"Ladies and Gentlemen welcome onboard..."

I got my first trip out of my way! I have never been so relieved. Oh and guess what? No one hurt.. i know ... i got this! ha OK maybe not quite yet :) My first trip went something a little like this..

Minneapolis to Fargo

Fargo to Minneapolis

Minneapolis to Minot

Minot to Minneapolis

and then FINALLY

Minneapolis to Lacrosse, WI

Wisconsin is a lot like Minnesota. Everything is green thats about it. I was fortunate enough to have an awesome pilot who was such a sweetheart and a first officer who...well kept me on my toes. We ended our first day at a beautiful hotel that overlooked the Mississippi river. I never get sick of looking at that thing. I felt SO spoiled and very grateful to be starting my career where i have when i saw the size of my bed! One of the  first things i did was test it out..i guess it did the job ;) 

On my second day we left the hotel at 6:15 A.M. which came way too soon. I was finally starting to really know the plane i was flying in and getting comfortable with my announcements. I was relaxed just a little bit until my lovely first officer introduced me like they usually do. Instead of the regualr "ali will be your flight attendant today.." he told the entire cabin how i just got out of high school and my biggest accomplishment in life so far was winning the spelling champ compettion at my high school. As the entire cabin looked up and stared at me like they had just seen lady gaga wearing normal clothes i could feel myself turn beat red. That last flight was a little shaky. The best part was when i had two old ladys that were "just so proud of me and their grandson had as well".  I had to let them down easy that my FO was a fibber. 

Thanks a lot dude :)

I was so excited to end my first trip when i stepped off the aircraft i could have ran back to the shuttle. I probably would have if a drunk passenger from that last flight weren't flailing his arms and screaming my name across the airport. He wanted to tell me goodbye. Oh yes apparently i am that good....

A Minnesota saturday Night Out..

        Last Saturday we decided that enough was enough of the hotel and we hit the town! There is an amazing outdoor seafood restaurant by Minnehaha falls that we all have been dying to try...unfortunately so had everyone else. The line was an hour and a half and with my first BIG GIRL trip the next day we decided to not waste too much time. However you cant go to Minnehaha falls and not take in the scenery a little!P.S the lucky man in this picture is phoenix! Basically hes my Minnesota boyfriend and Adam should be jealous! He is the cutest thing ever.

 

                 The four of us (and the cutie) decided to grab a bite to eat downtown. We heard of this all night art exhibit that had things all over Minneapolis and St Paul so it was meant to be. We ended up eating at this grill right in the heart of downtown. The weather ofcoarse was gorgeous and so we ate on their patio. I never thought i would love the city so much but something about it just feels so right and at home.While i was eating my chicken nuggets and watching the day to day life of downtown i couldn't help to have a carry Bradshaw moment. If you don't know me then i guess you wouldn't know that shes BASICALLY my icon. I don't know how much of a good thing that is or if i should be admitting that :) Dinner was fabulous i haven't ate at a bad restaurant yet! Of coarse the company made it ten times better....

                  After dinner we started our art tour of downtown. Our first stop was the the Faux towers. On the way up was a little bakery with the biggest cupcakes and cookies i have ever seen. Lets just say i learned what self control was and we had to run out of there fast. The Faux tower is beautiful and a lot of the celebrities stay there when they visit Minneapolis. I know right? Celebrities come to Minnesota? It was a shocker for me as well. On our way up to the observation deck we ended up getting lost and in the "W" club. Think pink everywhere, music, modern flowers, pink florescent dimmed lighting, and class written all over it. Needless to say i was in love and didn't want to leave however my wallet wasn't so we got directions and headed up to the observation deck. The artists up on the deck had created a screen over the deck to make it safer and different kinds of music to listen to while you over looked the city of Minneapolis. The view was breath taking! Phoenix was such a doll the entire time until this old man came up to him and whispered something in his ear. I have NEVER seen a kid so scared before in my life! I felt bad laughing but he was shaking and crying frantically it was hard to not find it amusing.When we finally calmed him down and stopped laughing the poor old man  feeling like a jerk came and apologized and as soon as phoenix saw him started screaming again. I haven't laughed that hard in awhile. That old man gave new meaning to people that are "kid friendly". After poor phoenix's two heart attacks we thought it might be best for his health to move on and see the horse being projected on the Mississippi river. It was supposed to be this huge light projection with a white horse galloping across the river. I say supposed to because the river was too high so they were only showing it in St Paul.

I swear minnesotans have something in their water.. i have quite figured out what yet. Our last site was the "Sperm and the Egg" I wish i was joking however i guess anything goes in art :) 

The Sperm

The Egg

Had enough of downtown life we were ready to head back to our hotel when we shortly found out that the light rail was down for the night. Perfect :) this was only after waiting for twenty minutes of Amy's pee dance. When you have to go you have to go right? And so she did.. poor trash cans. I think the girls hate me for taking pictures of everything but i know someday they will be glad. We have made so many memories already.

Dinner with a view..The mississippi river, good company, and some awesome city views..

 Tuggs Grill

 

St Paul

The Mississippi River..

Breath taking St Paul Cathedral...

I wish you could tell just how big this cathedral is unfortunately the pictures don't do it any justice! I'm definitely going to have to take a second trip because there was a high school graduation and i was unable to go inside however i was able to snap some awesome pictures!

 The Front Doors of the Cathedral...

 The Cathedral Courtyard

 The neighborhood around the cathedral was ALMOST as breath taking as the cathedral itself! The houses there have this Victorian/Gothic feel. Looks like Minnesota isn't so bad after all :)

Minnehaha Park

This park is beautiful! There are so many trails and places to hike, run, bike or whatever else your heart desires! Unfortunately i was with girls that were on call so we didn't have a chance to explore even half of the park. I cant wait to see the rest..

Minnehaha Falls.. the names here are fabulous..

 

Minehaha Creek...

City Lights

  Today i decided i would get a little adventurous and explore the city by myself. I had an amazing second day. In Minnesota they have a light rail that takes you to the airport, Mall of America, downtown and a couple of other places that is conveniently located right by the hotel that we are staying at. I was a little nervous about getting lost but im getting the hang of it. I'm pretty much pro the second day. Also people are very friendly on the light rail..maybe a little too much.

    Have i mentioned that i LOVE the weather? I don't miss salt lake city's bitter cold. Its very humid here but i would take that any day rather than the cold. To start my day i hopped on the light rail and started my trip to downtown. I'm only about 20 minutes away and the ride there is very scenic i was in awe of how green everything is. It really reminds me of Florida! It has the same green and swampy characteristics even the feel of Minnesota is similar. 

 First off downtown Minneapolis is GORGEOUS! I was shocked at all the different architectural buildings they had downtown. It was very modern VS Gothic if that makes sense at all. I quickly realized how big of a bubble that i have been in Utah after ten minutes of walking around. I didn't think i would have such a big of a cultural shock as i have since i have been here. My favorite part of downtown was all the characters on the corner singing..think American idol rejects. I loved it! This one character had on this elaborate skirt of patched that he had taped together with silver mask tape. The classiest part was him playing his accordion singing about his boyfriend. I had to stop and watch for awhile :) They have a lot of hip restaurants with tables on the side walk as well! I'm thinking a girls night is definitely in order soon as soon as we can all get in one place.

      I started off today feeling very alone and kind of unsure about the new changes that were happening all around me. On the light rail home i had the greatest sense of peace and reassurance that this experience would be another one that would shape me and make me the person that i am suppose to be. There is something so rewarding and empowering when you throw yourself into a situation where everything is brand new and unknown.

When i got back to the hotel my lovely roommate was home and we decided to venture out and grab some dinner. We ended up eating at the Cadillac Grill which is like a hip country western restaurant. I was impressed and stuffed by the time our girl talk and dinner was done. I really love that girl i never get sick of her southern drawl and all of her crazy sayings. To end my perfect day we stopped at cinnabon and ordered "the middle" seriously? who was the genius that thought of that? I love you!