The Great River Road

Adam and I took a little vacation recently in honor of our five years of wedded bliss. The fact that this coincided with another wedding and that I had PTO days to burn only added to the merriment.

OK, now, here's the deal: the southeastern corner of Minnesota is that rare little gem that very few souls have actually discovered. I would absolutely rank it among the top five most scenic and delicious routes I have ever traveled. And I have to apologize in advance, but it was autumn in Minnesota and I could not put the camera down. Also, I discovered two - TWO! - little editing presets on the Google+ page and I really could not stop myself. That is two more presets than I ever had before.

We begin in full color at the Great River Road Visitor and Learning Center in Prescott, Wisconsin, overlooking the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers.

In our excitement to see the Wabasha eagles, Adam took (several) photos of the (fake) eaglets at Prescott. 

The first highlight of our trip occurred when an older couple offered to take our photo because they "just love young couples in love." 

I guess we fooled them! (Because we're not that young.)

Our next stop was the Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery, which combines my two favorite fermented fruits. Adam, being a beer guy, was not as impressed as I was, even though he did find the largest apple I had ever seen.

 

On to delightful little Stockholm, Wisconsin, home to a large assortment of metal chickens (although, unfortunately, not the giant variety) and our first encounter with amazing pies.

 

Adam couldn't decide between the sugary-sweet pecan pie and the savory bacon/pear/blue cheese pie, so he ordered both and laughed at my sad little turkey sandwich. And then he shared a bit of the pecan pie with me, because - after all - it was our anniversary (belated, of course).

Next stop...EAGLES!!! I had been looking forward to this detour for awhile, and not just because it placed us firmly back into Minnesota territory. The National Eagle Center in Wabasha is a sight to see, and I believe it only gets better on the coldest, stormiest days of winter when hundreds of bald eagles gather on the open waters of the Mississippi.

 

 

Here's another travel tip: plan your tourist activities for weekdays during the school year and just stay home on the weekends. I guarantee you will be the youngest traveler by at least 3 or 4 decades.

Since we scheduled our activities with the older crowd, the children's learning center was widely available for our personal use.

 

 

I really didn't like the way that Columbia was looking at me, and no one seemed to care.

The five rescue eagles on display have all had injuries that could not be rehabilitated and now travel extensively around the state and nation for education and outreach. A worthy second act.

Wabasha's riverfront. Another beautiful river town.

 

   

We continued our travels down to Winona, stopping first at a random "scenic overlook", scenic being the operative word. Winona is a crazy/beautiful town; it looks like an island surrounded by imposing limestone bluffs and everywhere you look you just think nature. So many birds, trees, flowers, rivers, wildlife, fields, sunsets...  I could hardly handle all the beauty and briefly encouraged Adam to start job-hunting.

 

 

 

 

There would by many, many more photos like these except that Adam caught me at work and encouraged me to hasten. The winery closes at 6:00, after all.

We swung into Garvin Heights Vineyards for a quick tasting of local wines and then drove the backroads to Lanesboro for the night.

Lanesboro prides itself on being the Bed and Breakfast Capital of Minnesota, which was a major motivation for our visit. Unfortunately, we were ultra-busy at home right up until our vacation and did not secure a B and B reservation. Fortunately for us, Brewster's Red Hotel right on the main street was an amazing and more affordable alternative.

This was our view upon arrival.

We grabbed a very late dinner across the street and settled in for the end of day one. I promise that days two, three, and four will not be so long. Day one could not be topped.