Minneapolis/St. Paul in May
 

I will be in training in Minneapolis/St. Paul in May. I am going to have my wife and 5 year old come out for a week. Per weather.com, the month of May can be nice weather up there. Any suggestions on how to spend our time? We'll have a car.

I was in a similar situation last year. We took a drive north of Duluth, along Lake Superior. It was stunning, but only do it if you have a couple days.<BR><BR>We found St. Paul to be a nice city. Great Science Museum for kids.

I would suggest hitting the lakes. Minneapolis has a chain-of-lakes that makes for a fun walk. There is a weekly free paper in Minneapolis that tells about all the shows. Find a theater and see a play or musical.

When the weather is nice and things have 'greened up' (usually about late May) MPLS is one of the best cities in the US to weekend in.<BR>Best short car trips are to the north shore of Lake Superior and along the Mississippi river to Red Wing (just southeast of the metro area). <BR>In town, go walk around Lake Calhoun west of the downtown area. Very vibrant and fun on weekends.<BR>Quite a number of theater and museum options.<BR>People in MPLS tend to be extremely friendly and after being cooped up most of the winter, Minnesotans make the most of their warmer days by being outside.

ttt

Ron:<BR>For a short trip that is perfect in May, go to Stillwater - birthplace of Minnesota, right along the St Croix river. Historic town, antique shops, great restaurants, beautiful parks and a lift bridge. What more do you need? And - it's only about 45 minutes east of St Paul. I know they have a web page. Do a search for Stillwater, MN. Good luck and have a nice time!

First, skip the Mall of America unless you have VERY bad weather. It is just a great big mall but it does have an indoor amusement park (again, a good choice if you have bad weather). I agree with checking out the local lakes (Harriet, Calhoun, etc) and they have nice walking/biking paths around the lakes. I also agree with Stillwater (a great day trip!), but Duluth and the North Shore only if you have a few days and can stay overnight up north or it will be too far away. Check out the Children's Museum & Science Museum and see if the Children's Theater in Minneapolis or the Stages Theater in Hopkins have any plays your 5 year old would be interested in. If you can get a babysitter, there are very good dining spots in Minneapolis including Lucias (my favorite!), Campiellos, Auriga, D'Amico Cucina (very expensive) and excellent choices for live theater such as the Guthrie, Jungle Theater, plus lots of great live music and comedy shows (Stevie Ray's improv is the best if you can find where his group is playing while you are here!). Check out Famous Dave's BBQ in Uptown for the Sunday Brunch with live blues music. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a great Museum. Lots of great art and theater here. Oh, responding to this post makes me remember why I live here in this miserable cold!!

What about your favorite kid friendly/ senior friendly restaurants in the Twin Cities ? We go there often to visit my parents and are getting tired of Old Country Buffet! Thanks!

Como Zoo(free) St.Paul,MN Zoo Apple Valley,Minnehaha Falls,Valley Fair Amusement Park(weekends May)Shakopee,If the weather is bad Camp Snoopy Mall of America

One of my favorite restaurants for kids is the Rainforest Cafe in the Mall of America. I know it's one of a chain - but still fun!<BR><BR>I also endorse the previous recommendations of the Children's Theater and the Chilren's Science Museum in St. Paul. And if you want a Broadway show - there are 3 beautiful theaters in town (The State Theater and The Orpheum in Minneapolis and the Ordway in St. Paul). For something more "cultured" go to the renowned Guthrie Theater.<BR><BR>If you go to Stillwater (and it is a cool town) be sure to go early (stores open at 10:00, I believe). There is limited convenient public parking. Also be warned that there is a very popular art show in Stillwater one of the weekends in May - although I don't know which weekend.<BR><BR>Lastly, Fort Snelling is one of my favorites. Fort Snelling was the original fort in Minneapolis and is a "living history" museum - it's set in the early 1800's.

Mary-what part of town do you visit your parents in? Are you in a suburb or in the city? Then maybe I can give you some tips on kid & senior friendly restaurants.

I'd agree with Stillwater. Como park is more than just the zoo, there's also a conservatory that my kids like to explore, and paddle boats on the lake (depending on when in May whether they will be out)<BR><BR>The Science Museum in St. Paul is good. A 5 year old would also like the Children's Museum in St. Paul. The Minnesota Historical Society (also in St. Paul) is interesting to a variety of ages.<BR><BR>I'd skip the drive to Duluth. It's good for us locals, but if you haven't been to Minneapolis why get in a car and drive that far to get away from it?<BR><BR>The Children's Theater is excellent. They are performing Alice in Wonderland in May. Call now for tickets, though, they book up fast!<BR><BR>As for kid friendly restaurants, it's a chain, but we like Joe's Crabshack. Adult type food (seafood) and a playground. Also have to agree with Rainforest - my kids love it!<BR>

Hi again<BR>Budging in again for tips on kid/senior friendly restaurants. My parents live in St. Paul near Como Park and Roseville. They like low fat food and lots of vegetables. We go to Old Country Buffet because of the variety. Something for everyone.Thanks loangasal if you can help with other suggestions.<BR>Also to Ron, my kids love the Children's Museum in downtown St. Paul and prefer it over the Science Museum and the Children's Theater. The Como Zoo is free and it is easy to park so I like to do that in the warm months with the kids.

Mary, I see your problem! To find a place with good healthy entrees that has things for kids also is hard. Plus I am guessing that if your in-laws like OCB, they are probably like more of a suburban atmosphere. If you want reliable chain restaurants that offer good childrens menus along with good healthy salads or fish items for your parents, I would suggest Champps, Chilis, or Fridays, then everyone will be happy. One suggestion that sounds a little strange but we find it very reliable is that most of the Byerlys grocery stores have restaurants in them with a great salad bar and good food. If your in-laws are open minded and adventurous, go to Pizza Luce in the warehouse district downtown (Mpls). Great pizza, and we all love the place but the folks might get freaked out by the piercings and hair dye on the staff and clientelle. If you want a really fun couple of hours with some interesting food, (again, ONLY if the folks are "hip") go to the Bryant Lake Bowl in south Mpls. An old bowling alley with retro lanes (hand scoring only!) old beat up balls and shoes, and food that is incredibly good. We like to go Sat or Sun for a late brunch and then bowl a few lanes. They even have ramps for the little kids to bowl with. In St. Paul you could try Dixies on Grand Avenue. The Sydney's restaurants are great and offer a variety of wonderful salads and even have a peanut butter and jelly pizza that my 9 year old loves. Another place for great food is a deli style place called D'Amico & Sons (Not to be confused with it's upscale sister D'Amico Cucina!). There are several locations, but in your area there is one in the Highland Park area of St. Paul and they have wonderful food with a great inexpensive kids menu and even serve a limited selection of wine. They even have a location in the Minneapolis Instutute of Arts, and since the Children's Theater is in the same building we always eat at D'Amico & Sons when we go there. Have fun!

As for restaurants, I have the same qaundry. Minneapolis has tons of chain restaurants, which I used to hate but I go to more now because I have kids. Famous Dave's is a great one. I also endorse the Rainforest Cafe. D'Amico is probably the best all-around mid-priced deli in Minneapolis.<BR><BR>As for non-chain restaurants, I love the Newsroom and Zelo, both downtown. But not places to bring kids. Also, Blue Point in Wayzata has great seafood and great ambience.

As the parent of a 5-year-old, I'd steer you away from the Children's Museum in St. Paul. It is a small, noisy, terribly overcrowded for-profit museum space that leaves a lot of parents and children frazzled and unhappy. <BR><BR>A FAR superior place to visit in St. Paul is the amazing Minnesota History Center, which is VERY big, VERY airy and has endless hands-on things for a 5-year-old to do. Plus, the restaurant is superb and cheap--they serve made-to-order gourmet entrees for about $6.

A note about D'Amico and sons: the Grand Avenue location has a GREAT deal on house wine. Buy one glass at $3.25 and they'll keep it refilled! For me, that translates to three or four glasses over the course of a meal and dessert/conversation. An amazing deal--and their house wine is unusually good.

We may also be making a trip to Minneapolis in late May or early June to visit our daughter who moved there this winter. She lives in Brooklyn Park. My husband and I will have our 14 year old daughter with us. Where should we stay, preferably a suite type hotel? I would imagine we'd take two or three days and drive to Lake Superior, where would we stay there? With the 14 year old we will HAVE to do the Mall of America. Anything else that may interest her?

If you stay in Duluth, I highly recommend Hawthone Suites. It's a remodeled warehouse with HUGE suites, a great indoor pool, and the perfect lakeside location. Check out their web site for low rates, especially if you come in the off-season.<BR><BR>As far as the Twin Cities go, I would recommend staying downtown. The hotels around the Mall of America are mediocre. For the same money, you can stay downtown and have a world of activities right outside the door.

A couple of years ago, we stayed in the lighthouse at Two Harbors, on Lake Superior about 40 miles north of Duluth. Go to www.lighthousebb.org .<BR><BR>A superb experience! They have three rooms. Cost is/was about $125. They also have, on the grounds, the bridge from a Great Lakes freighter, with pictures, the ship's wheel, etc. <BR><BR>It's operated by the Lake County Historical Society. The lady who does the breakfast does not stay on site: The only folks there are those who are staying. <BR><BR>I've got pictures of my wife and son taking down the flag in the evening, and my wife raising it again the next morning.<BR><BR>Reservations strongly suggested. The night we stayed, there was a squall-ine of thunderstorms going through Wisconsin, probably 40-50 miles away. And from our bedroom window, we could see the lightening flashes, intermittently, all across the horizon.<BR><BR>I've often thought I'd love to stay there during a storm, and ride it out on the bridge...