Moving again!

I've gotten a job and I've moved again!  I have a job teaching ESL at the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade levels at Cold Spring Elementary, in Cold Spring, Minnesota.  I moved to St. Cloud this weekend, which is about 20 minutes from Cold Spring, and is bigger, so there is more to do, and more housing and shopping opportunities.  Brian and I drove the UHaul from Denver and had a fun roadtrip on the way.

On Thursday we drove through Ogallala, Nebraska, and stopped at the Petrified Wood Gallery. Without pictures to show, it's impossible to describe the very very cool artwork these two 80-year-old twin guys create from petrified wood and other rocks and minerals.  And it was free! We really enjoyed the gallery.

We drove north through Nebraska, and saw some beautiful country. Rolling hills, empty highway. I could imagine being a pioneer traveling through an endless territory devoid of people.  We got to South Dakota in late afternoon, and hit Mitchell around 7pm.  After checking into a hotel, we headed directly to the Corn Palace.

The world's only!!

I have wanted to see the Corn Palace since I was in middle school and had a friend that would visit almost every year and tell me about it.  Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.  The outside is redecorated every year in late August (so we saw it at the very end of its life).  The brick building stays put, but the murals are changed each year, according to a new theme.  12 different colors of native corn are used, as well as native grasses and straw.  We went inside, because it is free!  There was lots of interesting history told via posters on the wall, and we watched a video about the corn palace as well.  Turns out, the first corn palace was in Sioux City, Iowa, but a huge flood wiped out most of the businesses, so they couldn't afford to build it one year. That was the year Mitchell swooped in on the idea and built their own corn palace. They also did this because the town next to theirs, Plankinton, had a grain palace that was attracting lots of visitors.  But have you ever heard of the Plankinton Grain Palace? No, you have not.  The businesspeople of Mitchell knew how to hype up a building made of grain.  The corn palace has been redecorated every year since then, with the exception of a few years in WWII because corn was needed for the war effort.  Inside is a big auditorium that is used for high school basketball games, local theater, pageants, and other events.  The auditorium is decorated with murals depicting South Dakota scenes, totally made out of corn.  These murals are permanent and get new corn every 10 years-ish. We loved the corn palace!

People, these murals are MADE OF CORN!

It says 'Minnesota Welcomes You'. The light was behind it, it's impossible to read.

The next day we drove to Minnesota!  We stopped for pastries at this famous cafe in Pipestone, then carried on to St. Cloud.  I got the keys to my apartment, and we crashed at the hotel. Have you ever seen the show Tiny House, Big Living? Neither had we, but we watched 3 episodes in a row, and highly enjoyed it. Mom and dad got in about 9pm (they flew in after work). 

A place for everything in the trailer

Saturday was moving day.  I hired a local college guy to help us unload, and he and Brian were amazing at getting all my stuff up to my 3rd floor apartment.  Dad and I built my bed, and mom helped unpack and return the UHaul.  In the evening, we went to Clemens gardens, a beautiful city garden in St. Cloud on the Mississippi river.  We even saw my friends Troy and Jenean there!  It was a great evening, warm, peaceful, very nice.

Clemens Gardens

Sunday we drove out to Cold Spring to check out my school and the town.  We stopped by the St. Boniface parish festival and had some cheese curds, and walked around the town.  Brian and Dad went over to St. John's University to sightsee, and Mom and I went grocery shopping.  Unpacked a bit more, built some more furniture, and said our goodbyes! Brian was so so helpful during this move, I could not have done it without him!!

Work hard, nap hard

Tomorrow I head to my first day of new staff training.  I'm excited! Everything feels great about this next big adventure!!