Cornucopia: oh, you betcha! (make sure you say it in a Minnesota accent)

I've been really lucky in my 8 years working at The Merc that I've gotten to travel a lot. I've been to the International Herbal Symposium in Massachusetts, 5 times to the Medicines from the Earth Conference in Black Mountain, North Carolina and 4 times to the National Co-op Grocers Association Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota. This year I decided to get a one-way ticket to the conference in Minnesota, spend 4 days working and then Chris would drive up (10 hours!) and meet me and we would spend the rest of the weekend exploring Minneapolis and drive back to KS together. It was such a good idea! We had a ball!

First of all the conference was incredible. I'm really proud to work in the co-op world with a network of people all over the country who stand behind the same causes that I do. It was great to have us all in one place to talk shop and listen to some really incredible speakers, such as, the founder of the Just Label It campaign (the labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms).

Chris showed up on Friday afternoon and we jammed packed the weekend! We went to the Walker Art Center, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Mill City Museum and Farmers Market, and Sea Salt. Oh yea, and it was Pride weekend! We went to the Pride festival and the parade. It was incredible. There were more than 300,000 people at the parade and festival!!!

After we left Minneapolis, we drove to Rochester, MN where a friend of ours grew up. She happened to be visiting! Her folks are master gardeners so I was eager to see the place. It blew us away! Stone paths, baby goats and donkeys, chickens, bees, a pond with a waterfall. Their very own Eden. We ended up spending the night there and getting up early to get on the road toward Decorah, Iowa.

I've wanted to go to Decorah for years! Seed Savers Exchange is there. There mission is to conserve and promote America's culturally diverse but endangered food crop heritage for future generations by collecting, growing, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants. Not only do I have a strong connection because I use their seeds in my own garden, but my very good friend, Tracy, grew up there on the farm. Her parents started Seed Savers back in the 70's. What a crazy connection! So, Tracy's mom, Diane, met us there and gave us a tour of her garden and then Lou, who I order seeds for The Merc from, met us and toured us around the rest of the farm. It's such an amazing place! I'll just let the photos explain...

What an awesome trip!!!