Minne Golf

 Minneapolis, MN

It might look like I crashed into Donna with a golf cart but it's not a real golf cart.

Free Mini Golf!

Today we walked down Nicolette Plaza to play some free miniature golf or mini golf or Minne Golf.  The Dayton Project is where Dayton's used to be.  Now it's a series of open vendors like doughnut shops and coffee shops and closed stalls.  There is a big open area with nothing in it so they opened up a miniature golf course and you can play it for free so we did!  It was 9 super cute holes.

Donna is perfecting her approach.

On the first hole you stuff your ball into the hole at the top of the Foshay Tower (a downtown landmark).

This is the Spoonbridge and Cherry hole.  The Spoonbridge and Cherry art installation is in the Sculpture Garden and iconic.

The Skyway hole was pretty fun.  We will explore more of the Skyway here when the weather gets colder.

It's One, Two, Three Strikes your out and obviously I'm not a golfer.

This is two holes.  One hole 8 you follow the Mississippi River and then you go over the bridge for hole 9.

It was a fun course and it was even more fun because it was free.  Donna beat me by two strokes. 

That's it for today.  If you missed, The Best Fair in the US - Part 3 The Rides, check it out.

Can Can Wonderland

St. Paul, MN

Because You Can Can Can!

This week, our friend Jeff has been visiting so we have been hitting up cool things.  Today we went to Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul.   Can Can Wonderland is an entertainment and arts area within an old cannery.  You pay to get in and then you can see art, play pinball, play video games and other amusement games, buy beer by the ounce at the self pour bar, play mini golf, and do other things. I had high expectations and it exceeded those expectations.

Underground parking.  This place is popular year round and underground parking helps here in the cold north.

Pour yourself a beer!  By the oz!  You can make a suicide like when you were a kid at the skate ranch!

I bought a regular full pour from the bartender and then took an out of focus photo of it just for you!

Donna played a whack a mole type game very gently.  We called it "boop a gator".

I got my game face on for mini golf.

The 18 holes of min golf were amazing.  It was a great course.

In one end...

and out the other.

Donna and I played Space Race.  You spin a wheel and try to orbit the Earth faster than the other player.  The winner gets to hear either the US or Russian National Anthem depending on which country they picked.

Donna and I played Speed Racer.  You spin a wheel and try to orbit the track faster than the other player.  (yes there were some similarities shared between the two games).

This game had an outdated theme.  You shot polar bears, penguins, and other artic creatures.

After a day of pinball and mini golf, you just want to sit with your alien friends and try to eat their balloon.

After Can Can Wonderland we swung by Lake Monster Brewing.  Donna found this brewery and wanted to go before we even moved to the area.

The 3 of us shared this flight of 4 small pours.

Later that evening we shared an old beer that Jeff brought.  It was still delicious.

That's it for today.  If you missed, How to Win at Pinball, check it out.

Ramen, Tiki, and KISS

 Las Vegas, NV

Ramen Sora, so good!

Ramen

Today we each bought a month bus pass so we can ride the bus around.  The bus system is pretty good here.  We took our first ride across town to Chinatown and went to Ramen Sora for lunch.  It's our favorite Ramen place in the areas.  

Our bus selfie

This is our neighborhood sign

Our first transfer was right near The Sphere

This is either a mug shot or a proof of life kidnapping shot.  Not sure which one it is.

After ramen we took a short walk to our next destination

Golden Tiki

our next stop was Golden Tiki.  It's one of our favorite Tiki Bars.  I knew we would be visiting during this trip but our visit came earlier than expected.  

The entrance to Golden Tiki is as fancy as a strip mall entrance can be.

Once inside, you're treated to a tropical oasis.

• My drink was on FIRE!  Literally!

They make shrunken heads for famous people.

This is Blondie's Debby Harry's Shrunken Head

SHAG

They have travel posters posted outside.  

It was a nice stop and I am sure we will be back this trip.  

KISS Mini Golf

After Golden Tike we walked over to The Rio.  The weather is perfect for walking so we are opting to walk when it makes sense.  We were contacted by some friends last night saying they were in town for a board game tournament so we set up to meet them at The Rio (where the tournament will be) and play some KISS Golf.  The Rio has seen better days but it was recently bought and is undergoing a huge renovation.  

I should rent a table cloth...

There was a "Tiki" bar that wasn't open.

This is the "Tiki" bar

You can still see the tracks on the ceiling that used to support the hanging Marti Gras Parade.

I'm not a huge KISS fan or even a KISS fan so we didn't pay for the museum.

I am a Huge Mini Golf fan so we played Mini Golf.

The competition was intense.  We all had our game faces on.

My game face looks a bit like Peter Criss'.  I had to look up who the Kitten Faced Kiss guy was.

Donna and I took a selfie with Gene.  I was going to take a few more photos but we had already backed up the course enough.

It was a lot of fun meeting up with and catching up with our friends.  After golfing we wished them luck in the tournament and took a Lyft home.  Francis was getting very hungry.

That's it for today.  If you missed Revisiting Some Favorite Places Here, check it out.