Making the most of Minnesota

An irrational desire for completion is a hallmark of my immediate family.

One of my younger brothers faithfully bought every season of The Simpsons on DVD, long past the point of the form’s obsolescence. The other is on a quest to visit every major league ball park in America. And I was, for the better part of my childhood, a Lip Smackers completionist, buying every new flavor the moment it was released. As a young adult, I did the same with Glossier’s Balm Dot Com.

So it’s likely no surprise that, for a long time, I aspired to tick every state off my to-visit list.

After a slow start in life – Florida, Ohio, Maine, Vermont, and Michigan were the only states I went to before turning 18 – I picked up a lot of steam when I started traveling for work (and then racking up air miles to use outside of work). California, tick. New Mexico, tick. Oregon, tick. Texas, tick. Illinois, tick. Georgia, tick. Kentucky, tick. Tick, tick ,tick, tick, tick.

And then, the pandemic hit. For five years, I didn’t tick a single state off my list.

But a business trip last week changed that. I spent two days in Minneapolis, Minnesota – my 30th American state.

I arrived in the city largely ignorant of its charms, with just a handful of ingoing facts and associations – Target headquarters, Prince is from there, George Floyd, Skyway system, that kind of thing. And though I spent 90% of my trip in various board rooms, I spent the other 10% manically running around in the pouring – borderline freezing! – rain, making the most of my time.

I ate a delicious Juicy Lucy at Matt’s Bar (and then smelled the molten cheese/greasy burger combo on my clothes for the rest of the trip).

I got 70s Wranglers at Corner Store Vintage and shockingly affordable 90s silk and linen tops from Hermine, which was just down the street from our hotel, The Hewing.

I delighted in the beautiful Milkweed Books located within the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, where I picked up a new release from Sarah Manguso, got a perfect cappuccino from Frgmnt Coffee, and let myself briefly play the ‘could I line in Minneapolis game?’

I played with the bookstore dog and picked up a great Edward Gorey book at James and Mary Laurie Booksellers (where every dead-end of the large and labyrinthian store seemed to have a different chair to sit in!)

And, on the way to the airport, I went to the Mall of America (much of my misspent youth was wasted at malls, so they fill me with yearning and nostalgia).

30 states down, who knows how many to go.