New State: Minnesota

 I'll be honest, though I visited the state of Minnesota on July 1, I sort of forgot about posting about it till now. Not to say that Minnesota is forgettable. I kept forgetting to list it on the list of states I hadn't been to, though. Perhaps there are just too many states that start with the letter M.

Anyway, Minnesota! Here are some takeaways:

1. Trying to find a decent latte in rural Minnesota is an exercise in futility. The baristas will be very nice--but the finished product is not good. I tried two small towns. Probably Minneapolis has good coffee.
   
   
   
2. Upon the advice of a friend, I also looked for a Busch Latte to have instead, but they don't make those anymore. Cool liquor store, though. 
   
3. The coffee shops I went to had clean bathrooms. One of them also had a word search.  

   

   
   
4. I had this idea that I would try out local grocery stores everywhere I went and take photos and provide detailed reports. I don't know if I really care about doing that anymore, but I did go into a grocery store called Fareway and found some cheddar popcorn and a Midwest travel guide, so it wasn't a total loss. You could definitely say I supported commerce in the state of Minnesota. 

   

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   
5. The town of Owatonna, my longest stop, was comfortable and nice. I'd go there again. The town square had this nice park in the center, aptly named Central Park. I chose Owatonna because Meredith was born there and it wasn't too far out of my way. There are several grocery stores to choose from, as well.