What's Fun About Your State?

[JaneV2.0]

I’m sorry, but you guys especially in bae’s area have these things called… Trees. You have way too many trees.I can’t live there, how does one grow iris? Yeah I don’t think that you do.

We grow all kinds here; we have bulb farms. I've even visited one. Here's one in lovely King County:
https://www.leonineiris.com/

[iris lilies]

We grow all kinds here; we have bulb farms. I've even visited one. Here's one in lovely King County:
https://www.leonineiris.com/

i am well aware of the lily ‘n iris farms in your state and also (especially) nearby Oregon.

But they are not growing them under trees. Bae’s island is not a Mecca for farming lilies ‘n iris. They must get enough sun there to grow things besides trees because there is wine being grown there and wine grapes require a lot of sun.

[SteveinMN]

My sister-in-law, DHS sister, was born an hour and a half north of Highway 80. They don’t talk like Minnesotans.


She has lived in this Twin Cities for decades and now she talks like you all.

There are bigger crimes! We don't all sound like the people in the movie "Fargo", however.

The spam museum is expensively done, it’s pretty nice.

It is a nice museum and it is entertaining. But to listen to the Hormel folks, singlehandedly saved civilization after World War II. They also gloss heavily over a history of labor disturbances at the company (I get it; it's their museum, but that presents an opportunity to paint a different picture and they don't/can't).

I believe we have spoken about the Minnesota State fair. I’ve been to the Minnesota State fair. It does not beat the Iowa State fair which is the granddaddy of state fairs.

We have. In fairness, I have never been to the Iowa State Fair (maybe now that DW is retired and weekday trips are possible...). Strictly from a numerical perspective, however, Minnesota has Iowa beat in terms of the number of visitors and revenue; second only to Texas. I'll also note that in the years I lived in Iowa, no one ever said that the Iowa State Fair was a must-see the way people talk about the Minnesota State Fair, and the admissions relative to population seem to prove that.

Then again, Bentleys are nicer than Audis even if they don't sell more of them, so opinion certainly can hold there.

[JaneV2.0]

i am well aware of the lily ‘n iris farms in your state and also (especially) nearby Oregon.

But they are not growing them under trees. Bae’s island is not a Mecca for farming lilies ‘n iris. They must get enough sun there to grow things besides trees because there is wine being grown there and wine grapes require a lot of sun.

Oregon also grows truffles (under trees) and psilocybin mushrooms.

[rosarugosa]

Fun in Minnesota...

I think it depends on whether you were born here. People who move here find certain things much funnier than born-and-bred Minnesotans do. Howard Mohr's book, "How To Talk Minnesotan" does an excellent job of covering many of the nuances of interpersonal relationships. I found the book funny to read -- and then much less funny and "oh, for useful!" once I actually arrived in the Twin Cities. Garrison Keillor's monologues about Lake Woebegone covered a lot of that ground, too; also far funnier until I moved here and found out how true they were.

Otherwise, the fun stuff could include:
- the Winter Carnival (you live here; you deal with the cold or you get the &$^% out)
- the State Fair (it's a great state fair and second only to Texas' and that's because theirs runs twice as long)
- the Mall of America (if your bucket list includes going to an amusement park inside a shopping mall)
- the World's Largest Ball of Twine (in Darwin)
- the SPAM Museum in Austin (lending definition to the term "pinkwashing" but entertaining)
- walking across the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park, and
- probably more super-life-size statues than any locale should have (including Paul Bunyan, the Jolly Green Giant, and lots of fish)

And, of course, there's ice fishing. How could I forget ice fishing?

If I ever get to Minnesota, the ball of twine would be on my "must see" list, thanks to Weird Al!

[GeorgeParker]

Fun in Minnesota...
- the Mall of America (if your bucket list includes going to an amusement park inside a shopping mall)

Years ago a co-worker visited the Mall Of America while on vacation and was horrified that they had Male, Female, and Mixed Gender restrooms. I had to splain to her that the Mixed Gender restrooms were for parents who needed to accompany their opposite gender child.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Oh I went to Mall of America, ironically of course (not to shop or anything but just you know at this point it's symbolic for everything wrong with something, so I had to see for myself, being I was in the area ).

[Teacher Terry]

In 1992 it was newly built and I lived 90 minutes away. My best friend came to visit and we opened and closed the mall. Spent about 1k each for work clothes starting a new career and it was fun. We saw a movie in the afternoon to rest. Luckily I had booked a hotel. We had paid for the room with 2 beds and when we got there they were shocked because we got lost and it was midnight. They must have given away our room because they tried to tell me that I didn’t have a reservation. Luckily I had printed it out. When they opened the door of the room for us she said “Oh honey thanks for booking the honeymoon suite.” It was so funny.

[catherine]

What is going to happen to Mall of America? Never mind COVID--even before the pandemic, malls are closing everywhere and owners are trying to figure out how to repurpose them. I can only imagine those challenges are exponentially bigger for the largest mall in America.

I've been there by the way and it was unbelievably overwhelming! I think I tackled about a fraction of it, and bought something in one of the pet stores and that was it. But it was fun walking through the amusement park.

[iris lilies]

What is going to happen to Mall of America? Never mind COVID--even before the pandemic, malls are closing everywhere and owners are trying to figure out how to repurpose them. I can only image those challenges are exponentially bigger for the largest mall in America.

I've been there by the way and it was unbelievably overwhelming! I think I tackled about a fraction of it, and bought something in one of the pet stores and that was it. But it was fun walking through the amusement park.

Yes I’ve been to the mall of America twice since I lived only a few hours away from the Twin Cities at one point.It was pretty awful.

The North American Lily society had its national conference at a hotel by Mall of America. It was a hideous location. The hotel,was nice enough but there were only highways and concrete by it, and then in the mall. There’s no place to walk. It was Not a good conference site by my definition, but then most all of these convention sites are hotels that sit on highways.

The plant conferences shuttle people around in buses so we do get out into green areas to see gardens.