Our new town

One of the criteria we had for moving to the suburbs is that we still needed a town. Mini-malls don't count. And the town had to be close enough to walk or bike to. We wanted coffee shops, restaurants, and ice cream. Book stores are nice too. I wanted my kids to have a community that had some character, rather than just a local McDonalds or Applebees (don't even get me started on Applebees).

Our new town, Wayzata, actually has a rich history. I know about its past as a tourist destination in the late 19th and early 20th century. However, I also found out its livelihood was maintained through the trade of ginseng in the mid-19th century. Wayzata was an important train hub (and still gets a lot of train traffic passing through...we can hear the whistles) in the late 19th century, and also supported steamboat travel across Lake Minnetonka to other vacation sites along the lake. You can read more about the history here if you are interested.

A couple of weeks ago, I took the kids to explore the town. We drove this time, since it was close to Marlo's nap, but once there, we walked up and down Lake Street. We found the depot (a big hit with Hayden who loves trains), and the beach and playground. The playground also had "bird hotels" that entertained us for awhile. We watched boats on the lake for a bit, and walked along the docks. After the playground, I let Hayden buy a book at the bookstore, and of course we had to get treats at Caribou. Hayden would have stayed longer, but Marlo was ready to sleep.

I am sure we will spend a lot of time in Wayzata this summer. Especially if there's ice cream to be had.