from the Talks, the Middle East Peace Talks would have succeeded. We’ll never know…
The next morning, we hit the road.
We drove about an hour to a beautiful town in southwest Minnesota called Mankato. If you’re a Minnesota Vikings fan, the town should ring a bell since the Vikes held their pre-season training camps at Mankato University from 1966-2017.
This isn’t where the Vikings held their training camps. Butt, it is where Linda and Jay held their campsite for a few days while visiting friends in Mankato.Minneopa State Park is one of the state’s crown jewels. Mankato and Minneopa are wooded, hilly, rocky, and have beautiful vistas!The wonderful staff at the Park allowed us to stay in the empty Camp Host spot since it was the only place in the Park where Tinkerbell could fit. We had a 50-amp hookup but no water or sewer (lucky for Minneopa!). Instagram! Here I am!
While Ziggy posed for pictures, Jay explored the Park. Minneopa has 325 acres of wild Bison ranges. We’ve visited the Bison ranges before, butt this time, we stayed within walking distance to the Range. Safe walking distance, that is.
Jay snapped this picture before the front-and-center fellow took a step towards the interloping photographer.
We love the beauty of Mankato, butt we love two people who live there even more: our long-time friends John and Kari! You may remember them from my birthday party back in December.
John and Kari hosted us at their home for a delicious dinner of grilled bison. Just kidding!! Butt the dinner was delicious and the company superb of course!
Over the course of a few days, we covered a lot of miles in Mankato!
Kari and John led the way into town on our bicycles.We made a quick stop at Jan and Todd’s house. We first met Jan and Todd many moons ago when they accompanied John and Kari to Washington DC and stayed with us in our Capitol Hill home. Kiera shares her home (and yard) with Jan, who has planted an incredible array of stunning flowers.John couldn’t help himself. Much to Kari’s dismay, he just had to “play” with the light-up toy he found on the living room floor. Kiera was kind enough not to bite him for insinuating it was anything other than a dog toy.
While John entertained himself with the dog toy, I met the home’s two other residents.
Good Golly Miss Holly, you’re beautiful! And you’ve got a hankering for Crayola crayons to boot!Lucy is much too sophisticated than to be entertained with simple crayons.
Since we’re doing a Best in Cat Show…
Allow me to introduce to you John and Kari’s two felines:
She steals my heart! This is sweet, shy Chloe. And this is Cedric the ham! Lots of beautiful cats can pose for a portrait. Butt not many cats can pose for a undignified centerfold! No Cat Show would be complete without Frankie of course.
After visiting Todd and Jan, we continued with our bicycle tour through downtown Mankato.
Like many towns, Mankato invests in the arts. This is the 2024 Jurors’ Purchase Award winner titled, “Eggsciting News.”“Monkey Business” held Jay hostage until we took his photo!This is why we ride bicycles. We stopped at Mom&Pop’s, our favorite ice cream place in Mankato!The storms were threatening, so John and Kari headed home while we furiously pedaled to our campsite. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of John and Kari’s favorite spots, Black Frost Distilling, which is in New Ulm, MN.No ice cream at the Distillery 😉
No stop to Mankato would be complete without visiting one of the most impressive sports stores in the country: Scheels!
The Scheels in Mankato not only sells a ton of sporting goods merch, butt it also has a Viking Ship!!! (Not for sale, unfortunately)Before we knew it, our time in Mankato was coming to an end. Jay dumped our tanks and filled Tink with fresh water at Minneopa before we hit the road.While Jay took a dump, the boys played tag. They were off leash with no one else around butt a few Bison (very) far away.Sad (butt happy) goodbyes! Kari and John bid the boys farewell and wished us safe travels for our next adventure (in Iowa).We left Mankato just early enough to make it to one of our favorite eateries in Southern Minnesota: The Amboy Cottage Cafe. While living in Minnesnowta years ago, we celebrated our wedding anniversary with a decadent dinner at the Cafe.Jay inhaled his breakfast.And, what restaurant write-up would be complete without a picture of the restroom? Jay could spend hours in the Amboy Cottage Loo… so much to see, read, and watch outside the window! By the way, the term “loo” comes from British soldiers interacting with French soldiers during World War I. The French phrase “lieux d’asisance” means “place of ease!”
And, just to bring this tidy little blog to a full circle close….
From a Dover overflow …to nephews’ tales of superflow…
From a dump in Minneopa… to the Amboy Cottage Loo…
Kari, thank you for spending time with us during our Mankato visit. You and John are truly some of the best friends anyone could ask for. Such a blessing in our lives through so many years! ❤️
We were so happy you had time to visit us in Mankato. Hopefully next time we can join you at Amboy Cottage Cafe. It is such a quaint little place with excellent food.
Tinkerbell's Travels 
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