Nelson Family Blog: St. Paul Music Festival/July updates

Right after Emma's Dakota Dreams camp, John and I headed to St. Paul for the MN Yacht Club Music Festival. Emma and Elliott went with Jim and Barb to Gary, SD to camp all weekend and go to a family reunion. They had a great weekend and played with their distant cousins and didn't miss us at all.

On Friday morning, John and I headed to St. Paul. We left plenty early so we could take our time. We stopped in Lakeville, MN and found a really good brewery. They had really good food and beer, and it was a real winner. We made it to St. Paul around 2:00pm, and got checked into our hotel. There was a major software malfunction that affected flights across the nation, and many computer systems. Our hotel was no different, and they had to check people in the old fashioned way with a ledger book and pen. So, check-in took quite a while. Finally, we were checked in, settled, and then we headed to the music festival.

We got there around 3:00pm, and enjoyed some really good music. Our favorites of the day were Joan Jett, Gwen Stefani, The Head and the Heart, and Alanis Morisette. It was really fun, but there were a lot of people, and it got really long and boring when a music group was playing that we didn't care about. But we had some good (and over-priced) Gyros and cheese curds for supper. We stayed until Alanis Morisette was almost done, and then we bolted out of there to beat the crowd. It was a solid mile walk to and from out hotel, but it was a pretty one that went right over the Mississippi.

On Saturday, we slept in, which was glorious. I battled a pretty nasty cold the whole weekend, so it was nice to get some rest. We ate breakfast at Caribou, and then we had fun just shopping around town. We went to Costco, shopped around at Total Wine, and then we ate a really nice lunch at a Mexican Restaurant. It was wonderful. We waited until around 3:30pm to head to the festival, and we had another great day. It was a little hotter, and there were more people (they estimated 60,000 people were out at that park). But, we had a great time. We really enjoyed Trombone Shorty and Orleans Ave, Hippo Campus, The Offspring, and of course The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The RHCP were the reason we went, and they were awesome. I wish they would have played a few more of their classic hits, but they were really good and really fun to watch. We stayed until the very end 10:30pm, and then finally called it a night. We walked back to the hotel, cracked a beer at the hotel and watched a little TV, and then called it a night.

On Sunday, we slept in again, and then went to find a cute brunch place for breakfast. After breakfast, we went to Trader Joes for some shopping, and then finally we went to the Twin's Game. It was supposed to be a 12:05 start, but there was a rain delay, so we decided to hit up a couple breweries before going to the game. We went to Fulton, which was an easy walk from Target Field. It was good, and had a fun vibe. Then we also went to Modest Brewery, which was another fun brewery just a block away. Then, we finally decided to go to Target Field.

We arrived at Target Field in the second inning. We bought standing room only tickets and had fun wandering around the stadium to watch the game. The Twins ended up losing to the Brewers which was a bummer (especially with all the Brewers' fans there). But, it was a beautiful day for baseball and we had a great time.

On the way home, we stopped in St. Peter at 3rd Street Tavern. It was really good. They had really good BBQ, and then they had like 15 Bourbons to choose from on the menu, so John was in heaven. We also stopped at Lost Sanity Brewery in Madelia, MN. It was a fine brewery, I was just tired and over it by the time we stopped there.

We made it home by around 9:00pm, and we were so ready to be home. We unpacked, and went to bed. Monday was a much-needed catch up day. We did laundry, cleaned, and then eventually went and got kids from the farm. Emma and I went to Deb's house and tried on our bridesmaid dresses, and they fit and looked great. So, we are ready to go with that.

This past week has been hot and muggy. Jill was in town for a few days, so we got to see her and visit with her. Chris and Jerrice hosted a gathering at their house and the kids got to swim in their pool, while the adults visited, so that was pretty fun.

I also took Lily and Emma to Wild Water West last Tuesday evening, and they had an absolute blast. Katie was there with some friends, so I had a good time in the lazy river and having a drink at the swim up bar. It was a really fun evening, and Emma loved being able to catch up with Lily and have some girl time.

Our summer continues to be crazy. I had softball last night (that was hot, muggy and sweaty). But we won 1, and lost 1. Otherwise we are just gearing up for the fair and the wedding. And this coming weekend we are camping at Diamond Lake again. So, we just run, run, run. The kids went out to Jim and Barb's tonight to work on 4H projects and just have some grandparent time.

Anyway, I will try to keep up better with the blogging, but now it's 10:00pm, and I'm ready for bed. I hope the summer slows down a little!!