We only had time and money for a mini-vacation this year. So we decided to take Moon up to the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for the College of Liberal Arts preview last week.

Here are our photos of the trip, which included:

• A pit stop in Eau Claire to visit Chicken Unlimited, recommended by JM and Nichole.
• Two non-consecutive overnights at the Embassy Suites in Bloomington, because it was so much nicer and more comfortable than the much more expensive downtown Holiday Inn. (We needed to be downtown first thing in the morning on Thursday and didn’t want to mess with traffic.)
• A consumerist pilgrimage to Mall of America, where we bought a bunch of stuff from The Body Shop. I also had a chance to demo the Wii Fit (and got free socks!), and of course I want one of my own now.
• Dinner at Fogo, which is now my favorite Brazilian restaurant. The service and food were unbelieveable. We spent $275, but it’s okay because we had free breakfasts at the Embassy Suites and free breakfast/lunch at the UM the next day.
• The aforementioned preview day at UM. We ran into one of Moon’s friends from school, which was a fun surprise.
• A tour of the state capitol in St. Paul, because I have a thing about state capitols.
• Our first (but not last) taste of pie at Norske Nook in Osseo, conveniently located off the interstate.

We brought home a few souvenirs. The pecan fudge pie is already half eaten.