Crowdstrike Weekend Part II: Minneapolis, MN
Goals of Trip:
Bring a little R&R to a business trip
Reconnect with college friends
Enjoy temperate Midwestern summers
Keywords: The Midwest, Crowdstrike outage, blue screen of death
Time visited: Midsummer/Late July
Don’t forget to pack:
Capsule wardrobe for maximum business casual combinations
Reusable water bottle, tote bag, and comfortable walking shoes
Hats and hair ties for combating humidity
Travel:
Remember that inconvenient, yet iconic Crowdstrike outage in the middle of July, with blue screens everywhere and the FAA in complete disarray? Well I experienced the full spectrum of human emotions stemming from the stress of flying (a multi-city trip no less) over the course of that weekend.
Unlike the first leg of my trip with Southwest, I flew Delta from LaGuardia to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and experienced significantly more complications. Even though it was the first flight of the day for both this particular aircraft and crew, (who were all present and accounted for) our flight was delayed, then on-time, and then ultimately delayed again. We ended up leaving LaGuardia at the time we were supposed to touchdown in Minneapolis.
From there it was smooth sailing–that is, until we arrived at MSP. Between a freak thunderstorm and running low on fuel, we had to divert to Duluth (North Shore on the coast of Lake Superior) for a couple of hours and then finally we made it back down to Minneapolis, 6 hours later than our intended arrival time.
Accommodations:
I stayed at the Graduate Minneapolis, courtesy of my business arrangements. A line of hotels affiliated with college and university towns, each of these accommodations is retrofitted with nostalgic academic-inspired prints and patterns (always color coordinating with the corresponding school), to rouse some kind of school spirit from visitors.
As an academic I appreciated the abundance of plaid accents, and tried to stay out of the way of the visiting students and athletic teams. The hotel was centrally located for the buildings I needed to access during my seminar and there were plenty of restaurants in the surrounding vicinity.
Day 1 - Sunday
6am Hang Out at LaGuardia
Considering I was running on significantly less sleep than usual and my partner had already departed, I dragged myself down to my gate and promptly fell asleep on my bag waiting for the gate agents to arrive. I roused myself around the time I thought they would announce boarding, only to find that the flight had been delayed, so I texted my friend who was picking me up from the airport to tell him about the delay and then tried to catch a few more Z’s.
1pm Rerouted thru Duluth????
We eventually boarded and departed LGA, and I continued to catch up on my beauty sleep during the flight. However, as we neared our destination the captain announced over the intercom that some unexpected weather around Minneapolis had us in a holding pattern until it cleared–or at least it would if we had enough fuel to do so. We ended up emergency landing in Duluth, a charming shoreline town along the coast of Lake Superior on the northern end of Minnesota, to refuel.
2:30pm Finally Land in Minneapolis
By the time we finished refueling, avoiding weather, and finally touching down at MSP it was mid-afternoon–almost six hours later than our intended arrival time. Every single passenger, myself included, was hungry, grumpy, and cooped up! Since I had conveniently texted my college buddy my flight details, he had been tracking our progress so he would know when to pick me up from the airport.
3:30pm Late Lunch at Tea House & Catch up with Friends
Family style Szechuan cuisine cures most ills–especially travel fatigue. After rescuing me from MSP, my buddy insisted on taking me to Tea House in Minneapolis. This was the best possible choice for my first meal in Minneapolis, not simply because I was starving and exhausted, but also because I love Szechuan cuisine. We enjoyed xiao long bao, mapo tofu, hot and spicy dumpling soup, and several other delicious options.
6pm Check into the Graduate Hotel Minneapolis
After catching up all afternoon (and polishing off those leftovers from Tea House!) my friend dropped me off at my hotel. I stayed at the Graduate Minneapolis, which was was centrally located for the buildings I needed to access during my seminar and there were plenty of restaurants in the surrounding vicinity. There were several other weary travelers checking in around the same time, and we all seemed eager to check into our rooms and sleep off our blue screen of death travel fatigue. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
Day 2 - Monday
7:30am Seminar @ U of M
My Monday started off bright and early with a 7:30am start time. I met my fellow bleary-eyed conference participants in the lobby of the Graduate and we walked over to the University of Minnesota together. We had a great first day–courtesy of the iconic Midwestern hospitality, and ultimately had to balance the continued logistic ramifications of the Crowdstrike outage with half of the participants Zooming in from locations around the country.
5pm Drinks & Dinner at Number 12 Cider
The Twin Cities have an incredible range of breweries, cideries, and other watering holes, which I was eager to explore. Conveniently, there is a light rail that connects the two cities, and the Green Line runs directly through the heart of campus. I hopped on the train and popped out right in front of Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, and made my way to Number 12 Cider.
As a cider girlie, I was thrilled by the selection at Number 12 and chose to try a number of their more popular ciders with a flight. They were all delicious, and varied from crisp, to dry, sweet, to tart. I wish I had the good sense to order a growler at the time, but alas I’ll simply have to return to Number 12 Cider the next time I’m in the Twin Cities.
Day 3 - Tuesday
5pm Dinner with Colleagues at The Market @ Malcolm Yard
After another productive day, a group of my fellow conference goers and I decided to explore the area around the University of Minnesota and found ourselves at The Market at Malcolm Yard.
Located in an older, industrial part of town in renovated a train depot, the Market at Malcolm Yard has successfully embodied the culinary variety, drink selection, and innovative use of space that most food halls fail to achieve. I’ve been to many food halls since their rise in popularity a few years ago, and while I enjoy the creative food stalls and unique architecture–many still leave guests feeling overwhelmed by cavernous spaces.
Malcolm Yard utilizes every inch of the space in their facility including the outdoor seating, which is made all the more intimate with fire pits, encircled with Adirondack chairs and string lights with their warm glow. The food selection was incredible and I enjoyed the Cajun food stall while my friends tried selections from the Indian, Asian fusion, and burger stalls. It was delicious, and a fabulous opportunity to connect with this network of colleagues.
Day 4 - Wednesday
7pm Dinner at Red Rabbit
After a fabulous end to my conference, we decided to visit my friend’s old stomping grounds in St. Paul and treat ourselves to dinner at the Red Rabbit. This area of Grand Avenue in St. Paul has been a charming community staple with their classic Italian cuisine and brick-enclosed patio. We enjoyed burrata over charred focaccia and delicious pasta.
Day 5 - Thursday
10:30am Coffee @ Cafe Ceres
Cafe Ceres is a Black-woman owned, James Beard Award-winning cafe. Their lattes were decadent and just the kickstart I needed for a full day of sightseeing across Minneapolis and St. Paul. We visited the downtown Minneapolis location on Washington Square and soaked up the architectural elegance with our caffeine. I would love the opportunity to revisit this particular location in the winter just to watch snow drift down while I enjoy their coffee and pastries with a good book.
12pm Botanic Gardens at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory
Two botanical gardens in the span of a week, yes please!
The Botanic Gardens at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory are a verdant escape in the middle of St. Paul–even more so in those midwestern winters! The gorgeous atriums were overflowing with vines and blossoms, all at the height of their seasonal growth. The Japanese gardens had a fantastic collection of bonsais, (some older than us!) and a meditative path that circled the pond. I could say more, but I’ll let the pictures do these gardens justice.
2pm Mall of America
While I’m not the same mallrat I used to be in high school, I never miss an opportunity to check out the Mall of America. From an amusement park to a baseball stadium to every store you can possibly think of–the Mall of America has it all.
We explored Nickelodeon Universe with its roller coasters and rides, checked out the lone seat remaining in what used to be the Metropolitan Stadium, former home of the Minneapolis Twins, and critiqued the various fashion trends displayed throughout the various windows.
4pm Utepils Brewing
From the Mall of the America, we needed to refresh ourselves, so naturally we went to another brewery. Utepils is a picturesque, European-style brewery that has an enormous taproom, plenty of entertainment (live music, corn hole, and meat raffles) and, of course, delicious beer.
While I’m not one to wax poetically about IPAs or Stouts, I do appreciate a bubbly, Bavarian Hefeweizen–and Utepils has several to choose from. We made our selections and took our beers to the gorgeous seating area next to Basset Creek. Between the dragonflies skipping over the water, the sea grass rippling in the stream, and the heron slowly making its way down the bank, it was an idyllic setting for our happy hour.
8pm SKATE NIGHT
As a couple of unapologetic nineties babies, my friend and I have bonded over our love for roller skating–particularly at rinks with the black and neon carpet that hasn’t been replaced since 1999. So obviously we had to practice our moves at the adult skate night at Cheap Skate all the way up in Coon Rapids.
While this was a bit of a drive, we had plenty of 90s and 00s hits to blast along the way–it really set the mood for the evening’s adventures. We skated for a couple of hours, busting out our best moves to Y2K club hits and trying not to bust a hip when we inevitably fell down. It was absolutely fantastic–neon-spotted carpet and all.
Day 6 - Friday
9:30am Coffee & Pastries at Carma Coffee
The perfect end to this business trip: delicious coffee and pastries. On the way to the airport we stopped for breakfast at Carma Coffee in St. Paul.
When I say, I’ve never had a pastry with the perfect ratio of fluffiness, moisture, and melt in your mouth-ability, I mean it. The sweet and savory buns at Carma were decadent and delicious. We swapped bites between the savory ham and cheese, and the sweet maple pecan buns, not wasting a single crumb. The lattes were the perfect complement to these pastries and the best way to kick off another day of travel.
From there we headed back to the airport and I caught my on-time, uneventful flight home! This was the perfect ending to a multi-city, Crowdstrike adventure.
