Scribble World Travel Blog

Birthday dinner at Lake Elmo Inn

Lake Elmo Inn, known for its pampering service and delicious food, is independently owned and operated.  It’s also the first place I ever worked. Back in the day, I fell in love with their wild duck soup, which I was pleased to see is still on their menu and just as good as ever.

Other options include roast duck, rack of lamb, mouthwatering steaks….delicious pasta, and lots of other choices.

My favorite day to work at Lake Elmo Inn was Sunday.  That was the one day I actually got to sit down for a rushed 10 or 15 minute break and chow on the delectable brunch buffet offerings….all the expected breakfast fare, and a whole array of unbeatable dessert offerings too-like the classic Sin Of The Inn.

When I make it back to Minnesota, it’s cool when I have an excuse to go to Lake Elmo Inn as a pampered guest-kind of a ”Yay! It’s my turn!” moment.  Pretty slick of me to have my birthday in MN this year, made for a perfect excuse to go, and my Mom was kind enough to pick up the check-even better

Just a side note, but Lake Elmo Inn is one of the only places I’ve seen an automatic seat cover changer in the bathroom…you push a button and a new plastic seat cover spins out.  And that’s even before those paper ones started popping up everywhere.

And another innovation, now they have a coat attendent to give you a pickup ticket for your Minnesota bulky winter coat.  As a special birthday treat, our table was offered our choice of complimentary champaign or sparkling grape juice also.

Visit with Billy and simple delights

Billy came over today and it was a good chance to catch up. He thinks it’s great I’m traveling and gave me a “pop can” stove he’s been working on, and demonstrated how to use it. It really works-it’ll boil a cup of water in about 2 minutes, and is just the right size (nice and small).

He told me about his 4 year old daughter Emma’s delight in knowing the outcome of the paper rock scissors game ahead of time-and how they can do that for hours and she’s delighted each time.

Makenna

Here’s my new niece, Makenna.  Born weighing less than 7 pounds, she’s just a tiny little thing.  I like petting her soft head, she is very sweet and easy going.  We’ve had no trouble sleeping through the night on her account.

An Aunt in Training…

Tally kept coming downstairs as I was trying to read my book, and hopping on my lap, carrying various plastic toys.  We worked on counting to 20…she’d count to 14-repeat 15,16,17,18,19 after me, and then gleefully shout 20, which sounds more like “tony!” Not bad for a 2 year old.

She gets all excited and expects praise whenever she uses the potty, so after a time or two of blank looks from me & an expectant look on Tally’s face, I’m finally getting the hang of it & so I’ll clap and enthusiastically say, “Good job! That’s great!!” and her face lights up and she goes to tell the next person-it’s quite funny.

Bakken Museum, Minneapolis Minnesota

We’ve made it to Minnesota and are now staying with my sister.  Her hubby took us to their local library, which is a treasure trove for valuable free admissions into various museums, zoos and other neat places- And all it takes is a library card. He “checked out” 2 free Bakken Museum passes for us, a $14 value.

The Bakken Museum-A Library and Museum of Electricity in Life, is located on 3537 Zenith Ave South in Minneapolis. The setting is pictoresque, with gardens, tall shady trees, and located next to Lake Calhoun. It is the world’s only library and museum devoted to medical electricity, according to Wikipedia.

Near the entrance, there is a machine that you can hold the handles of to administer an electric shock to yourself-just to see what it’s like. The voltage is adjustable, I was unable to go more than about halfway up and only for a moment-I’m not too eager to try that again. It surprised me that shock therapy, or ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) is still used in the treatment of certain mental illnesses, although it is highly controversial.

There were many hands on exhibits at the Bakken to learn about magneticism, electricity, the world’s oldest instrument, and much more. There was also an interesting room with props and a narrated telling of the Frankenstein story.

Upstairs, we explored some of the other rooms and took a few minutes to relax in the comphy library chairs.