Little House on the Prairie

Rhonda rode back to Minneapolis with me and the boys. After we noticed that Walnut Grove (of Little House on the Prairie fame) Minnesota was sort of on the way home, we decided to take a detour and check it out. I should tell you that in the late 70's, Rhonda and I were obsessed with all things Little House; the books and the TV show. We used to tape (pre-VCR days) the shows on an audio tape player and replay them until we had them memorized.

On the way to Walnut Grove I was expecting a quaint town with cottage-lined streets and a diner serving fresh lemonade. What we found were blocks and blocks of neglected homes in need of a paint job. Per the suggestion of a guide book we planned to have lunch at "Nellie's Diner". To our dismay "Nellie's" was nothing more than a cinder-block building on the side of a dusty highway with a "closed" sign in the window. Being famished we decided to look elsewhere for lunch. The clerk at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum directed us to the only other dining establishment in town, the Sinclair gas station. After waiting in line for 30 minutes (clearly the town needs another restaurant) I learned they were out of the only two vegetarian items (pizza and bean burritos).

The museum was a combination of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the TV show memorabilia as well as general pioneer life exhibits. Rhonda and I had fun reminiscing, but Owen and Miles weren't overly impressed. If you're a fan, I'd say you should check it out. Otherwise, don't bother.