"I thought I would kinda get tired of all the cycling after awhile but... it couldn't be further from the truth."

We went through Minneapolis-St.Paul on Saturday to meet up with our CouchSurfing hosts, Josh and Emily.

Josh messaged me online saying his girlfriend, Emily, was from Cape May, which I also have stated in my CouchSurfing profile. Even so, I suspected she was from Lower Township or North Cape May, which would still be one of those "small world" experiences. However, upon our arrival at Josh and Emily's house in Roseville, MN, we learned she was born and raised in Cape May Court House, NJ. She knew my sister Laura and our parents are very familiar with each other; The Dare Family. I couldn't get over it.

"Oh my gosh," Emily said as I drank water at the table. "You literally look exactly like your sister!"

How crazy is that?!

We were generously housed by Josh and Emily for Saturday and Sunday, leaving Monday morning (today). We couldn't have asked for better hosts. The two went completely out of their way to make us feel comfortable and at ease. We had beers together the first night and just easily bonded with one another. The next night we watched the movie "Miracle". Fantastic film. It was without a doubt one of my most pleasurable CouchSurfing experiences.

The next morning (on our day off), Josh and I rode over thirty miles around Minneapolis, MN.

So in 1820, a dude by the name of Josiah Snelling builds a big ole fort on the Mississippi River just in case Britain launched any attacks. By 1838, a bunch of pioneers had built up around the fort, creating a bustling community. Well, Snelling wasn't too happy about this.

"Hey, you guys," Snelling said one day. "You can't stay here, this is a fort, not a town. You have until next week to get out of here. Sorry."

So, all the peoples gathered their things and maneuvered down river to a place known as "Pig's Eye Landing". This place became present day St. Paul: the capital of Minnesota.

And Snelling's big ole fort? Well, around the 1840's a rival town known as St. Anthony was growing up river from St. Paul. The town combined with Snelling's castle to form... Yep. Minneapolis.

"Minne" means water in the Sioux language and "polis" means city in Greek. The huge influx of settlers in both towns was because of the flat delta on the Mississippi, making it easy for boats and settlers to land. By the late 1800's, the flour mills and saw mills along the Mississippi were bustling and the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis were in the top twenty largest cities of the nation.

The admission of Minnesota into statehood is also an interesting story. Long story short, California became the 16th free state of the country in 1850, tipping the previous "stalemate" of the Missouri Compromise from 15 slave states and 15 free states. Minnesota became a state in 1849 but it took a long seven years before it was admitted as a free state, tipping the scale even further and infuriating Southern delegates. 

Josh and I ventured by ourselves through the big city of Minneapolis. I had plans to find a small record label shop hidden somewhere in the city. I worshipped the music this label put out and visiting the store was always something I dreamed about. It was definitely cool but I think I hyped it up too much. I got a shirt.

Josh went to the American Swedish Institute and learned some fun facts about the overwhelmingly Scandinavian population of Minnesota (97% White). 

We didn't get to do as much as we wanted but Minneapolis was definitely enjoyable. Maybe some day, I'll get another chance to investigate more.

So that leaves today.

I'll keep it brief as it wasn't too eventful...

We rode about twenty miles out of Roseville from Josh and Emily's lovely home, back on track into Stillwater, MN. I needed a nap.

And so did Josh.

After an hour long nap, we rolled out again, north toward the town of Osceola. On they way, we ran into another cyclist we'd met earlier, Matt.

Now, I think I came down kind of harshly on Matt. It was unfair, and sometimes, Josh and I maintain sanity/humor by poking fun of others. It's not a good trait and I catch myself doing it sometimes.

With that said, I couldn't be more wrong about Matt. He's a stud. He's got a great mindset for the trip, he's funny, and as I pointed out before, not so gracfully, he's smart. Anyhow, he joined us outside Osceola and rode with us into Interstate Park where we are now. After three weeks on the road, this is the first time he's paid for camping. He's got the "roughing it" aspect down, something I still yearn to perfect. 

He's with us for the night and I'm very grateful to have him.