12 December 2017
Just in case we weren’t already aware that it was going to be cold in Minneapolis, as the plane came into land at Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport we saw everything covered in snow. It was beautiful to look at.
Nicole’s High School friend, Sharon Mitchell, had kindly offered to collect us from the airport, which she did. Our first steps outside into -10 degrees Celsius temperatures were a little breathtaking, but not as bad as we had imagined it might be. Sharon had very kindly brought along extra warm apparel for us, and for Katelyn in particular.
On the way home we stopped at a restaurant just around the corner from where Sharon and her family lives. This allowed us to have lunch after our very early start in LA, have a warm coffee or two, plus allow Nicole and Sharon to start catching up.
Then it was time to meet the rest of the Mitchell family: Sharon’s partner Christie, their beautiful boys Jonah (6) and Theo (18 months), and Joey the dog. Katelyn in particular took to the boys straight away, happy to have some kid company after so many days on the bus tour. The Mitchells are a wonderful family and we cannot thank them enough for taking us in for a few days. Nicole, Katelyn and I were also glad to spend some time with Joey, having lost our own beautiful dog, Jemma, less than a month ago.
One of the first points of business was for Jonah and Theo to open the (Australian-themed) presents Nicole had sent over ahead of time. Jonah loved his boomerang, pencil case with pencils and Australian animal figures, and Theo was VERY excited about his Kangaroo backpack. The Mitchells were kind enough to also get Katelyn a Birthday + Christmas gift — her very own Minnesota Vikings shirt. Minnesota is actually hosting the Super Bowl in April next year, which is a very big deal for the city.
It had been a long day, so we decided just to stay in and enjoy the wonderful meal that Sharon and Christie cooked for us. We also let the boys watch their very first episode of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo which we had brought along with us to show them. It was a real hit, especially for Theo.
The Mississippi in winter
The next morning we headed out to tick off two items. The first was to see the mighty Mississippi River. The second was to let Katelyn experience a local dog park. So, off we headed to a very big dog area located on the banks of the Mississippi River that the Mitchells use frequently.
As you can see from the photos, it was very cold. In one of the photos you can see Katelyn holding what at first glance might look like a three quarter inch thick sheet of glass. In fact, it is a frozen section of the Mississippi River — one of many we found along the walk.
That afternoon we headed off to the Mall of America — the largest shopping mall in the USA and the tenth largest in the world. It is absolutely huge, with a full ride theme park under cover. While we did some shopping, we spent most of the time around the rides. Christie and Jonah had a go on the log ride, Jonah and I tackled the bumper cars, and then Katelyn and I did the high rope course together. The rope course was very high, which didn’t seem to phase Katelyn at all.
After a nice evening catching up some more we were up early the next morning to get ready for our flight to Washington DC. We were welcomed with it snowing lightly, just to put a fresh snow sparkle over everything.
So all in all we had a really nice time with the Mitchells and really enjoyed their company. Thanks again for having us Sharon, Christie, Jonah, Theo and Joey! Next stop, Washington DC …
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