My New Happy Place

One of the things I love about living in Minneapolis is that there are beautiful pockets of nature all over the city.  When we were looking at houses this last summer, we looked at the location vs. the house.  Llast time we bought, we looked at house vs. location and although I did love big spacious home with the huge back yard in East Phillips, we ultimately left because of the neighborhood.

Tom and I were so excited when we found our new home in Longfellow because of the location.  We live about eight blocks from the West River Parkway which is a great place to hike and walk with great views of the Mississippi.  About a month ago, I walked with my dog, Zelda, down to the parkway and saw this big stone staircase.  We made our way down into the woods and kept walking until we saw an opening to the river.  The dirt turned to sand and we stepped out of the trees and onto one of the sandy beaches of the Mississippi.

The beach is about a quarter mile long with a few trails that go down either side.   Across from the beach there are some rocks that people hang out on that are apart of an overlook in St. Paul.

The first time I came down, there were a few people as well as another dog playing in the water.  I let Zelda off her leash for a moment to run, play and splash while I took off my sandals and let the sand squish between my toes.

Since that first visit, I now head down to this beach a few times a week.  Depending on the time of day, there are sometimes a few people enjoying the view from their blankets or chairs in the sand.  The tree line this time of year is picturesque with the pops of orange and red as the leaves change for fall, I see why everyone loves it so much.  My favorite is going down during the day when there is no one.  It’s quiet and serene except for Zelda splashing around in the water and rolling in the sand.

I’ve always wanted to live near the beach.  Although this isn’t a place where I would wade in and swim, I feel like this is as good as it gets for a beach in the city.

If you ever want to join me for a walk down to this beach, I’m all yours.  Bring your dog, and if it’s winter, I’ll bring the cocoa and Bailey’s.