Not Quite Flying Solo

For most of my life, I didn’t like red meat. I actually took a long break from it in my teens and twenties, and only added it back into my diet at a doctor’s recommendation. (Iron supplements were not working, not to be TMI.)

When I was a kid, whenever I was given a burger, I would always think to myself “Why can’t the sauce be inside the burger? That would make it so much better.”

Guys. I’m home. Minnesota solved this problem for me back in the 50s.

Meet the Jucy Lucy.

It’s a stuffed burger patty. My burger dreams have finally come true.

Two bars both claim to have invented it: Matt’s Bar & 5-8 Club. Matt’s Bar has an origin story; 5-8 Club doesn’t. And Thrillist’s National Burger Critic (this is a real job, guys; I’m so jealous.) doesn’t seem to like either that much, which kind of broke my heart. But that’s okay. That just means we don’t have to share with him anymore.

I took Tako up to Deming Heights Park for a little picnic before we left Minneapolis and also to find the tiny elf door in the tree there. I didn’t expect little tokens to be inside, though! That was a fun surprise.

Rain in Minneapolis is glorious. It’s warm and scares the mosquitoes away like magic.

On mosquitoes: When I texted my brother to tell him how much I love Minneapolis, he asked me if I wasn’t being pursued by humungous mosquitoes. I didn’t get bitten once in Minneapolis. I saw mosquitoes. But my bug spray kept them at bay.

Back in Portland, though, my bug spray did absolutely nothing to stop me being bitten alive by the largest mosquitoes I’ve ever seen. Those mosquitoes were so bad, I actually still have the bites three weeks later.

So I’d say that Minneapolis isn’t too bad.

As soon as we left Minneapolis for Madison, though, we started spotting this in the sky.

And then we wound up in rain so heavy that I couldn’t see the car behind me. I knew that black Nissan Pathfinder was there, but I couldn’t see even a hint of him. And in front of me were just vague, smudged headlights.

I made some decisions on the road to Madison today. We’ll see if the sun comes out tomorrow.

 

High

❤ ❤ ❤ Minneapolis ❤ ❤ ❤

 

Low

Leaving Minneapolis & not getting a chance to try the Saucy Sally

 

Breakdown

Driven: 6168mi

Hiked: 52mi

Written: 12k

Listening to: “The Letter” The Box Tops