How Was Your Weekend?

“How was your weekend?” may be the most used phrase at the start of each workweek. A look back at this past weekend in the greater Mankato area is a good indication of what makes living here, well, great! The weekend kicked off Friday night with a sold out country concert. Florida-Georgia Line filled the Verizon Wireless Center with folks of all ages. And contributed to the thousands that flooded downtown Mankato restaurants and bars. Ah, camaraderie and country music. Saturday, I’ve heard from many of you, was time spent with family and friends. Many taking advantage of the waning summer days to have get-togethers with neighbors. Personally, I took part in a “Best Burger Cook off” hosted by Jason and Julia Pohlman. This was not just your regular, friendly cook off. It was highly competitive I found out, after I arrived. My simple bacon and cheddar burger (and by mine, I really mean Hy Vee’s…as many of you know I can’t cook), was not even close to being enough to top a fried egg burger on croissant, a tomato basil burger and a super yummy fried onion patty that was to die for. I didn’t walk away with a prize, but I did walk away with a few extra pounds! Not to worry though, I could work them all off Sunday morning on the Mankato River Ramble. I predict this to be an autumn destination for Minnesotans all across the state in a year or two. It features bike rides of various lengths along the beautiful river. It’s more than just a ride though. There’s plenty of scenery, entertainment and refreshment along the way…oh yeah, and more that community camaraderie I keep talking about! The weekend culminated with Division 1 hockey baby! The Minnesota State-Mankato Mavericks held an exhibition game Sunday evening, again at the Verizon Wireless Center (think that thing gets used much? J) There’s already an air of excitement this year surrounding the Mavs, and they intensified that Sunday with a 7 – 1 victory over Lethbridge. So many of us hit Monday tired from the weekend. But it was a good weekend, part of what makes this The Good Life.