Five days in the Twin Cities in April...good time to come? (St. Paul: tornado, activities)

[knke0204]

In Lefty Land of Minnesota, it was nice to see somebody come to office that didn't give you the BS that most politicians give you, whether its righties or lefties. We all know his flaws as a human, but as a Governor I think he truly cared for the people of Minnesota and his constituents.

Minnesota is however, the state to elect Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, and Michelle Bachman, and Tim Pawlenty...Weird state.

[Gordon G.]

Perfect timing! April 12, 2010 is opening day at new Target Field!

[MnMomma]

Spending 5 days here with a 2-year-old will be easy. A few things I would do that are child-oriented:
-Minnesota Children's Museum
-Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum and/or Jackson Street Roundhouse if your child likes trains
-Minnesota Zoo (it might be time for the Farm Babies)
-Underwater Adventures at Mall of America
-Edinborough Park in Edina if the weather is bad
-story time at Central Library in Minneapolis so you can see downtown
-Linden Hills/Lake Harriet (Wild Rumpus bookstore with animals roaming around, Sebastian Joes Icecream, Great Harvest bakery for cookies, Wonderment and Creative Kidstuff stores, find the home of the Lake Harriet elf) Unfortunately, the trolley won't be running yet.
-Fort Snelling if it's warm and nice to be outside
-Mill City Museum

As it gets closer to your visit, check the calendar at GoCityKids for special events--there are usually quite a few.

The majority of the Twin Cities is child-friendly so be sure to do things that aren't child-centered as well! The Walker art museum was fascinating for my kids when they were toddlers.

[knke0204]

Originally Posted by Gordon G.

Perfect timing! April 12, 2010 is opening day at new Target Field!

That's exactly what I was thinking!

[kentuckydad95]

I thank you all for the great suggestions. One more question; are there any area's in which we should avoid?

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by kentuckydad95

I thank you all for the great suggestions. One more question; are there any area's in which we should avoid?

Yes, but you'd have no reason to go into any of them. All of the attractions mentioned above are in safe areas.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

On the Ventura question: he was actually much better than I had expected at the beginning, and then veered off to worse than I had expected during the final part of his term. He had extremely thin skin for a politician, and it seemed like so much of his time was devoted to petty arguments with the media and other enemies rather than actually governing.

I know this post is from 2010, but Goddamn, this is hilarious in hindsight considering who is in the White House!

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by Haver

April's kind of dicey weather-wise - snow and high 20's one day, 70 the next, and places like Valleyfair don't open until Memorial day. If you can hold off until May you'll be hitting perfect weather. Since you'll be in Bloomington hitting the mall Fort Snelling can be kind of fun (in the way that public radio listeners define "fun" but they do fire a cannon twice a day) if you hit it when the reenactors are active.

Edinburough park in Edina is a nice calming pit stop to bring a fussy 2 year old and QCumbers in the same complex is a rarity in being a high quality, low price, and reasonably healthy family buffet. The galleria nearby is very nice for high-end shopping (or window shopping) and is more manageable than the megama--er, Mall of America which can be a bit overwhelming. Don't waste any time on Southdale, its gone through too many management changes and only has generic shopping center fare nowadays even if it was the nation's first indoor mall.

The light rail can take you to Minnehaha falls which is worth a stop. If the farmer's market is ongoing on Nicollet Mall downtown (you'll have to look around to check the schedule) it would be on a Thursday and worth checking out, but unless you have a specific destination in mind downtown is pretty much just a place to work during the day or club at night. The global market on Lake Street is also very much worth a trip.

Doing the "Grand Rounds" can be a nice driving tour, and there's a giant rabbit on Minnehaha Parkway (somewhere between Nicollet and Cedar) your kids might want to watch out for. Also, walk around Linden Hills (43rd & Upton, very close to the grand rounds route) and stop at the Great Harvest bakery for some amazing breads and sweets, and browse the coop and other shops in the neighborhood. 50 France is also nice but I prefer Linden Hills.

As for Ventura - our governors in order:
Perpich - governor goofy (had a lot of wild ideas but some of them payed off spectacularly)
Carlson - governor grumpy (but one of the most honest and diligent and generally compassionate governors we've ever had)
Ventura - governor greedy (lucked out with a hot economy, passed a law which cut registration fees for his collector cars, incredibly egotistical but the other candidates self-destructed)
Pawlenty -governor smug (depending on your politics, either governor point fingers, hurt the most vulnerable and read Karl Rowe's playbook" or "governor hold the line on taxes" - he's kind of like a competent GW Bush without the religious nuttery).

I like your Gov. description, but I think you should add Dayton: ..........

[TimtheGuy]

Originally Posted by knke0204

In Lefty Land of Minnesota, it was nice to see somebody come to office that didn't give you the BS that most politicians give you, whether its righties or lefties. We all know his flaws as a human, but as a Governor I think he truly cared for the people of Minnesota and his constituents.

Minnesota is however, the state to elect Jesse Ventura, Al Franken, and Michelle Bachman, and Tim Pawlenty...Weird state.

and DAYTON.....

[Hulsker 1856]

April?

Bring your suntan lotion. And your snowshoes.