Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment, Travel

Shooters Billiard Club

Shooters Billiard Club – 1934 MN-13, Burnsville, MN 55337

Shooters storefront

Shooters is a very nice pool hall without any of the scary stereotypes of a pool hall.  It is clean.  The people are friendly:  both the staff and the other players.  You can interact with others or keep to yourself.  The spacing on the tables is far enough that you will never run into someone else’s shot.

Shooters full hall

Monday is lady’s night.  You pay by the hour and per person, but during certain times you can prepay at a lower rate.  Overall you will pay more at Shooters than at a bar playing per game, but you are paying for the good tables, open space, and atmosphere.  They have tournaments that you can participate in.  You can also join a league.

Shooters supreme pizza

The food is… I wouldn’t go to Shooter to just eat.  It isn’t bad.  It is just  OK.  The pizza is thin crust and it is OK.  The burgers are messy.  There is a separate area to eat if you want.  I like to play, pay, and then grab a bite.  Pizza at the tables isn’t too messy which makes the thin crust a good option.

There are waitresses that come directly to your table.  They can bring you drinks all night.  They can bring you food if you want to eat at your table.  It is a full night or day of entertainment.  Oh, yeah, the mixed drinks are pretty good.

Entertainment, Travel, Winery

Falconer Vineyard

Falconer Vineyard – 3572 Old Tyler Rd, Red Wing, MN 55066

The number one reason to visit Falconer Vineyard is to see what having a true passion for wine making tastes like.  John Falconer loves tinkering with the taste of wine.

Falconer Winery 3

It looks like they have expanded to serving pizza along with their wines since I was last at this vineyard.  John is innovative and knows how please his audience.  I can only guess that his passion for pizza is as great as that for his wines.

Check out the vines while you are there.  Did you know that they all have to be covered every winter?

Falconer Winery 2

Should you visit this vineyard?  Absolutely, I cannot wait to return myself.

Entertainment, Travel, Winery

Cannon River Winery

Cannon River Winery – 421 Mill Street West, Cannon Falls, MN 55009

“Wine is for drinking.”

Cannon River Winery went for drinkable wines in what they produce and enjoyable entertainment in their vineyard and winery.  The winery is in Cannon Falls while the vineyard is out of town.

You can help with the picking and watch as they bottle the wine depending on when you arrive.  They offer wine tastings in general and in a formal setting.

Cannon River Winery 10

They had a French wine maker come in to help them figure out how to do it right.  This made their wine better than most that I have tried in Minnesota.  They did not go for flashy, just a good drinkable wine.

Cannon River Winery French wine maker

I like this winery.  I have unfortunately had one bad experience with their wine and one bottle was their error.  The cork was damaged.  The rest could have been a storing issue on my part.

Should you check out this winery?  Yes, I would say it is worth a stop.  And when you finish at the winery pop across the street and grab lunch.

Travel, Winery

Alexis Bailly Vineyard

Alexis Bailly Vineyard – 18200 Kirby Ave So., Hastings, MN 55033

Alexis Bailly Vineyard, it was the best of atmospheres, it was the worst of wines.

grapevines outside of Alexis Bailly

The Alexis Bailly Vineyard will draw you in between the vines being right there, close enough to touch, to the tasting area, and the outdoor area where you can sit and drink.  I wanted to bring a basket of crackers and cheeses and make a picnic and enjoy wine at this vineyard.  Of all of the Minnesota vineyards this one feels like a real vineyard and winery.

wine equipment Alexis Bailly

Unfortunately I cannot say the same about the wine.  I will put in a disclaimer that the winery had just passed to the daughter and she did not seem to care about the wine as much as would be expected.  It is possible that she simply was a bit overwhelmed.  I did not taste a single wine during my visit that I wanted to drink more of or purchase.  That being said I am not sure if the wine has improved since then.  Sometimes people have a bad year and it takes time to figure out exactly what you are doing.

wine casks and portrait at Alexis Bailly

The wines feature a Frontenac grape which was developed by the U of M to withstand Minnesota winters.  Hardier does not always translate to a great tasting grape and part of my issue was probably this particular grape in their wine.

It looks like they may have won an award with one of their wines back in 2014 which had the Frontenac grape in it so somebody must like it.

rock chair at Alexis Bailly

If you want to enjoy a beautiful winery, see the grapes, sample some wines, and maybe sit back and take in the vineyard I would suggest going to this winery once.  Maybe the wine will not disappoint you.  It just was not for my pallet.

Entertainment, Museum, Travel

Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Buffalo Bill Historical Center – 720 Sheridan Ave, Cody, WY 82414

You could easily spend days in the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.  In fact it is more than just one museum.  There is all of the history to the left and a gun museum to the right.  Museums can be boring in my opinion, this one is not dull at all.  I enjoyed my walk through history.

A sign for Buffalo Bills Wild West show

The museum is in Cody, WY where William “Buffalo Bill” Cody had a ranch outside of town.  Large map with Cody Wyoming on it.The museum itself is in town and easy to get to.  The museum is filled with historical information and items from the past.

Animals represent a large part of the draw of Wyoming and this museum has tons of them.  From buffalo to the elk and bears of the area.

Display of buffalo

Did I mention the guns?  guns on the wall in cases

I do not believe I have ever seen so many firearms in one place.  There are walls of guns from riffles to hand guns to shot guns and more.  I have heard of men spending an entire day or two just looking through this section of the museum.  It really is quite impressive.

If you find yourself in Cody, WY with a day to spare I highly suggest checking out the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.  I promise you will like it.

Entertainment, Event, Travel

Oto Days, Oto

Oto Days, Oto, IA, 51044

Late September or early October the grand event of Oto Days rolls around.  The first year was 2014 and this little town ballooned in size.  It was a great success.  The town comes together to make this event happen.  The people help each other beautify the town and the neighborhoods.

Leading up to the event were the pink flamingos.  You would come home and find a flock of pink flamingos on your lawn.  You could then pay to have them removed and placed on someone else’s lawn.  It gave weeks of entertainment and helped raise funds.

pink flamingos

The carnival comes to town and the kids and some adults can ride the rides or play the games.  Buy a few tickets and enjoy the ride.

Scrambler

Swings

There are other organized events as well.  At the new park the kids can play games to win prizes.  Wow, this park is pretty sweet.

Playground equipment in Oto Park

Vendors sell items like pampered chef and caricatures.  The new owner’s of Smitty’s Bar & Grill opened shortly before the event in 2014.  Lefty Leigh’s had their big opening during this event in 2015.

Oto Days Oct 2014 charicatures

Smitty’s Bar & Grill has a big outdoor live music show in the evenings.  You can play horseshoes during the day.  There is a big tractor show and other events as well.  Like human foosball.

Did I mention the trick pony?

trick pony standing

 

 

trick pony mid-sittrick pony sitting

 

 

 

 

Like the City of Oto on Facebook to find out when the next Oto Days will be held.  It is a great event and I didn’t even mention half of the entertainment items and events.

Entertainment, Sporting Events, Travel

Twins Baseball

Twins Baseball

The Minnesota Twins always play well throughout the baseball season.  They often get to the playoffs.

Twins Baseball Pub

They recently moved into a new stadium and I have to commend the planning team on this one.  Driving to the parking ramps was super simple.  I suggest taking a vehicle that isn’t too big and turns well because the spiral to get between floors is a bit tight.  The cost of parking is reasonable.  I suggest bringing cash.  Leaving the ramp was easier than getting there, mostly due to construction we passed through on our way there.

twins baseball ticket

Enough about driving.  If your tickets are at the will call area simple walk over to the front gates and you will see a number of windows.  It is important that the tickets are in your name as you need to provide ID in order to pick them up. Web:  Twins Tickets

Twins stadium view from right field

You walk into the stadium on the second level near the first baseline. The initial view is very exciting.  As you walk around to find your seats you will pass all sorts of vendors.  The food vendors sell some great items like a steak sandwich which is really tender or chips and guacamole which I enjoyed.  You can buy a beer or a hard cider, yum.

Twins Baseball pitch

Now for the game.  I find baseball boring to watch, but I actually enjoyed being at this game.  It is easy to pay attention because if you don’t you may end up catching a line drive the hard way.  The music and the displays also help to keep you engaged.  If you are lucky you might find yourself on the screen, circle me.

Twins Baseball screen

Kids love being at the game.  The big screen specifically chooses children for a number of activities and they love to show off for the camera.  A lucky kid might get a foul ball tossed to them for a lifetime memory.  This is definitively a family event.