Road Trips!
Road trips have been one of the most fun parts of college, in my experience. I have really only road tripped to houses of my Minnesotan friends, but it’s always been a blast! Getting away from campus for a weekend and seeing where your new friend grew up and meeting his or her family is always a super fun thing to do, and it always helps with the bonding. Megabus is a great tool if you’re looking to travel around the Midwest for cheap-that’s how I’m getting to Illinois this weekend.
Here are some road trips I have been on:
Minneota, Minnesota, a tiny town in western Minnesota where my friend Emily lives. Emily’s parents came and got us and we went there for the weekend. She lives on a farm, which was so much fun! We rode horses, drove a four-wheeler, played cards and drank cappuccinos from her awesome cappuccino machine. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend and one of my favorite memories from freshman year.
Emma and I on horses at Emily's farm!
Decorah, Iowa, a beautiful town where Luther College is located. Emma and I went here, along with my sister Lauren and our friend Isabel, to see a Relient K concert! We stayed at my parent’s house in Waterloo for the night so Emma got to see where I grew up, which was great fun.
Kansas City, Kansas, where we went on a Saint Paul’s Outreach mission trip in March of my freshman year! We stayed at a retreat center and worked with Habitat for Humanity, and helped at a food pantry at Metro Lutheran Ministries. It was so much fun driving down there with friends and we were such a close-knit family by the time we got back! I highly recommend going on mission trips if you ever get the chance, there’s tons of opportunities for them at St. Thomas through VISION and everyone who goes on one absolutely loves it!
Jumping off the deck of the house we helped with!
Owatonna and Faribault! These are two of my favorite suburbs because two of my favorite people live there: my friends Mara and Jillian! I have been fortunate enough to stay with both of them, usually when I’m going to or from St. Paul and am driving myself. When I was in Owatonna, Mara gave me a tour of the town and we went to her high school and the town square. It was beautiful! When I was in Faribault, Jillian took me to these awesome nature trails and we climbed this hill and got a really pretty view of the town.
Over the next two and a half years, I will hopefully add Wisconsin Rapids and Sioux Falls to the list! I hope you guys all get a chance to take a few road trips in your college career. Take care!