On Saturday, Kate and I finally set out on an epic adventure. We had been planning on doing it for years, and the time had finally come.
We were going to Darwin, Minnesota to see the World’s Largest Ball of Twine Made by One Man.
Darwin isn’t far from St. Paul, but we made the trip count.
On the way to Darwin. Orpheus was excited too.
We left just after 10 am on Saturday morning and promptly left the cities, venturing through many small towns. We stopped at an unfortunate gas station in Montrose for snacks and a bathroom. The bathroom was located in the laundromat next to the gas station.
There was no toilet paper, only paper towel.
It was worth stopping, though, for the fifty cent mustaches we acquired from one of those gumball machine thingies.
I think the ‘staches were meant to be style-able. Hm.
Anyway, we drove some more, and Darwin is so small we drove right through. The twine ball used to be right off the highway, but it was moved and we had missed our turn. Not by much, only a few hundred feet or so.
Well.
Obviously we made it to the twine ball, and it was beyond glory.
Oh, also, I cut my hair again.
As you can see, I was pretty stoked. That’s the twinehut behind me.
School bell.
There was an old schoolhouse in town once upon a time. This is what remains.
Encased in plexiglass so hooligans don’t try to set it on fire.
And here is the twine itself.
Kate was also very excited.
We checked out the museum and picked up some souvenirs. I acquired a nifty shot glass with, what else, a picture of the twine ball etched on the side.
After Darwin, we rolled over to Litchfield to see what was up. Lunch at Taco John’s, a visit to the GAR, and some antique store wandrin’ was… what was up… before we decided to make our way home.
Our first stop on the way back to St. Paul was Thirsty’s – the only bar in Dassel, MN.
We enjoyed some Nordeast. Suck it, haters.
After beers and waters, we were on the road again. We made one more stop for ice cream before we rolled into Delano, where we met this chicken:
The chicken was conveniently located across the street from Coborn’s, where we stopped for more goodies to take to the drive-in later that night. Fried chicken (sorry, new friend), spinach dip, Hawaiian bread, grapes, and some tasty smoked gouda. Maybe not traditional movie snacks but super delicious.
So, yeah. after our epic adventure, what better way to wine down than an evening at the drive in?
Except there were storms a-brewin’.
Not long into the first movie – Cowboys vs Aliens – the wind picked up and everyone retreated into their cars. Most people stayed until the end of the movie. We left as the credits started rolling. There were two more movies slated to play for the night, and it looked like some people were going to stick it out, but I think leaving when we did was probably the right choice considering the amount of water on the roads. We made it tour our homes safe and sound, and I for one am still satisfied with the awesomeness of our day.
fearlessly, myself. 