My Sunday observations: The sledding hill
I have to start with sledding hill etiquette and kids who walk right back up the middle of the hill while 50 kids are wanting to come down said hill.
That’s what we encountered Sunday as Screencaps Jr. and Screencaps the III took to the slopes of Wood County, Ohio after a major snowstorm rolled through. I think we got two inches, which tied the season high. Yes, it’s been less than ideal around here for snow lately. We’ve gone three winters without a snowfall over maybe 3″.
Anyway, let’s get back to the kids who have zero parental guidance (Screencaps Jr. said one of the boys was a 6th grader) which leads to them thinking they own the slopes. That leads the kids to acting like entitled punks who ruin the fun for the little kids who just want to sled without a collision that will land them in the ER.
Speaking of the sledding hill, where are the parents?
While I was up on the hill, Mrs. Screencaps was in the grocery-getter watching the action from the climate controlled cabin when kids started sledding down a side of the hill that launched them into the parking lot. She said two little girls, she thinks they were sisters, slammed into an SUV and mom was nowhere to be found.
Something that you’ve grown less tolerant of as you’ve gotten older
— Chad asks a great question on a Monday morning after the sledding hill:
What is something that you’ve actually grown less tolerant of as you get older? For example, mine would be rude people. I used to just shake my head and stay quiet at their antics. Now I give back what they dish out.
Kinsey:
Jerkoff parents.
Society has a real problem and the root cause of this problem are jerkoff parents who themselves are actually jerkoff teenagers in their brains.
I’ll point right back to the sledding hill, Chad.
I’ll also point to the stories I’ve heard from coaching rec baseball of parents following teen umps to the parking lots where they’re waiting to be picked up by their own parents.
That Daytona 500 ending
— John from SD writes:
Is there a difference between the ending of last “nights” Daytona 500 and Talladega Nights? I don’t think so.
Kinsey:
It would’ve been nice to see Logano wait until there were 5 laps to go to make the move up through the middle. I wouldn’t say that race will be memorable outside of Preece flying through the air like an 8′ piece of plywood in a tornado.
Mike T. answers questions about traveling to Europe for the winter
— Mike T. writes:
Carl L had a couple of questions for TGC (Tour Guide Cindy) and I.
Home situation, We have a family member house sitting for us, and a video security system. Most importantly, all our neighbors are our friends and watch out for each other!
Mail, Don’t get much, house sitter checks, we pay for everything autopay or online.
Packages, again house sitter and neighbors watch out for each other. Don’t get anything if you don’t order anything!
TNML, that’s shoveling snow in the winter in Idaho. We hire neighbors kids to do that as needed.
Europe
Tickets, planning, We have a very detailed agenda we follow. TGC loves to plan travels, I’m just along for the ride. She uses TripAdvisor for planning. (Not sponsored)
Reservations, yes we use TripAdvisor and Airbnb (Not sponsored) for all our planning. Average Airbnb cost this trip $150 per night
We cook the vast majority of meals ourselves, so we make sure they have usable kitchens.
Plane tickets, round trip always, arrive one city, depart another!
Transportation in Europe, we lease a new car from Auto Europe, unlimited miles, full insurance no deductible and great GPS!
Another note, we switched to T Mobile 6 years ago, unlimited text, unlimited internet in Mexico, Canada, Europe and US, fantastic deal. We also use WhatsApp for free calls and video chats. We keep up with everything that way! It’s free!
Travel is our hobby, TGC is unbelievable at planning these trips, but always remember, these aren’t vacations, these are adventures!
Lots of work planning and then in the doing! That’s why we blog, when we get home we put the blog on the big screen and laugh and remember the adventures!
If you need any questions about European travel answered, send them to Joe, he’ll forward them to us!
Kinsey:
Mike T. says this is Paola, Italy where they spent the weekend.
OutKick reader takes his wife on a romantic weekend getaway from Duluth, Minnesota to Eagan, Minnesota
This is a long one.
— Kirk B. reports:
I went on a weekend getaway with the missus this weekend with having kids a son & daughter we don’t get to go away that often so my sister said she would stay with our kids we decided to drive south from Duluth MN to Eagan MN from Friday afternoon til Sunday the drive is only about 2 hrs 15 minutes but we ran into snow about 30 miles from home and further down the road we got the snow fall would get more intense and visibility got worse traffic slowed from 70 mph to 30 – 40 mph the rest of the way (lots of rubberneckin) when cars were going into the ditches and accidents in the northbound lanes causing slower traffic we left home at 1:30 and finally arrived at our hotel at 5:15 (last time I drove home from the twin cities when it snowed it took 5 1/2 hours for a 120 mile trip
While we were there we went and drove to Rosemount where the missus is from checked out all the “old haunts” where we lived down there from 1992 – 2001 before moving back home to Superior WI where I grew up so while we were there we went and checked out where the in – laws lived before moving to Arizona both in Rosemount & Prior Lake where they had a hobby farm we use to spend weekends there with the kids and the in – laws for holidays and weekend trips
Urban Sprawl has really set in houses duplexes etc right next to each other businesses popping up everywhere the traffic hasn’t changed.
It’s a nice place to visit but I’ll never live there again reason why are homes right next to each other new housing developments are everywhere and get no privacy too much traffic, too many people, too much crime, takes forever to get around if you have to take I 35 E & W 694 & 494 I 94 unless you know how to avoid the freeways and take streets that go from MPLS/St. Paul to the burbs did some shopping with the missus (went to her favorite stores) Five Below everything is $5 or less chk out there website pretty cool place.
Went to Hy Vee grocery store for the 1st time (it’s an Iowa thing where the originated )wow what a great place to shop It’s a must if you get to one they have a Wahlburgers inside the store.
As far as save your time and skip is first Mills Fleet Farm hate to say but it looked “dumpy” didn’t have big & tall guy sizes and there winter stuff the selection is poor at best.
Next is Trader Joe’s Grocery Store won’t say which one but it was in the nicer area of the south burbs the selection of items wasn’t good and the inside looked old small & and dated even though they haven’t been there more than 5 years.
Gas prices average was $3.09 – $3.19 a gallon Sam’s Club which I have a membership we paid $ 2.72 a gallon didn’t mind waiting in line for that price.
Now time to talk about our favorite place to go and eat when we go down to the Twin Cities.
In a small city about 30 minutes south of St. Paul MN is Farmington MN a family owned restaurant in downtown Farmington MN called The Farmington Steak House they have been there since 1984 and has been owned by the same family since they opened and there isn’t many like it left in america kinda like a buffet style you come in grab your tray & utensils grab your salad/soup while you order while you wait they cook your steaks how you like them right in front of you reminds me of a great little steakhouse when I worked in Sioux City IA in 1985 we would go to South City NE to a place called Hungry’s R.I.P. they had the best cuts of beef large portions and would cook your steak to perfection right on a flaming grill in the restaurant in the open so you could watch they had the best flame grilled steaks.
Farmington Steak house is family owned they have always been very nice the owners, there children & grandchildren all are part of Farmington Steak House
In 1992 when I got hitched to the missus we moved from Superior WI to Rosemount MN we use to go and have dinner with the in-laws
Gertie & the Gas Man mom was a nurse dad was top guy for People’s Gas Co. for 40 years before retiring
They introduced us to the Farmington Steak House when we would go to the campground on the weekends place called Hidden Valley Campground in Welch Village MN R.I.P. about 10 miles from Red Wing MN
Hidden Valley was on the Cannon River we would go up to Cannon Falls MN and tube or canoe back down to the campground would take about
2 1/2 Hours good times, good times went down to the Campground a year and half ago and they closed it permanently to bad it was a great place to get away with the family away from all the noise the missus knew alot of people who camped there and was the place to go Hidden Valley was an a appropriate name because it was down in a “valley”
33 years and a lifetime ago , man where has the time gone
I recommend The Family Owned Farmington Steakhouse The Ribeye Steak is the favorite as you can see a flame grilled ribeye to perfection Baked Tater Texas Toast & Homemade Chicken Soup another fan favorite cost was $45.00 dollars plus the tip was $55.00 for two
It’s always busy the family owners there children and grandchildren who work there are always cordial friendly and make you always feel like family and not just another customer it’s well worth the scenic drive once you get out of the big burbs we’ve been going there for 34 of the 40 years they have been open.
I told the missus that since it was our favorite place to eat when we get away to the south burbs of the Twin Cities I would make The Farmington Steak House in Farmington MN
“Outkick Famous”
So for all who are in Minnesota/Wisconsin who go to the Twin Cities area or if you come to the Twin Cities make the drive The Farmington Steak House in Farmington MN I recommend the Ribeye Steak Dinner
‘This is for Beau’ in Toledo
— Tim T. says:
Tell him when he plays this in his Dakota, I want to hear it in Jacksonville.
Why aren’t college bands playing halftime of the Super Bowl?
— Coach Ted writes via Instagram DMs:
Love your articles on Outkick and probably know some of the bums you hang out with! Wanted to run this by you. Instead of the crap we have seen at halftime during the super game over the last several years … how about having the bands from the college football national championship be awarded the chance to show their stuff at halftime of the Super Bowl?
Those kids work every bit as hard as the players and should deserve a reward for all their hard work. I can guarantee more people would rather watch them over some of the acts we have seen over the years. Heck, maybe even some NIL for the tuba player that dots the I….. I’m in. Thanks for keeping me entertained.
Kinsey:
Because the NFL has a duty to make millions and millions of dollars for NFL owners and a halftime featuring the Ohio State band isn’t going to get the job done.
In a Leave It To Beaver world, the Ohio State band would’ve played and society would’ve been fulfilled. However, Jerry Jones wouldn’t be able to fill up his private jet fuel tank after the Ohio State band played halftime because Apple wouldn’t have paid millions to the NFL to sponsor said halftime show.
Hence, you’re going to keep getting rap and pop acts playing halftime. You might get a country act if the NFL ever wrestles control of halftime back from Jay-Z.
A serious question I wasn’t thinking about over the weekend
— Terry in Claremore, Oklahoma asks:
I have been waiting for someone to compare the Iran money spent on Terrorism vs what USA with their corrupt bureaucracy has given to these Terrorist groups? Can someone calculate that number?
Kinsey:
Terry, I’m not the one to ask this question. I was busy thinking about those boys walking up the middle of the sledding hill.
Who has an answer for him?
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
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Guys, I have to run. I’m filling in for an editor who is on vacation, so I need to get rolling and start working on the OutKick homepage.
Enjoy your day. Send emails. Go give 110% effort at work and let’s hammer out a strong week of work.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com