First Stop: Minnesota

If you haven’t read the introduction posts please read the first one here and the second here.

Hello and welcome back to Nomad Dad Life!

Today we will start digging into the places we went to while traveling. First up is our trip to Minnesota. Now this might be cheating a little bit because we are from Minnesota. Going in we would already have an idea of where we want to go and what we want to do. We also had the opportunity to take our kids to their favorite places before we really started traveling. Believe it or not, Minnesota has more to offer than just snow and mosquitoes. Minnesota is known for its lakes and fishing, so many of those are among my favorite spots. Unfortunately, I won’t be sharing any of my fishing spots. . .but here are our favorite places in Minnesota that I can share with you!

Alexandria

Early ice fishing. Always need to bring snacks if you want to get any fishing done with kids!

Alexandria is a small town located in the heart of lakes country. It is about a two-hour drive from Minneapolis, and it is a place many people flock to in the summer. I did complain about the Minnesota winters, but maybe I’m a little crazy (or a lot if you ask my wife), I prefer the winters more than the summers (Stockholm syndrome maybe?). Ice fishing is my favorite winter pastime and has been for as long as I can remember. You have plenty of options for fishing in this area. That is all the farther I’ll go on that topic so that I don’t give anything away.

Most people prefer this area in the summer. It has endless amounts of outdoor recreation. Of course, the most popular ones include water. Fishing, wakeboarding, skiing, tubing, and even scuba diving are popular in this area. If a lake or beach is too busy, you can drive 5 minutes and have multiple other options. There are plenty of rental shops in the area if you need a boat, pontoon, or anything else for your weekend on the lakes.

If you are looking for other activities not water related there is a lot to do in the area. Central Lakes Trail is a paved 55-mile travel perfect for bikes, roller blades, walking, running, or snowmobiling in the winter. It has a convenient access point near the historic downtown area of Alexandria. The downtown area has a ton of local shops and restaurants and is a great place for anyone visiting the area to take time to explore.

Stalker Lake Golf Course

My shot probably ended up in the water, even though it’s behind me!

More non-water related activities, or in my case, still water related, is golf. Doesn’t matter where the water hazard is, my golf ball will find it! There are many courses to choose from in the area, 11 within 20 miles of Alexandria. My favorite is a little outside of that area, a small 9-hole course called Stalker Lake Golf Course. It’s located roughly 40 minutes west of Alexandria.

Stalker Lake Golf Course is a family-owned course. The owners are there every single day working on the course and it shows. The greens and fairways are excellent, so I have no excuse for missing so many putts. Pin placement maybe?? Yeah, let’s go with that. I know the point of golf is to shoot the lowest score possible. However out here I like to enjoy myself, so I always end up shooting way more shots than what they consider “par.” It just gives me more time on the course so it’s not the fact that I’m a bad golfer of course. . .

There is a bar & grill at the clubhouse with excellent food options. The staff are extremely friendly and prompt with their service. They will make sure you don’t go thirsty here! During the winter off season the bar and grill is open Thursday-Sunday. There is always something going on the days they are open. Poker, darts, trivia night, and bar bingo are just some of the things they have going on to help you get through the long Minnesota winters. They also have a simulator available year-round to help you fix that slice!

Fergus Falls

Heading a little farther west is one of our kids’ favorite places to go, Otter Cove Children’s Museum in Fergus Falls. Otter Cove has a lot of things to keep your kids occupied and busy for hours. They have a play area with some slides if they need to burn off some energy. They have multiple interactive exhibits for your kids to explore. There is even a large sandbox for the kids to play in when the sand outside is frozen.

Fergus has three breweries you can check out when the kids get worn out from playing Outstate, Fergus Brewing Company, and Union Pizza & Brewing Company. If you want to get something to eat with the family while you relax with a local craft beer, Union Pizza is going to be your go-to option. It is only 2 blocks from Otter Cove so it’s a nice quick trip if the kids get hangry!

Places in Alexandria to bring kids

Mac : Hey Farva **what’s the name of that restaurant you like with all the goofy shit on the walls and the mozzarella sticks?** Farva : You mean Shenanigans?

Alexandria has an indoor playground our children really enjoyed as well. Shenanigans (Insert Super Trooper reference here) is run by the Alexandria School District. Unlike Otter Cove, it is a playground, not a children’s museum. They do have a toddler area, so kids ages 1-12 will be able to enjoy themselves here. During the summer months, there are some great playgrounds and parks for your kids to enjoy. The most popular one in the area is Lake Brophy County Park.

Lake Brophy Park has a playground, swimming beach, and trails for hiking or mountain biking. There are also fire pits and a dock for fishing. There are multiple picnic areas and overlook benches for great views of the lake. It has direct access to the Central Lakes Trail, making it a great place to start and end your trip on the trail. In the winter months there is a groomed sledding hill for the kids to enjoy.

Casey’s Amusement Park is a great place to go with older kids, or for adults who like to act like kids. They have multiple go kart tracks including a drift kart track. They have batting cages, mini golf, bumper boats, and an arcade. My first summer job was here fixing go karts when I turned 16! I spent a lot of time here throughout the summers of high school; unfortunately it was mostly working. The owner takes a lot of pride in the park, and he was there every single day that it was open when I worked there. Maybe that was just to keep an eye on me and make sure things were getting fixed properly, though. . .

Garden Bar on 6th

A busy day of activities will work up an appetite. Now we are getting to another one of my favorite things. Food! Alexandria has many restaurants with locally sourced food. The Garden Bar on 6^th is worth checking out in the downtown area. They offer many healthier options which, as I’m getting older, I’m realizing I should eat more of. They have a good variety of wine and beer which I can reward myself with for eating healthily! That’s how it works, right?

After talking to the chef, I learned they hand cut all their steaks and seafood, all of the soups are homemade, and all the meat is smoked and cooked in house (turkey, pastrami, pork chops, leg of lamb, etc.). So they don’t have all the preservatives in their food, especially the deli meats. They offer quinoa on the menu, which is one of the healthiest and best foods for you. People will eat a cup or two of it when they are under the weather and let it do its thing. They are back to normal before they know it! They recently added “Duck Frites” to their menu. This is hand cut French fries deep fried in duck fat. It is an entirely different flavor with the duck fat for French fries and something worth trying!

The next installment of Nomad Dad Life will continue our journey through Minnesota. Please follow our journey on social media for more updates and pictures of where we visit! Click an icon below and follow!

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