Travelog for: Lilla

Hey Mom!!!

I've been having so much fun in Minneapolis with my host mom and our new TV, Danko. We went on a car ride through Downtown Minneapolis, seeing all the cool buildings and sights to see.

This is a picture of the Light Rail that runs through Downtown Minneapolis.





A bunch of School buses! They were really big and small.....kind of funny to drive by a bunch of school buses in a line!



This is Target Field. It's where the Minnesota Twins play baseball.


This is the Minneapolis Metrodome where a variety of events go on. It was huge and awesome. The Minnesota Vikings, football, normally play here but my host mom was telling me about them redoing it to make it better.


We also got to stop by the Amtrak, which is a train that can bring you all around the country visiting different cities! It was pretty cool with all of those different trains and places they go to.



It's been such an amazing day!! We are off to Como Zoo now too!!!

Whew it has been such an adventure!!!! We stopped at this cool restaurant called Snuffy's Malt Shop! I was there with my other TV friends.


My TV friend, Danko, and I were trying to figure out what to order! There were so many choices!



After we were done eating, we went through a car wash! It was soooo cool to be in there. Look at how much fun the other TV's and I were having!!







It's been an amazing trip!!! I miss you Mum!

Mom, we went to Como Zoo!! It was awesome and the animals were so cool to look at!



This one was so cool! It would come out of the water and flip back in!




Giraffes are huge!! They were moving their heads in such a weird way and walking around!


These are some pictures with my TV bud, Danko! It was so cool!!



This was so much fun! It's this machine that you create a cool coin as a souvenir!


Can't wait for my next adventures!!!

Hey Mom!!

We got to go to a Dog Show! It was so cool! We got to see various dogs being judged and some of them had weird hair cuts! It was through the American Kennel Club, which is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. They are judged on the authentication of the true dog breeds and how they are suppose to look like.






This picture is of me and Danko, another TV!!!


We also had gone to Special Olympics which is an organization devoted to providing sports competition opportunities for athletes with intellectual Disabilities. My host mom wasn't able to take many pictures with me in them but put me in the pictures. It was so much fun!! I helped the athletes pick out songs to sing karaoke with since my host mom was volunteering.




I'm so excited to see what other stuff we get to see. My host mom said we were going on a road trip this weekend so can't wait to see where!!!!

Miss you but I'm having so much fun.

Hey Mom!!!

We are going on a trip to Duluth, Minnesota to sight see!! We got to greet a new TV to our "family". Diddl-Maus was a little shy but we told her how much fun we were having and she was happy to come!


Got to ride in style on my way to Duluth....but of course I took turns with the TV's so they could see the cool ride too!!

We stopped at this tourist place right before Duluth and got to see a wide view of Duluth!



We went to Grandma's Saloon and Grill in Duluth when we got there. We were hungry so it was really tasty! There was this cool sign by our table.



We went on a nice walk through the Downtown Duluth Lake Walk, where we also got to rent this cool bike! Jillyfish and Chloe09 did all the hard pedaling while us TV's rested in the basket.




This was a cool little replicate of the Lift bridge.



While biking, we got to see a lighthouse, lake views AND even the lift bridge! The lift bridge was cool....when a boat came, a loud noise happen and the bridge started going up! That was cool!!





This was such an awesome day that I'm soo tired! I'm going to take a nap on our way to camp! Jillyfish and host mom, Chloe09, go to this family camp in Wisconsin!

Love you mummy!!
Lilla

Hey Mom!!

Sorry for the delay in pictures! We were busy visiting places! We got to go on a camping trip! Here are a few pictures at this Hepokoski Family Camp!!


The lake was beautiful!! The family was having fun in the lake and I wish we could have gone swimming but Chloe09 didn't want to.


It was saddening that we had to go back to Minneapolis. We were having so much fun at Camp. Can't wait to see what else goes on!!!



Yours truly,
Diddl-Maus

Oh Boy was that a fun trip we took!! We took a trip to Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.  The Mall of America (MOA) is the largest mall in the United States with the most visitors. One in ten shoppers is a tourist! There’s no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota. The Mall of America is one of the biggest most interesting places to be! There were 4 full floors of shops and restaurants!



It was such a fun trip to take with my new friends!! Diddl-Maus, Buxi and Danko!!


There was this cool Disney store. Lots of clothes, costumes, and memorabilia from all of the Disney Movies! We got to sit and watch part of Toy Story 3! There were kids and parents there too! The boys didn't like being there because it was such a girly store but it was awesome!


This was the kind of store for Mi Nam, Jillyfish's TV and I. We tried to wear the crowns but they were a little big. haha.



There was this store that was entirely filled with Candy!!! We all wanted to go in but they didn't think it was a good idea to get us filled with sugar. haha.

This isn't a real turtle! It was a picture but it looked cool!!



There were even rides in the mall!!! It was called Nickelodeon Universe. Jillyfish and Chloe09 was telling us about how it was called Camp Snoopy and it was so much more fun back then. It was amazing mom!


I can't wait to see what's next! I've been having so much fun! I do miss South Africa with you Mom.
Lilla

Hey Mom!!

My host mom, Chloe, showed us a sauna (sow-na). A sauna is a room with a hot stove or coals that are heated by water to create a nice hot steamy room. It is a Finnish tradition to have saunas. It was very interesting and quite warm!




Cool, huh? We get to go see some big important buildings on our next adventure!!!

Miss you!
Lilla

Sorry I haven't written in a while Mommy. I've been busy meeting new people and having a bunch of fun. We welcomed a few more TV friends today! A possible new TV, Sir Jim, Diddl-Maus, me, Danko, Caroline, Kasimir (big yellow one), Kruppchen and Buxi!


Then to celebrate their adventures with us, we made cupcakes!! Host mom is Gluten Free - can't have wheat or the complex of proteins that forms when wheat flour is mixed with a liquid and physically manipulated, such as in the kneading of bread.

We all got to do something. I got to be in charge of the vanilla and measuring correctly. I think I did a good job!



They turned out good. We had ice cream with the cupcakes! We all had to get ready to go see some big beautiful buildings downtown Minneapolis. We're excited!!

Tell you more later!!
Lilla

Downtown Minneapolis is filled with big buildings, lots of people and noise!!!




This is the Minneapolis City Hall. It occupies an entire city block and has about 680,000 gross square feet. The building is an architectural treasure listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designed by Long and Keys Architects. The building also features a 15-bell chime and is the only American made set that can play the "Star Spangled Banner" in the original key. Every hour, quarter, and half-hour you will hear the bells of the tower. The bells were manufactured in New York and weigh from 300 to 7,300 pounds each -- over 14 tons total.




This building is the Hennepin County Court House. Little bit of information about it! It was pretty cool. The Hennepin County Courthouse, located in the Hennepin County Government Center, was completed in 1974. It was designed by John Carl Warnecke and Associates of San Francisco, with Peterson, Clark and Associates of Minneapolis. The masonry is the same carnelian red granite from Ortonville, MN, that was used in building the Minneapolis City Hall, where the courthouse used to be located. The diagonal braces of the modern building are steel sprayed with a fireproofing material to which a cream-colored porcelain-type material was fused. The building's total cost was about $50 million, with $1.6 million more spent after completion on making necessary window changes, fitting an additional floor for courtrooms, and installing glass walls on atrium floors and walkways.



This is the Public Safety building. It's a jail!! Here's some information Chloe09 told us about it! The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office operates the largest pre-trial adult detention facility (commonly called the jail) in the State of Minnesota. Jail facilities are located in two different buildings in downtown Minneapolis, but are treated as one facility:
    The Public Safety Facility (PSF) has 330 beds for arrestees.
    The City Hall (ADC) has 509 beds for arrestees.
On average each year, there are approximately 40,000 bookings at the jail. The jail is currently staffed for a capacity of 703 beds, and the average population in 2009 was 694. The jail has consistently earned the distinction of being accredited by the American Correctional Association for maintaining the highest standards of inmate custody and care.


This is the United States District Courthouse. The history of the judicial system in Minnesota begins in 1849 when the first territorial court term was held in Stillwater, Minnesota. The U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota was not established until nine years later when Minnesota became a State in 1858.


This was a cool train she called the light rail. We couldn't take a ride because we didn't have time. maybe next time!


Something cool is coming up next! Chloe09 said us girls get to go do something special!! I wonder what it could be?!

We had a lot of fun at a Tea Party!! We went to a place called The Mad Hatter's Tea House. Caroline and I were lucky enough to join the fun tea party. We tried a cool tea and some good food!!






Can't wait to see what fun adventures we have next!! HUGS!

We got to welcome a new friend, Kibblet!


Wow! I feel so lucky! I got to go to the Como Zoo AND the Minnesota Zoo.








The other voyagers thought this was funny...I however didn't think so. Luckily it was a fake wolf!


There was an area in the zoo that was South African animals. I felt at home there. Made me a little homesick but I tried to keep my composure.



We got to go party with Diddl-Maus. We went to Chuck E Cheese and got to play games. It was awesome. Sad to see Diddl-Maus go but his journey is to continue.





Can't wait to see what's next! Miss you and South Africa but I am going to be your brave girl! Chloe also gave us a name tag with United States of America on the back! It's an awesome way to remember America.
~Lilla

YAY! I completed a misson!!! I attended a beautiful wedding!!







Sir Jim and I were enjoying the singing, food and beautiful wedding party.




I got to play with a beautiful little girl. Little slobber but not much! Can't wait to see what's next!! =)

Hey Mommy!

I know that I'm heading back to South Africa soon.....so Chloe decided to take me shopping one last time to grab a souvenir to bring home for you!





Got a nice picture taken with all my friends before heading home!



See you soon Mommy!! I will be on my way tomorrow the 21st of August, 2012!!

Goodbye Minnesota!
Hello South Africa! 

I had a great trip to the USA, but it's great to be back at home 
Thank you Chloe09 for being such a fabulous host - I really had a great time in Minnesota!  Thank you too for all the souvenieurs