*Minnesota*

It occurred to me recently that many of my readers are not actually from the US, so here's a post on my home state!

One of the first snowfalls of the season:

I was attempting to show how many clothes you need to wear in 17 Fahrenheit with wind and snow, but half of the clothes are beneath the surface! I have on 2 pairs of pants and socks and usually wear a scarf and ear muffs as well. You can still see a touch of snow on the tips of my boots after a half hour of shoveling snow.

The first snowfall is always magical and even romantic in its own way, but shoveling snow loses its appeal after about 10 minutes, especially when you can hear the hum of someone's snow blower down the street. It will take Mr. Snowblower half the time and effort to clear his driveway!

I helped shovel too, but didn't jump into the photo this time. ;-)

We got about a foot of snow!

Pine trees are certainly have the most beautiful display of snowy branches.

This precarious piling of snow only lasts for the first hour or so after a snowfall. After that, the wind blows the snow off the branches so only a thin coating remains.

This looks like a framed photo, but is in fact a view from my window.

Come to Minnesota for your chance to see a winter wonderland!

*NYC*

There's a lot more to come in this post!

Finally my years long dream coming true: on the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty! The first time I went to NYC we got there too late for the last ferry, so I wasn't able to see it. I am so grateful my friend Jen allowed us to extend our stay in NYC so that we could see it before we left! God even cared, because our bus to Boston was conveniently delayed just long enough for us to check out of our apartment and get there in time to board it!

The tall building with the spire is "One World," the new world trade center. It is currently the tallest building in the western hemisphere, built on a bedrock of schist.




Not a great pic of Jen or me, but there's the Statue of Liberty! How frustrated I was to find that you had to have previously purchased more expensive tickets to view it from the pedestal or from the crown! Ah well, next time!



Hunger called us, so we stepped into Virgil's Barbecue for food. I'd like to take the credit and say I ate all that food singlehandedly, but Jen and I couldn't even finish eat together! It was delicious, though.



Laying down flat is the best way to try to capture the One World, though even then it's still impossible to get the whole thing unless you back up significantly. The glass indentation at the bottom of the building is just above the door to get in. The point at the top of the building isn't even the top, the spire reaches quite a bit further than that!



Of course, the  most amazing view was from the top! The lighting was all wrong this afternoon though, so thankfully a couple was willing to take our photo in return for our having taken a good one of them. I think this is the best one we have of each other up there, though we have lots of good pics of the city.





Here was our best attempt at getting our own selfie. It's a great pic of us, though the tiny slivers of the city leave a lot to the imagination concerning NYC.





The guy who owned our rented apartment in NYC recommended yummy food at this Dominican restaurant, Margot's. Jen loved the restaurant's famed drink, "Morir sonando," essentially, "dying in a dream" (because so many think it's delicious!). It tasted like Orange Julius, but I preferred my lemonade.

*Boston*

There's a lot more to come in this post! Bear with me as I splice together two sets of photos ;-) Both Jen and I took plenty!

My friend Jen and I were both expecting great things as we entered Harvard! Here was one of our first views of the front gate and the church just outside or Harvard.





I love the foggy old English effect on this photo, looking towards the Harvard memorial for those who fought during the Civil War (yes, Harvard is that old! In fact, Harvard was established in 1636!).

Harvard yard

Our trusty Harvard student guide, who gave us the inside scoop on Harvard secrets.

I think it's safe to say I was a bit obsessed with this church spire. It speared into the sky from any angle of the city near Harvard.

I saw this up on a wall of the subway train and was intrigued:

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite pics from the trip, just for it's goofy appeal. I was taking my first bite of the delicious cheesecake, letting my tongue fully appreciate the creaminess and the perfect amount of raspberry citrus before making my judgment out loud.

Jen and I were fortunate enough to be able to spend a little time relaxing here at Boston's equivalent of Central Park before heading for our Boston Harbor cruise.



As part of our tour package, we got to go on a Boston trolley tour.





Jen definitely got the best full picture of the church here. I had hoped to stop and look at the inside of it as well, but two days in Boston doesn't allow for much wiggle room in seeing the sites! Besides, I told myself, there are many churches in the world for me to explore.





Supposedly this is the oldest tavern in the US, though 1795 seems awfully late to me, considering that the first settlers showed up about 200 years earlier! Nevertheless, I love buildings that are build in a wedge shape like this.





I love Jen's look in this pic! ;-) I'm not sure exactly what she was thinking, but I know I was thinking, "Sheesh, how am I supposed to pose next to the flap of some statue's jacket?" It was one of the handful of statues of Boston's past mayors. I liked this one the best, even if it was gargantuan size!



The guy taking our picture said something like, "Act like you love the camera."


It turned out that the guy who took out picture was recruiting for a milk commercial. I got filmed! I have no idea if they'll actually use my footage, but it was fun to be in it anyway!



We spent a little time shopping at the Christmas store here, and I ate at a picnic bench here before we started our trolley tour.



Jen and I happened to catch the tail end of a "Kilted Colin" performance. It was impressive and funny! I think you can see from the picture just what he is doing.

The birds were quick to peck up any dust of remains from anyone's meal. In fact, they occasionally landed quite close to us while we were eating! Rather greedy, but very cute.

Jen and I fell in love with the shawarmas near our apartment in Boston! I miss them already. Good thing they're very easy to find in Venezuela!

The Natural History Museum.

Below is a truly terrifying Ground Sloth from ancient times! It was at least as big as a grizzly bear, and you can see his claws there.



We bought a package tour deal which granted us a cruise along the Boston Harbor. It was neat to see the city from the water like that, and take a look at some of the ships docked in the harbor.

My mom has a sweet way of welcoming me home whenever I've been gone ;-) Boston was the last place I visited on my east coast trip this summer. I was very happy to see my family, and my own bed again!