A few weekends ago, we had a bit of an adventure here in the great state of Minnesota. I am a little late in sharing, but what is it they say? Better late than never.

While many of our days are filled with tasks that we have to do — work, chores, etc. — we try to make time to do the things we want to do. Though our work-life balance has shifted being back in Minnesota, we are determined not to slip back into the life we once despised. And that is even easier now that I’ve changed jobs.

A few weekends ago we decided to do some beer tasting. We headed to the city with a couple of friends to check out a few places we hadn’t been before.

 

Though I don’t consider myself a “city girl” by any means, I always enjoy venturing in and exploring. San Diego still holds the distinction of being my favorite large city, but Minneapolis has started to grow on me the more I explore.

Now, beer tasting alone may not seem like much of an adventure, I’ll admit. But it was a pretty kick-butt night out and was a great preamble to the rest of the weekend.

We had asked my dad if he was interested in doing some beer tasting, and he responded, “Yes! Let’s go to New Ulm.”

New Ulm is the home of the August Schell Brewing Company — fondly referred to as “Schell’s.” It is the second-oldest family-owned brewery in the United States. So, we loaded up my parents’ van and headed south.

It’s a bit of a drive, but we enjoyed animal watching, good conversation, and the anticipation of our upcoming adventure. We reached New Ulm with a little time to kill, so we did a little sight seeing.

New Ulm is named for the city of Ulm in Germany after it was settled by German immigrants in the mid-1800s.

We visited the statue of Hermann Denkmal, who symbolizes liberty and unity in Germany for leading several tribes against Roman conquerers (can you tell we got a history lesson?).

 

We also timed our visit perfectly to see the Glockenspiel, just as it struck noon.

 

It was fun to see this smaller version — I had the cool experience of seeing the Glockenspiel in Munich when I was in high school.

Eventually, we headed to the brewery where we took a tour of the grounds and buildings.

And of course, we ended the tour with a beer tasting.

Afterwards, we headed to a German restaurant to top off our experience. Simply delicious. I had a particularly good time getting a little taste of the German experience (I minored in German in college).

The day just wasn’t complete without a visit to Gertie the Goose in Goosetown.

It was definitely a fun way to spend the day!

We are heading out for a different adventure next week for our birthdays, and then we’ll be starting the process of digging the motorhome out of the woods to see what work needs to be done on it before it’s ready to hit the road again.

More updates on the Wandering Dolphin crew coming soon. Until then, enjoy each day!