“Where are you going for Memorial Day weekend?”
“Minneapolis.”
“Minneapolis?! Why are you going there?!”
This was the standard conversation we had with friends and family in the weeks leading up to our trip to Minneapolis. The disbelief and shock expressed by those around us became almost comical.
And why would we go to Minneapolis? At the time, we only had 2 weeks left in Atlanta, so of all the places we could visit in our last few weeks, why would we choose Minnesota?
We chose Minneapolis, Minnesota as our Memorial Day weekend destination because the TBEx travel conference was being held there.
As our podcast has grown in the last few months, we’ve talked more and more about attending a conference related to travel or podcasting. Truth be told, up until recently, we didn’t think we were “legit” enough to attend a conference. We now know how very wrong we were. Let’s back up a second though.
Sometime during the decision making process of whether or not TBEx would be worth it, we were also trying to find a concert to go to of an artist that we both really like. While on a Goolge search, we discovered that the Zac Brown Band would be in Minneapolis the same weekend as TBEx, and the night before the conference actually started. Ticket prices were reasonable, so on the same day we bought both our TBEx ticket and our Zac brown ticket. We were going to Minneapolis!
In the weeks leading up to our trip, we didn’t feel the usual excitement of planning, exploring and seeing new things. Minneapolis held very little draw to us, and the only thing we knew about Minneapolis beforehand was the Mall of America. Hello shopping!
As we stepped out of the airport, we were greeted by warm winds, and a comfortable spring temperature. Unlike the relentless humidity and searing sun of the south, Minneapolis felt like a breath of fresh air. Our Uber driver picked us up and as we made our way to our AirBnb, he told us all the reasons he loves Minneapolis. Within moments of being off the interstate near the airport, we saw our first lake, and we were awestruck by the greenery, and the natural beauty that would prove to be all throughout Minneapolis.
Throughout the entire weekend, we had nothing but friendly interactions with local people, and we found that although Minneapolis isn’t the most “cool” city we’ve ever been too, it’s definitely a pleasant city to visit.
Riding a Segway
As part of our conference, we were given an array of activities to choose from. A Segway tour was one of them. Normally, this is something that we would have overlooked as silly or dumb, or for old people. Our good friends Julia and Steve are huge fans of Segway tours though, and before leaving Atlanta for their own adventures, they encouraged us to try it. We deeply respect Julia and Steve, so we decided to give it a go, and they were right – it’s actually really fun! Oh, and it’s not that hard either. I was really nervous that I was going to wipe out, break a bone, lose a tooth, or – worse – die! Nothing remotely close to any of those things happened to us.
What we would do next time
We arrived in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, had breakfast, and then went shopping at the Mall of America before making our way to see Zac Brown Band. On Sunday, we had our Segway Tour, and then later that evening, our conference began, and that went until Tuesday evening when we flew home. So, we didn’t have that much time to really explore Minneapolis.
Next time around, we would make sure to check out the sculpture gardens and see spoonbridge and cherry. This is on basically every Minneapolis to-do list, and it was one of the only things we had been recommended to do. Unfortunately the sculpture gardens was closed while we were there, and realistically, we didn’t have enough time. Oh well, next time!
Because we were in a conference all day, we eat most of our meals at the mall. I would definitely recommend to eat somewhere that isn’t the Mall of America. As with any mall, the cities best cultural dining experiences are not to be had in a mall.
Tips for TBEx
If you are a fellow travel blogger or podcast host, here are a couple of tips that we learned from TBEx:
- Bring business cards
- Ask questions
- Introduce yourself every chance that you get
- Be prepared to be tired – there isn’t much time for sleeping
- Network as much as you can – how often do you get to talk to like-minded people who don’t think you’re crazy for wanting to making money off your travel blog?!
- Don’t skip the speaker segment – these people have made it to the next level and are really living the dream. Listen and learn from them! They’re information is invaluable.
All in all, we thought Minneapolis was pretty cool, and we really enjoyed our time in the city and at TBEx. So, the next time someone tells us they’re going to Minnesota, we won’t scoff or laugh, because we know it’s not so bad!
