Bucket List Day Trips - Franconia and Taylors Falls

You know what I have missed most during this pandemic? Seeing art, and travel. Yes, I know some galleries are open right now, but we have not made it there yet. And travel is obviously out of the picture; Beatrix's school's code of conduct states we can't even leave the state without quarantining for 2 weeks on the way back.


So today, we decided to make a day trip to Franconia Sculpture Park and Taylors Falls. Yes, despite sending people to Franconia multiple times ("You'll love it! It's really cool!"), I had never been. And it was the perfect adventure for my heart today. I've had a cold all weekend — pretty sure it's not anything more, but in an "abundance of caution" have not really seen anyone outside my family. So spending the day outside with them was perfect!




We were at Franconia Sculpture Park for a couple of hours, and only were able to experience a small portion of what was there! (though to be fair, we spent a little of that time in their monthly farmers market). Almost all of the sculptures there are designed to be interactive, and due to covid, a lot of that was roped off or unavailable. Last I heard, though, it's impossible to get through the soles of your shoes, so we did some climbing around.





It's a beautiful place to be, one that feeds your artistic soul but can allow you plenty of distance from others in what seems like a low-risk environment. I can hardly wait to go back!


From there, we headed on to Taylors Falls. We went with the main purpose of exploring the Angel's Hill Historic District, and fell in love with the gorgeous little enclave of primarily Greek Revival homes.



But we also got to explore "downtown" a little as well, stopping into some vintage stores for Beatrix, grabbing hot fudge malts, and generally enjoying the day.




This may not be the big-city or international trips that before now we have been used to taking. But I'm awfully glad for the mini-travel experiences we are getting, and for a fantastic family to share them with!


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