A couple weeks ago the hubby and I joined my in-laws for their annual trip to Minnesota to visit family. It was my first trip and, as I’m sure you can guess, I’m a planner a.k.a. as soon as I knew we were going I jumped on Pinterest to see what the was to do and see.
To my disappointment, there wasn’t a lot of information. Hence this recap.
We went for a long weekend, which was the perfect amount of time considering we had a 6 hour drive one way. On the way up, we skipped right over Mankato and hit up the Mall of America. This was my second trip to the mall and as a shopping aficionado, I still was disappointed. It’s neat to see and it’s fun for kids (with all of the Nickelodeon rides), but if you want to do some serious shopping, Mall of America is not the place. That being said, I did enjoy walking around and looking at everything and it was an easy trip on my wallet.
What to do:
Check out the local murals and artwork. Apparently there’s tons of murals, though we only checked out a couple. This super colorful one was beautiful in person!
Visit local shops and boutiques downtown. I love boutique shopping and highly recommend checking out Vivian Rose Boutique for cute and trendy clothes, and Salvage Sisters for unique gift type items. If you’re up for a quick little drive, head over to Jordan for Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store. Though we didn’t get to stop, we drove past it and were told it’s a really neat place. Another little ‘road trip’ we took was to Mystic Lake Casino. While I’m not much of a gambler, the family had a great time. The facilities are gorgeous and there’s a nice fire pit area to hangout by if you don’t want to actually gamble. They also have a couple restaurants that were great (see below).
Where to eat:
Hands down, my FAVORITE place was Tandem Bagels. I had a sandwich from their monthly special menu, the Pesto Breakfast Sandwich and I literally still have dreams about that little piece of heaven. They had great service and fair prices, however we went on a Sunday and it was pretty packed so we opted for sitting outside.
While at Mystic Lake Casino, we had dinner at Minnehana Cafe. It is an adorable cafe that is super light, bright, and super on point for the average Instagram aesthetic. They have sandwiches, burgers, your typical cafe type food, but everything was great. I had a french dip that had so much meat on it, I could’ve easily split with my hubby. We also had a cupcake from the little bakery/gelato, Sweet Temptations, that was tasty and HUGE. I would highly recommend caving to your sweet tooth and ordering
We also tried Bonfire which was connected to our hotel (see below). It had a great atmosphere and fun BYOB S’mores where they brought out a flame and let you make your own s’mores at the table. However, the service was terrible and the food was less than sub-par. But, I would go back for drinks and dessert.
Where to stay:
Staying in Mankato, there aren’t a ton of trendy options, it’s pretty much your basics. That being said, we stayed at the Country Inn & Suites. It was nice and clean which is the most important thing to me. It wasn’t within walking distance to anything (except Bonfire), but that wasn’t a deal breaker during this quick trip. They did have a very nice patio with fire pits which I thoroughly enjoyed and they had a pretty big continental breakfast spread. I liked that it was right off the interstate and close to the Mankato mall. Downtown, there is a Hilton which you usually can’t go wrong with. It looked nice and well kept from the outside and they’re a fairly reliable chain, so I would feel comfortable recommending it if you’re looking for something more centrally located.
Overall, it was a fun and quick little get-away. If you’re looking for a mini weekend away and a leisurely pace, I would recommend checking out Mankato, MN.
