Family Vacation - Minneapolis, Minnesota

6 days 5 nights in Minneapolis, Minnesota

June is here, and our summer vacation is officially started. This June alone, we have three different travel plans, early June, Mid June, and End of June. Of course, I will share itineraries and stories of our vacation. 

Day 1- Saturday

Our plane landed late noon, at around 2 pm, after checking in our hotel, we went to take a stroll in the famous Stone Arch Bridge. It took only 8 minutes from our hotel to get to the park. However, it took us almost 15 minutes to find a parking spot. My suggestion is to take an uber or to park in the public parking garage nearby. 

The park is beautiful, scenic and walkable. The road is not too busy, and the pedestrian walk is wide and safe for children, however, be careful with the bicycles that are passing by. 

The bridge looks magnificent on top of the Mississippi river with tall buildings as the background, very instagrammable. It is mesmerizing just to sit down and watch the water. We went on walking to see the Mill Museum. Unfortunately, we were late, and the museum was already closed for the day. We kept on walking to St Anthony Falls. The Falls is great, the water running down the falls was hypnotizing yet very calming to watch. It was a bit chilly there, mind you, the weather was 80F during the day, I highly suggest a light jacket for this walk. After the long walk, we stopped by at the oldest bar in Minneapolis, Pracna, for a refreshment. This bar has a good selection of drink and light bites, and family-friendly too.

Day 2 - Sunday

Today is the zoo day! I promised Al to go to the zoo since he did really well on his piano recital. So we went to visit the famous Minnesota Zoo . This zoo is extensive with various exhibitions. We went late morning and spent our day there. The line to get inside the zoo was short and quick, and to shorten the waiting time, I suggest purchasing the ticket online. We entered Toucan Parking lot, so the first exhibit that we visited is the Rainforest Trail. Perfect for me since I have good knowledge of the rainforest and also not many zoos offer excellent rainforest exhibit. The collection is pretty fascinating, from freshwater fish, tropical birds, to comodo dragon!. They also have mini tunnels scattered in the exhibition for children to see the animals up-close, very cute! To my surprise, they also have an underground aquarium with reef fish and sharks, this exhibition is a hit, we spent almost an hour there. Minnesota native animals and plant exhibit is located in the same building. It's worth a visit, especially if you are interested to see Minnesota wolves and bear. Pet farm is available near the playground where they serve soft ice cream. 

There are several refreshment stalls to grab a quick bite. Our favorite snack is mini doughnuts, if you want to have big lunch, there is one food court near the splash park. The splash park is nice, if your kids into water play, you might want to pack extra clothes. In the afternoon we stayed to watch the bird show, the show was educative and entertaining. Check out their event calendar to see what's show on for the day.

Day 3 - Monday

Como Town, Zoo and Reservoir. I was recommended to visit Como zoo and reservoir. When I checked their website I found out that they have a mini theme park for children age 2-10, that would be great for kids to go. Como Zoo and reservoir is low key but enjoyable. The theme park is small but still fun, I went to purchase unlimited band for Al and my self, apparently it was unnecessary, there were minimal rides for adult, I could just buy card with points for me and Baby J. We went to take a walk in the zoo which is located in the area (the zoo is free). The zoo has some exotic animals, their main attractions were giraffes and gorillas. They also offer the patrons to feed the Giraffe for $5, I highly recommend this. However, we did not have good luck with Girrafe that day, we were waiting for more than 30 minutes for the Giraffe to approach us so that we can feed them. If you are interested in feeding them, I wish you good luck, as we are dealing with animals, things like that can't be helped.

Day 4 - Tuesday

Children Museum of Minnesota

We have a membership of our local children museum here in Virginia. We love our museum, and we visit them often. However, this one in Minnesota is not to miss. It is located in St. Paul, a bit drive from downtown Minneapolis. The building is bigger than one in Richmond, 3 stories building. It is very spacious with different activities and theme. We explored most of it, and our favorite is the toddler area with small water play, the city one with a restaurant, firetruck and post office and the last one is the workshop area, where Al exercised his creativity. Other activities that are also fun is laser tag, car wash, and outer space hall. It was not packed when we were there. Plenty of room to run around, plenty of toys and activities to enjoy. Don't forget to pack snacks and lunch, or just grab one from the cafe. 

Day 5 - Wednesday

Mall of America

When we told our friends that we are going to visit Minnesota, everybody was like "Don't forget the Mall of America, you have to go and visit it!". Of course, we are not going to miss it! I did a little research on things to do there. Apparently, this mall is family-friendly, there are some attractions destined for family. 

Since it was our first time, we decided to go to Nickelodeon Theme Park. I purchased unlimited wristband For Al, because he loves theme park. Again, it was unnecessary at all, he was not tall enough for most rides, most rides required kids to be above 42 inches, and there was like six rides for kids above 36 inches. Good thing is some rides require a chaperone, one of the parent or guardian can ride for free, but if you are like me, going solo with a baby and a little and I was not available all the time to ride with Al, boy, you can ask their staff to ride with you kids.

It was a fun theme park, but there are not enough rides for the price. In addition, the "unlimited" wrist band is actually limited, as some rides required extra fees. Aside from theme park, we went for a shopping spree, there are some outlets, and it's tax-free. Be cautious, because you don't want to pay for extra baggage when you travel back home.

Day 6- Thursday

Today is our last day in Minnesota, we decided to really explore the city of Minneapolis. We went to take a very long walk through their tunnel. Apparently, Minnesota to overcome the freezing weather during wintertime, the government built a tunnel system to connect buildings and places.

Tunnel walk is fun, but pay attention to where you turn, as you can get lost easily. We also went to see the Sculpture Park with the famous Cherry and Spoon Sculpture. We went to see the lakes, it is a must because you are in a state of 10.000 lakes. I don't have any specific recommendation for the lake, I think they are all beautiful and family-friendly. 

We also went to Khmong Village, as an Asian American, I can't miss any opportunity to try authentic Asian cuisine, and I found great dishes here. I highly recommend this place, it's like walking in one of those markets in Vietnam, delicious delicacy, and fresh groceries. I suggest to visit this place and try their papaya salad, it is fresh, sour and spicy!

We had a great time in Minnesota, such a beautiful place with friendly people! Oh, if you are planning to visit Minnesota, in particular, Minneapolis, this website will help you to plan your itinerary, it is tailored to your preference and interest. I hope this post inspires you to visit Minnesota soon.