Hudson: Home of the Hot-Air Balloons

Happy Thursday! The forecast for Nov 17th is 65 degrees. You heard me, 65! This lady is taking a much-needed lunch break for some fresh air at work today. It’s been such a wonderfully mild Fall. There is a big cold front sweeping in tomorrow afternoon and the temps are supposed to go from the mid-60s down to the high 30s by dinner time. Yikes. That’ll certainly feel like a severe change!

I’ve been feeling bad about my lack of blog activity but sometimes you have to embrace the ebb and flow of life and settle into whatever the new normal is. It’s been a really stressful and challenging time and I haven’t had much interest in doing a lot of things. I come home mentally and physically exhausted and just want to curl up on the couch and read/watch TV. Then I mentally berate myself for neglecting my blog, among many other things. I’m actively working on figuring things out so hopefully this won’t be the norm forever, but bare with me friends.

We’ve been trying to get out of the house a little more lately just for a change of pace and scenery. I’ve needed more away time to not think about work and other stressors and little trips here and there have been a wonderful relief. When we were in MN, I mentioned about the little B&B we stayed at but didn’t finish our last day…

The restaurant attached to the B&B:

While this place wasn’t as great as our Door County experience, I think we’d go back another time if just to explore the city during tourism season. I could see the fringe of activity on main street and I bet the hustle and bustle would be really fun during Summer. It just felt so relaxed and away from everything.

We had time to kill so we sat on chairs in our porch. Pretty view of the marina:

We’re not used to big breakfasts but breakfast wasn’t served until 9am (why??) so by the time we could go and eat, we were hungry! It was a carb-bonanza with caramel rolls, biscuits with sausage gravy, cheesy eggs, and fresh fruit. For homemade rolls though, no one makes them as good as my mother does. 🙂

Back to the room to pack up and head on out! More views from our room:

After the later-than-planned start, we crossed back over the Mississippi river to work on another Ingress banner in Hudson, WI. We had been concerned about cell signal but I really wanted this banner (I love the colors and think it’s so pretty). We were really glad we decided to go for it – so much to see in the town! Hudson is known for being the premiere winter ballooning event and winter festival in the Midwest. Annually more than 40 balloons have flown since 1990.

 

Ingress usually points you in the direction of historical locations, parks, and various places of interest. It’s an amazing way of learning some of the city’s treasures and this proved the case once more. We started out weaving through various churches and tiny parks before arriving at the local water tower – way up on a walking path with a captivating morning view:

Plus it’s nice to get out a do a little walking here and there while driving around town! We found ourselves at another park with amazing trees and the best view of the entire city. It was completely void of people and I could have stayed there all day.

So pretty!!!!!

Silliness in the park. Because that’s how we roll!

We lucked out with the best weather imaginable and had the windows rolled down and tunes blaring as we weaved through town. One section had us looping down by the Mississippi riverfront and I saw the cutest restaurant with people dining al fresco and 90s music playing. We decided right there to finish the banner and grab a late lunch / early dinner before settling into the drive home.

We got seated on a high table right next to the outdoor bar.

Blackberry margarita for me!

Ben selected the meatloaf sandwich and I had the half turkey sandwich

Really tasty food! I wasn’t that hungry after breakfast and the 1/2 sandwich was the perfect size. The hostess offered to take our picture – can you see the river in the background? I bet it’s a gorgeous walk at night with all the street lights on.

I told Ben I want to move to Hudson. He laughs at me but we both loved the town. It’s close to the Twin Cities and the craziness of big city life to reap those benefits but far enough away to be peaceful and slower-paced.

So that’s it for MN. We had a lot of other banners we wanted to do but they always seem to take longer than we plan (maybe because we stop too much to explore the areas). I’m trying to talk Ben into another trip during Christmas vacation – but we’ll need to wait and see how the weather is that week. I love to plan!