Blogs from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, North America - page 4

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North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis June 13th 2014

The first set of kids arrived today! They call it a sampler week as the kids are only here until Wednesday and a traditional camp goes to Friday. Each counsellor gets paired up with another counsellor and we sleep in the same cabins as the kids. I got paired up with Hannah and Ellyn and we were with 7 girls aged between 8-11. We were put in a cabin called Blackfoot (number 13) and is apparently haunted but we didn't seen anything. The girls were mostly well behaved. We woke up every morning at 6.15 to get ourselves ready and then wake the kids at 6.30 so they can get ready. We then went for a run and jumped in the lake each morning before breakfast which is served at 8am. I ran and jumped in ... read more

North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis June 12th 2014

Last night Emily had a house party which was super fun! After the kids left camp on Wednesday, Hannah and Morgan drove me to there houses where I showered and met there parents. Everyone is super nice! It was also so nice to have a proper shower in a house as opposed to the camp showers. We then went to Emily's for drinks and then crashed at Alex's house (AP). The next day Kara picked myself Kris and Khoa up from camp and picked Lauren up from her house and they took us around Minneapolis. We started at an art museum which was really nice. I'm not much of an art or museum person but it's good to see these things when travelling. We looked at a gorgeous cathedral and had a picnic at the outdoor ... read more
Staff on the doc
Waterfront doc
Myself and Morgan on the doc


The rest of the staff (other camp counsellors like myself) arrived on Friday and it was nice to be at camp with other people who hadn't been here before either. I got put in a different cabin with five other girls which I really liked because I wasn't so lonely at night anymore. Staff training started that week and we played a big game of four cones which we play every Sunday night when campers arrive. We then had a campfire and sang songs and did some skits. Steve from Australia arrived today and it reminded me of home a lot! Staff training week involved a whole bunch of team building/bonding activities. It made us all get to know each other really quick which is nice and also important as the first round of campers arrive ... read more
Group photo after four cones
Another group photo
Another staff photo


I arrived in Minneapolis today and was greeted by Josh Cobb and Kelley at the airport. It was nice to finally talk to people as I hasn't really spoken to anyone since leaving New Zealand. A helpful man sitting next to me on the plane helped me find the carousel and my luggage. Josh and Kelley drove me to camp which is situated just outside of a small town called Loretto. Once at camp, I met some of the support staff and then Josh gave me a cabin to sleep. I had a cabin all to myself for the first two days which was pretty scary because the camp is in the middle of woods and forest. The first two days were hard and I was homesick a lot especially at night, I think because I ... read more
Welcome to camp Ihduhapi
Got our flags up

North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis April 12th 2014

Five years ago, a lonely dog with no place to call home appeared in the front courtyard of my parents' new house in Phoenix, Arizona. They had just moved in a couple of months prior and everything in the house still carried that new home smell. The counters gleamed. The tile sparkled. The carpet was without blemish. And, suddenly, here was a homeless creature with perky ears and earnest eyes who was asking for a chance. They didn't know his background, where he had come from, what circumstances may have led to his current state of affairs. They quibbled over what to do, especially in light of his likely breed: a pit bull. Stray dogs were an epidemic in Phoenix, which was the likely reason for why the animal control officer never arrived. The dog was ... read more
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North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis February 8th 2014

It's finally happened. I've reached the age when all of my high school friends are engaged, married, have children, or are expecting. Every single one of them. I recently visited one of the old gang to meet her new daughter. Watching my friend with her baby was bizarre and yet completely normal at the same time. We're long past the point of being impressed with ourselves for being gainfully employed (although it is pretty fantastic that none of us are living with our parents in this tough economy). Being in a relationship is no longer a big topic of conversation; instead, we discuss wedding dresses, maternity clothes, engagement rings, and gift registries. Well, I should clarify--they discuss those things. I mainly listen and nod. I'm the odd one out. Still single, no prospects in sight. At ... read more
Monastery, Thailand
Marketplace, Vietnam
Venice, Italy

North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis September 27th 2013

Started our day with a trip to the "Mall of America". As promised it is huge and I mean huge! Even spotted a casino in there. The Nickelodeon Universe playground in itself has lots of great rides for kids and adults alike - you could spend half a day here. We walked around every level - trying to take it all in. There are no grocery stores in this place all just specialty stores and everything else you could imagine. Naturally this the states most visited tourist attraction. The mall is in Bloomington just 15 minutes from downtown and a few minutes away from the international airport. The Minneapolis airport is a major airport - planes taking off and landing just above you in a constant stream of air traffic! I swear we could see the ... read more
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North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis September 26th 2013

The state of Minnesota is on the shore of the biggest of the Great Lakes - Lake Superior and it is where the world's 3rd largest river the Mississippi begins. 680 miles of the Mississippi flows through the state. Population of Minnesota is 5.3 million with 3.2 million living in the twin city area of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Minnesota is in the upper mid-west and bordered by Canada on the north, Iowa on the south, Lake Superior and Wisconsin on the east - and North and South Dakota on the west. Off into the city today. Minneapolis traffic is busy but nothing like Calgary that's for sure. Drove the RV downtown - now that's an experience in itself. RV's are great on the road but a headache in major cities! Hard to park - cities ... read more
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North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis September 25th 2013

Got up early - made a quick coffee and took to the road pj's and all. Drove 100 miles along the interstate before stopping at a rest area - got dressed and had breakfast at a picnic table in the rest area...oh the joys of travelling in an RV. Continued along the highway to Minneapolis admiring all the lakes along the highway. Minnesota is known as the state with 10,000 lakes and it is easy to see why. They are everywhere - all shapes and sizes - some folks lucky enough to have built their homes right alongside the lakes. Forgot to mention - we have seen quite a bit of road kill from Montana to Minnesota - mostly deer, coyote and skunks. This section of driving today has mostly been through corn farming territory. Driving ... read more
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North America » United States » Minnesota » Minneapolis August 11th 2013

Two words, long day!!! After a 9 hour drive from Nashville to Chicago yesterday, with a pit stop in Hammond, IN at the Horseshoe Casino, Jess & I were ready to eat our Ghirardelli ice-cream and call it a day. We rose with the street sweepers to hail a taxi to taste churros, a Mexican delicacy, at XOCO. Our next stop was a swift 1.5 mile walk to the Bob Newhart statue. What we found was hundreds of sailboats and a ferris wheel at Navy Pier!! After a 30 min search, no Newhart statue was in site! Jess asked a local if he could point us in the right direction, which he in turn replied with “there ain’t no Bob Newhart statue in Chicago. If you find one, let me know”. Sad, but not defeated, Jess ... read more
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