Four Seasons in Minneapolis- Fall

By the end of first week of September my older sister- Viji- joined us for a week's stay. She worked with a New York firm and had to head there for work, so she managed to combine a vacation with us while there. It was the beginning of Fall, the weather was "Chilly", that's what she called it, but in our opinion it was still very very pleasant by Minneapolis' standards!!

We picked her up from the airport and she spent the next couple of days sleeping off her jet lag. Thereafter we started taking her out much like we had for our parents. Of course she was more independent and managed to head off on her own as well :-) She L-O-V-E-D the Mall of America and did tonnes of shopping there. She also picked up some stuff from Kohl's in Eagan. It was fun to shop with her, she always manages to pick out superb outfits for me, so I too did my share of shopping with her ;-)

Over the weekend we planned a trip to Duluth, it was wonderful! The lake walk was beautiful at this time of the year, we stayed at a hotel nearby and ensured we walked the length and breadth of Duluth. We didn't head as far as Gooseberry Falls, but still managed to take her to all the touristy points within Duluth. We had booked ourselves for a Fall trip on one of the boats/cruises. But it happened to be a very windy day and hence the tour was called off! So we just continued walking around the place. We did a little shopping there as well and picked up onyx rings and earrings! :-)

Soon it was the end of her trip, she was thrilled to see Fall colors beginning around our apartment tslef. The weekend after she left was when Fall colors blazed in all it's glory. We took my colleagues advice and headed out on a trip from Minneapolis-->Jay Cooke State Park-->Duluth-->Grand Marais-->Grand Portage. The trip was breath takingly beautiful!! Foliage Colors ranged from pale yellow to blazing red on this trip and we were wonderstruck!! It almost felt like we were driving through a rainbow!  It was wonderful to see the foliage colors reflected on our face and this was truly a dream-come-true trip for us!!

We stayed overnight at Caribou Highlands Lodge in Lutsen and drove all the way to the Canadian Border from there. The High Falls at Grand Portage was also a nice stop over before heading back.

For us, this Fall season was the most memorable and enjoyable and with all the best things, they are the most shortlived!! So Fall was over even before we knew it and the terrible Minnesota winter was impending. By then we were very determined to head back and AJ started initiating the process for our return to India. By end of December we knew our stay in Minneapolis was drawing to a close. Still winding up things at my work took a little longer by when the Winter itself was coming to an end (or so we thought, apparently this Winter continued for quite sometime) and the day arrived when we headed back home. We were very excited to be heading back, at the same time we had made some very good friends here whom we were leaving behind.... nostalgia set in as the flight took off from Humphrey Terminal, I clicked some parting shots of 494 and Eagan from the plane. Ths US trip had come to an end and for now it was 'Bbye USA!!....'