AKRT Day 2
"Going Rogue"

Last night we arrived in Minneapolis, MN. I introduced Artic Fox to Couch Surfing. (For those of you who aren’t familiar with Couch Surfing check out: www.couchsurfing.org. It will change your life.)
We were graciously welcomed by our host for the evening, Esteban. Let me tell you a little about Esteban. This guy is a Rock. Star. E is originally from Akron, OH. His parents are Costa Rican. He’s lived in Minneapolis since June, where he is a category manager for Proctor & Gamble. Baby and FemCare to be exact. Xavier grad. Speaks three languages. Is a foster parent for dogs. Traveled all over the world (mainly attending the world cup each year). And owns pretty much the most kick-ass bachelor pad condo I have ever seen! Did I mention he’s on 23! Seriously. This guy is a million times better than awesome. He had made dinner for us when we got there -chicken tacos and rice and beans. And we had some fantastic wine from Portugal Delicious! We hung out with him and his current foster pup, Reuben. A delightful little toe-biting mutt. Mostly we just hung out and talked. He had just gotten his Christmas gift from P&G which was a cooler filled with all sorts of P&G products. He just started going thru the thing and giving us stuff. It was awesome! Fox score some Gucci Perfume. I scored an Olay skin care wrinkle reducing kit (which, if you know me at all and my OBSESSION with skin care, made me happy as a clam). We also scored some snacks for the road and some Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. E offered to take us out and show us the finer points of Minneapolis, but having been in the car all day, we decided to just chill at his place and watch a movie. The Boondock Saints to be exact. So E and I watched the movie, while Fox passed out on the couch and Reuben struggled with intestinal issues and kept stinking up the room. Then we made our beds up, me in the spare room, fox still passed out on the couch and hit the hay.



We got up early to the smell of fresh brewing Foldgers coffee (Proctor & Gamble) and brushed our teeth with Crest toothpaste (P&G). Esteban made us a nutrious breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon and bagels. (did I mention he’s only 23), and shortly thereafter, bid him farewell. Yet another amazing and awesome Couch Surfing experience and new friend to add to the list. And yes, Meadow Vole (Jon), keeping in true City Mouse fashion, Esteban was super cute! (Jon always accuses me of only choosing cute guys to CS with….is that a crime?)






We headed out to our first stop for the day: The Mall of America. Mostly because neither of us had ever been there, and , well, when in Rome…
We got there about 9 am and walked around a bit. It really is pretty cool. We both enjoyed it quite a bit. We kept noticing that there was a huge line of people forming as we looked down from the top floor onto the main level. I noticed that everyone had books with them, so we figured it was a book signing. And right we were. In a mere few hours, none other than Sarah Palin would be in front of us. Which totally cracked me up because before I left, literally EVERYONE who found out I was going to Alaska asked me if I was going to see Sarah Palin. Go figure it happened. I was a bit disappointed that she didn’t speak, but it was still cool to see her. She’s really very pretty. (sorry about my pics. Apparently my camera is a democrat and decided to be ridiculous when I was trying to take her picture. So, FYI she’s the one in the red coat.)





Fox and I did a bit of shopping (bought some MadLibs for the AKRT (Alaska Road Trip), had some lunch at the Rainforest Café next to a huge fish tank, and headed back out on the road. We are now driving across MN and into SD, headed to Huron, where we will be staying with my friend Jon’s Family. We have about a 6 hour drive to get there. 1.5 of those hours has been Fox and I choreographing dance moves to Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA“, which is now our official AKRT song.


Side note: As we turn onto the highway that will take us to ours hosts house we pass a sign that says, “Home of the Corn Palace.” Of course I squeal with delight, because I’ve heard of this wondrous place, only in legends…who knew it really existed!!! Well friends, it does. And it’s magical. Although, Artic Fox didn’t really see the magic in it like I did. She’s never even heard of the thing. She spends the next 20 minutes calling people to see if anyone else (beside the clearly insane redhead beside her) has heard of the Corn Palace. So if any of you fine folk in cyber land have heard of it, please leave a note and back me up….



Well, all I can say is its been a wonderfully unexpected day. See you tomorrow.

"Go west, young man. Let the evil go east."
Fox and Mouse