Be a Tourist In Your Hometown

Sharing is caring!

This post is sponsored by Caribou Coffee, but all hilarity, awesome photography and child like wonder are my own.

Traveling, or having your own 12 hour adventure, doesn’t mean you have to travel far from home. Sometimes the best adventures are learning to be a tourist in your hometown. Our family definitely thinks that is true, especially since moving to Minneapolis.

 

Minneapolis has been the hometown we never knew we were missing. Of all the places that I’ve ever lived, it’s the one that I definitely consider home. There’s so much to do here and it’s all within less than an hour from our house. Last weekend, we grabbed some Caribou Coffee, the oldest kiddo, and headed out on an adventure to some of our favorite outdoor places to be a tourist in our hometown.

When we lived in South Minneapolis, one of the first things that we discovered was that there is a full blown waterfall right in the city limits. I’ve shared some photos with you before of Minehaha Falls. Living on the southside it was less than five minutes from our house. We would head over there and just listen to the rushing falls. For me, it was a great place to write. I’d pull up a rock and sit by the river to clear my head.

In the winter time, the falls completely freeze over and have this amazing bright blue shade to them. You can even walk to the base of the falls because the bottom pond freezes over. It’s such a cool experience. We go every year with camera in hand. Though we have to be a little bit creative because technically the stairs to the falls are closed because of all the ice. (A big butt makes a great impromptu sled on said stairs, just saying)

When we were playing tourist for a day the second place we KNEW we had to stop was the Sculpture Gardens near the Northside of Minneapolis. Minneapolis is famous for a lot of things: Vikings, hot dishes (which I refuse to say, it’s a CASSEROLE), and of course our giant spoon sculpture. It was one of the very first places that we stumbled upon when we first moved here. It’s a fun place to take photos. Looking at my hometown through the eyes of a tourist and through my camera lens is my warm, happy place.

For those of you that have followed the blog a while, you’ll know I am not a big city girl. Minneapolis is technically a big city, but the best part is less than an hour drive away you have some beautiful wildnerness. You get all the big city life: museums, sports, city night life, with a side of Minnesota nature. Taylor Falls is about forty five minutes away from us, and it sits along the St Croix River bordering Wisconsin. The cliffs are magnificant, and it’s eye candy for photographer wannabes like me.

If you don’t want to drive out of the city, you can always head down to Chaska (a Minneapolis suburb) to the arboretum. It’s a huge treetopia. They have great hiking trails, sculpture gardens, and right now giant Lego creations. Keiran was a bit tuckered out from our hometown tour, so hubby and I just headed up there to finish off our day! I could literally spend all day in t here just photographing everything, listening to nature, and getting away without having to  hop on an airplane. It’s such an awesome place.

Everything seems a little bit brighter and more exciting when you take the time to look at the world with fresh eyes. It makes you appreciate your roots rather than longing at the horizon for what you don’t have in your town. That’s why I am so blessed to call Minneapolis home. (That and the fact, hello, Caribou Coffee) My imagination keeps me in awe of where I live, and Caribou Coffee’s Crafted Press Coffee keeps me fueled. I swear as soon as I found out that Caribou Coffee existed it was love. When I travel away from home, I’m disappointed I can’t find my Caribou Coffee!

 

Whether you want to be a tourist in your hometown or just fuel up your creativity, do what I do. Grab Caribou Coffee, a pen, a notebook, a camera, and your imagination and look at the world with awe. Things only become boring if you forget how blessed you are to live in your town. You don’t have to live in a big city like Minneapolis to see that your town has something special about it. You live there after all. Take an adventure, explore your roots, and live life like it’s brand new. Life is short stay awake for it.

You can save money by learning to stay home more also!

Download the Caribou Coffee app today, and take this survey. Just for completing the survey you get a free medium coffee. #score

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Caribou Coffee.