Spring Break in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin

Spring Break in Fargo, North Dakota; Bloomington, Minnesota; Duluth, Minnesota; and the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin – sounds like a dream, right?! My midwestern-native husband didn’t exactly jump for joy when I said I thought we should spend Spring Break there but my kids were ecstatic once they learned of the indoor theme park at Mall of America. What I didn’t realize was just how cold this area is in April. It snowed two out of the three days we were there.

Hello Spring!

“There’s more to life than a little money, you know…and here ya’ are, and it’s a beautiful day.”

Margie Gunderson – Fargo the movie

We flew Delta from BWI with a layover in Detroit – a 35-minute layover, to be exact. I learned a few important things about flying Delta that I feel compelled to share:

1. If you select Delta’s new(er) and budget-friendly basic economy airfare, pay close attention to whether or not you have the choice to select your seats. If not, you will be placed on “standby” status and assigned seats at the gate. Most likely these seats will be at the very back of the plane and if you have a connector, i.e. a 35-minute connector in Detroit, you could miss your next flight.
2. A 35-minute Delta layover at DTW is plenty of time but not if you are at the back of the plane. Most likely, your carry-on luggage will have been checked at the gate (because you are at the back of the plane) and 35 minutes is not enough time to get your luggage to the next destination.
3. Trying to call Delta’s customer service line is a complete waste of time. We tried for over two hours on two separate occasions to get clarity on why we were placed on standby seating but with crazy wait times and no one on the other end, we decided to figure it out at the gate instead.
4. Most Delta planes have built-in amazing entertainment tablets on headrests but earbuds are not included like they are on United flights. Delta’s flight attendants will sell them to you for $2 per set. My daughters highly approve of this Delta benefit.

We did make our connector but it was only because we asked the nice attendants at the Delta ticket counter to move our terrible seats that were assigned at the gate. I learned so much about Delta’s basic economy fare during this trip!

We stayed across from the Mall of America at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson. It was the perfect location from the mall and had an IHOP and TGI Fridays attached to the hotel. The large, complimentary breakfast buffet and indoor pool that was open until midnight gave this hotel 5 stars from our family.

Our first stop was in Fargo, ND and if you’ve never seen the Oscar-winning movie Fargo, you should before your visit; otherwise, the woodchipper in the Visitor’s Center will make no sense. The real highlight of this day was a stop at the Hjemkost Center across the river in Moorhead, MN where a Viking ship replica stands as an homage to the ship’s trek to Norway. We also loved the Stave Church replica from 1140.

We have always spent Easter at home but spending the holiday at the largest mall in the western hemisphere, the Mall of America, and its massive indoor theme park called Nickelodeon Universe was fun. Indoor mall shopping is alive and thriving in Bloomington, MN!

I wanted us to have a nice Easter dinner so I made a reservation at The Boat Club in Duluth, MN overlooking Lake Superior and the drawbridge. It wasn’t a short drive but I really wanted to see Lake Superior. We were pleasantly surprised to see Maryland’s Old Bay at every table and felt close to home. The restaurant and Fitger’s Complex area were wonderful finds. The snow and 28-degree weather didn’t feel like Easter but we loved our time in Duluth anyway.

Our trip concluded with a stop in Chippewa Falls and Eau Claire, Wisconsin where we were on a quest to find WI’s best cheese curds. We found something close, but our continued search might be reason enough to visit the eastern side of WI some other time. I hear Lambeau Field is nice!

I haven’t yet mentioned the Twin Cities for which MN is known. They really do look like twin cities sitting side by side and I was confused over which was which. All of this, its 10,000 lakes, and more made MN my favorite state out of the three.

4-Day Itinerary With Kids

Day	To	From	Mode	Departure Time	Arrival Time	Trip Notes
1 Good Friday	MSP Airport	BWI Airport	Delta Airlines	6:43PM	9:41PM	We rented a car through Thrifty and the process was A+ – we got to select any car we wanted, an upgrade over what we paid for.
	Country Inn & Suites by Radisson at Mall of America, Bloomington, MN	MSP Airport	Rental car	10:00PM	10:15PM	Prime location and great restaurants attached to the hotel. No complaints!
2 Sat	Complimentary breakfast at the hotel	Our hotel	Walk	7:30AM	7:35AM
	Fargo-Moorhead Visitor’s Center, Fargo, ND	Our hotel	Rental car	8:00AM	11:30AM	A must-stop for Fargo movie fans. The center also has a nice Welcome to ND for photos.
	Lunch at Sickie’s Garage Burgers & Brews, Fargo, ND	Visitor’s Center	Rental Car	12:00PM	12:05PM	I realize this isn’t an ideal name for a restaurant but it’s worth a stop. They have 50 different kinds of burgers to choose from and 50 brews on tap.
	Historic Fargo Theatre/Broadway Square, Fargo, ND	Sickie’s Garage	Rental Car	1:00PM	1:15PM	A must-stop – the art deco theatre from 1925 is said to be the most photographed spot in Fargo.
	Fargo Brewing Company, Fargo, ND	Downtown Fargo	Rental Car	1:45PM	2:00PM	This is a highly rated brewery in Fargo and with an IPA named The Woodchipper, we had to stop. I think my husband gave the IPA a 3.8 out of 5.
	Hjemkost Center, Moorhead, MN	Fargo Brewing	Rental Car	2:15PM	2:30PM	A must-stop! It’s about 5 minutes from downtown Fargo. We loved the history of the Viking ship and learning a little bit about Scandinavian culture. The Stave Church replica is the closest you’ll find without being in Norway.
	Bonanzaville, Fargo, ND	Hjemkost Center	Rental Car	3:15PM	3:30PM	Unfortunately, despite the website and social media reflecting that it would be open on this date, it wasn’t. This is supposed to be an outdoor museum of ND’s prairie past.
	Dinner at Space Alien’s Grill & Bar, Albertville, MN	Bonanzaville	Rental Car	3:30PM	6:45PM	I recommend this if you have kids, or an affection for aliens. I have both! There is a large game room and kids win tickets that can be exchanged for prizes. The food was decent and the atmosphere was out of this world!
	Mall of America Bloomington, MN	Albertville, MN	Rental Car	7:15PM	7:30PM	A must-stop in MN! The largest mall in the Western Hemisphere, there are over 500 stores and over 50 restaurants to choose from with an indoor theme park, Flyover America ride, putt-putt golf, Legoland, Crayola Experience, and an indoor aquarium.
	Our hotel	Mall of America Shopping	Rental Car	8:00PM	8:05PM	We barely made a dent in shopping but our favorite stop was the M&M Store (the largest in America) where you can select from the Wall of Chocolate to build your own candy creation!
	Indoor pool at our hotel	Our room	Walk	9:00PM	10:30PM	A major bonus is that the pool is open until midnight.
3 Easter Sunday	Complimentary breakfast at our hotel	Our room	Walk	9:30AM	9:35AM
	Nickelodeon Universe, Mall of America, MN	Our hotel	Rental Car	10:50AM	11:00AM	Nickelodeon Universe is the nation’s first indoor theme park spread out over 7 acres. The mall opens at 11:00am on Sundays so we were first in line for rides. The lines were really short! My girls, ages 8 and 15, loved the 3 rollercoasters and went on the upside-down Sponge Bob Rock Bottom Plunge coaster 4 times. They also loved the VR rides and I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shell Shock ride!
	Lunch at Modern Mexican, Mall of America	Nickelodeon Universe	Walk	1:00PM	1:05PM	There are more than 50 restaurants to choose from at the Mall! I let my family decide on this one – and it just so happened that it’s the only restaurant in the mall that sells Coke products and features made-from-scratch recipes. Score!
	Shopping at the Mall of America, Bloomington, MN	Nickelodeon Universe	Walk	1:45PM	1:50PM	There weren’t a ton of shops open for Easter but it was here that we discovered Nectar Bath Treats for the first time and fell in love!
	The Boat Club Restaurant, Duluth, MN	Mall of America	Rental Car	3:00PM	5:30PM	This upscale seafood restaurant is located inside the historic Fitger’s Complex, Duluth’s first brewery, which we loved. The food, service, and view were amazing. The cold snowy temps – not so much! Duluth is also where Bob Dylan was born and I spotted a few streets and areas named after him. Downtown Duluth was beautiful!
	Duluth Drawbridge Duluth, MN	The Boat Club	Rental Car	6:30PM	6:45PM	This movable aerial lift bridge is a landmark in Duluth which leads cargo ships into the twin ports from Lake Superior.
	Our hotel, Bloomington, MN	Duluth, MN	Rental Car	7:00PM	9:30PM	It snowed on the way back to Bloomington so we were thankful to be in a vehicle with AWD.
4 Mon	Complimentary breakfast at our hotel / Hotel check out	Our hotel	Walk	10:00AM	10:05AM
	Leine Lodge, Leinenkugels, Chippewa Falls, WI	Bloomington, MN	Rental Car	10:30PM	12:00PM	Jacob Leinenkugel built his lake house just north of Chippewa Falls and the Leine Lodge is a hub for Leinenkugel’s fans. There is lots of branded merchandise to choose from and special batches of beer that are hard to find in Maryland.
	Lunch at The View on Lake Wissota, Chippewa Falls, WI	Leinenkugel’s	Rental car	12:30PM	12:45PM	A friendly staff member at Leine’s Lodge recommended this restaurant for the best homemade cheese curds. We also had some delicious Mac & Cheese pizza.
	Shopping in downtown Eau Claire, WI	Chippewa Falls, WI	Rental Car	1:30PM	2:00PM	A must-stop! Downtown Eau Claire is charming. I loved Tangled Up in Hue for handmade local art and The Local Store which features locally made gifts. The Local Store is probably one of the best downtown shops I’ve ever been to!
	Wisconsin Logging Museum, Eau Claire, WI	Downtown Eau Claire, WI	Rental Car	3:15PM	3:30PM	Paul Bunyan Logging Camp, an authentic 1890ss logging camp reproduction with artifacts of the industry that helped build America. You can even get your picture taken with Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox!
	MSP Airport	Eau Claire, WI	Rental Car	4:00PM	5:30PM
	BWI Airport	MSP Airport	Delta Airlines	8:15PM	11:41PM