Have A Christmas Staycation

Staycations At Home, , ,

If you’re looking for a great Minnesota winter Staycation for your family, but your budget can’t stretch beyond the drive-thru at the local Mickey D’s, there’s an old-fashioned way to have fun in your own neighborhood.  And, best of all, it’s free!

Target Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis
Holidazzle Parade

These days, Minneapolis is blessed with The Holidazzle Parade, which runs every Thursday through Sunday evenings until December 19th.  It’s a treasure that most cities would envy, with professional floats and some very hearty performers.  It always reminds me of the Main Street Electrical Parade in Disneyland.  I was living in California when Target started Holidazzle, and haven’t had the opportunity or ambition to go see it for myself yet, but this could be the year.  The Holidazzle website shows the parade schedule and parking information.

When I was growing up in Minneapolis, our family would often do what the family in the popular movie “A Christmas Story” did.  We’d bundle ourselves up in our heavy winter coats, hop into the car and head downtown and see the Christmas displays in the stores along Nicollet Avenue.  Yes, Nicollet Avenue, before it became Nicollet Mall.
Continue reading →

Make It Home For The Holidays

General

We’ve all gone through the holiday rush before, but with another snowstorm due just in time for Thanksgiving it’s a good time to remind ourselves to keep calm when you’re driving in winter weather.  The roads always seem just fine until that layer of water starts to form enough ice to put you into a spin. So for everyone’s sake, slow the heck down! There will still be turkey when you get there!  60 MPH is only 17% faster than 50 MPH, but you’ll probably be frazzled when you arrive.  Hardly worth the half hour or so you’d save on a major trek, and insignificant when traveling around the Twin Cities.  70 MPH is 29% faster than 50 MPH, but in the kind of weather we’re expecting you’ll probably end up in the ditch.

And Buckle Up.   I’ve been following the statistics on drunk driving lately, and they all tell the same story: not wearing a seatbelt dramatically increases your chance of dying in an accident.  Your not showing up will leave more turkey for everyone else, but would throw a damper on everyone’s appetite.

Speaking of spins, there was a nice article in the Minneapolis Tribune this morning on winter driving by Paul Brand of Minneapolis’ AAA office.  It had a great illustration along with advice on regaining control of your car if it starts to spin.  It includes the common advice of turning into the spin, and a tip on how to use your brakes:

“For anti-lock brakes, continuous firm pressure is recommended.  If your vehicle isn’t equipped with an ABS system, pump the brake pedal as rapidly as possible.  If the brakes lock, instantly ease pressure on the brake pedal until the front tires begin turning again.  If you’ve lost all control, then stand on the brake pedal completely.  Locking all four tires will keep the vehicle moving in a straight line even in a spin, so its path will be more predictable to other drivers.”

To which I think he should have added, “We’ll miss you.”