During our latest trip to St. Cloud, Minnesota we stayed at the Homewood Suites. Homewood Suites is an extended stay brand owned by Hilton. I had stayed there before a couple years earlier but had never stayed there with a baby before. In an earlier post I mentioned I wanted to explore and seek out hotels to see if they were family friendly and what caused them to be so.

First off, as we were packing for our trip up North we called the hotel to see if we needed to cart our pack n play with us and check it on the plane. We were crossing our fingers we wouldn’t need to do so but you really never know. The hotel was very friendly and informed us they had new cribs and upon arrival it would be set up in our room. This was a major plus to us as a) we didn’t have to bring and check the pack n play and b) we wouldn’t have to set it up.

When we got there the staff was friendly and kind. We had booked a one room suite which was absolutely perfect. The baby crib was set up and cute and they even had rubber duckies for bath time (BabyTravels is a little young for bath time toys but it is the thought that counts). We opted for a one-room suite instead of a studio which we could have done with our small family, because we were able to put the baby in bed at night and close the door and go into the living area and watch some TV and hang out without disturbing the little one’s sleep. I loved that the hotel room had two big flat screen TV’s.

Even though BabyTravels is too little I did take mental note that the breakfast had kid-friendly options and the pool was spacious and even open late. All in all I think that the Homewood Suites is a great family friendly hotel that can accommodate even larger families with the option of getting a two-room suite.

This month we had the pleasure of visiting Reid’s hometown in Northern Minnesota. When I say Northern Minnesota I’m serious- it’s only seven miles from the Canadian border. In fact we had to fly into Winnipeg Canada so we could rent a car and drive across the border, but more on that later. We have been married for four years and I still hadn’t seen the town he grew up in and since his sister just had a baby it was the perfect excuse to make the trek and visit the Midwest.

I will have to say it’s a beautiful place. Rivers and lakes are everywhere and beautiful greenery completes the scene. Make sure to keep your eye out for wildlife because we saw a bear, a bald eagle, countless dear, and even a fox! The area he grew up in is near Warroad, MN. It is well known for its excellent fishing and hunting. All along the Lake of the Woods, which is known as the Walleye Capitol of the World, there are many fishing resorts that are full all summer long with fishers hoping to catch some tasty Walleye (as seen in the above picture- this statue of Willie the Walleye is located in Baudette, MN). But fishing is not only limited here in the summer-ice fishing is also an essential part of the culture. Fish houses are seen everywhere and many enjoy spending time with friends and family crowded over a hole in the ice hoping to land a big one.

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Last weekend I had the pleasure to spend a few days in my husband’s home state of Minnesota. I had only been there once before and it was during the winter, so much time was spent indoors. This time I was really looking forward to the opportunity to explore the twin cities and spend quality time with friends.

The name of my blog post is more than 10,000 lakes which is in reference to the fact that Minnesota has over 10,000 lakes (There are 11,842 lakes in Minnesota 10 acres or larger in size). This became apparent as we were flying into Minneapolis- there really were lakes everywhere! Minneapolis is probably one of my top 10 favorite US cities. It has an artsy feel with tons of sculptures and galleries everywhere. The downtown area has a ton to do and see, for those of all ages. It even includes some really pretty walking paths. Our first stop was the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden; apparently the cherry on the spoon sculpture is famous. The park is filled with other unique and interesting pieces. It was fun -definitely worth it to check out.
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