The Long Way Home

Okay, so it wasn't the long way home, it was the long way to go strawberry picking.

As noted previously, earlier in the year we attempted to go strawberry picking only to have the place be closed when we got there. So after our long vacation we decided to try once again since the season was exceptionally late this year and we normally would've already missed our window of opportunity.

I picked out a place in Hastings, MN, called the number and confirmed their hours and that they were indeed still picking strawberries. So mid-morning on Saturday, July 12th, we set out.

The expected route:

1. 35W north to 94East
2. 94 East to County Rd 15
3. south to 90th St in Hastings
4. East on 90th Street and follow signs.

Expected travel time: 45 mins.

The actual route:

1. Almost got on 35W north, but it was closed for re-paving. Due to one way streets could not re-route to other options to get on to 35W beyond the closure.
2. Got on Portland Ave South to hit alternate route of 494 -- stuck in crawling traffic as it was handling re-routed traffic from 60th Street, which was also closed.
3. Finally got to 494 east. Slow but still moving.
4. Got on 35E north to hit 94 East through St Paul. Lanes went down to 1 lane, so traffic was crawling.
5. Got off on Shepard Rd to bypass through downtown St Paul. Shepard Rd closed 2 miles after exiting onto it.
6. Re-routed through downtown St. Paul, had to hear yelling from the back seat as we passed the Children's Museum but didn't stop.
7. Finally get out on 94 East.
8. Had to stop for much requested water and pit stop. Took Ruth St exit off of 94, only to find that we could not re-enter 94 EAST from Ruth St, we could only go back WEST. Took 94 west to the next exit, go off and turned back around.
9. Took the remainder of the route there and finally arrived.

Actual travel time: 2 hours

Actual strawberry picking time: 45 mins, including the 5 min. tractor ride to and from the field.

Years taken from life due to travel experience: 2