OCTOBER 2026

Adventures With Carli

A monthly round of tips, travels, adventures and what's next

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Hello adventurers!

Happy Halloweekend 🎃👻

This is my favorite holiday of the year because it's a time where children and adults alike get to get weird and showcase their creativity. This weekend, I was at a Halloween funk show and I saw a guy dressed as the wolf, dressed as the grandma in Little Red Riding Hood, slamming a Rainier, and I thought wow this is the true spirit of Halloween, because honestly AI could never.

This year I have an extremely niche costume, so I'll just say if you need a laugh, check out Abigail's Divine Comedy.

Here's a throwback to my super Seattle niche costume from last year. See the origin story here.

I've got a quiet start for November but then I'll be ending the month (back) in Europe to do some more Christmas market exploration. I'll be visiting 3 new countries, and staying in areas I've never been to before, so it should be a fun trip. You can follow along with my daily stories on Instagram.

Read more about European Christmas markets on my blog.

I also *finally* finished all my Taiwan videos. The blog posts will show up... eventually. But for now this is the best place to get all the info.

Watch my Taiwan videos here

Where in the world is Carli San Diego?

You may remember I ended last month with a cliffhanger, why would anyone want to go to Fargo?

Turns out Fargo/Moorhead is pretty cool. I was there for a travel conference, so the Fargo Moorhead tourism department rolled out the red carpet for us. A few of them asked what I enjoyed or was most surprising. For me it was how local it felt.

My midwest history run deep. I grew up in Minnesota, family in Nebraska, with other ties to Iowa and Kansas, so I have seen a lot of chain restaurants and strip malls in my day. But downtown Fargo is different. It has the feeling and local charm of small town in a big(ish) city.

Broadway (their main street downtown) is lined with old brick buildings that are full of great shops and restaurants. But it's not just Broadway, there are other little pockets of areas to wander and shop or eat nearby.

Then of course directly on the other side of the Red River is Moorhead Minnesota which has it's own unique charm and history.

Things to do in Fargo Moorhead

Museums: You'll find a few museums to check out between the neighboring cities. Art lovers can visit the Plains Art Museum in Fargo or The Rourke Art Gallery & Museum in Moorhead. Both offer free admission. A can't miss museum for history lovers or anyone that love a quirky story is the Hjemkomst Museum in Moorhead. This is both a museum and the county historical center. But the draw is the two large Norwegian replica items built by locals to the community. One is a Norwegian Viking ship that actually sailed from Minnesota to Norway (via the Great Lakes). And the second is a replica of a traditional Norwegian stave church.
Mural walk: Fargo has murals all throughout the downtown. There are at least 20 you can find while wandering, with new ones popping up regularly. There's also the Fargo Art Alley, an alley where you can find sanctioned graffiti art. If you're lucky, you might even see some as it happens.
Moorhead Library: Moorhead has a beautiful new public library that only opened this spring. Be sure to head upstairs to walk the 1/8 mile loop and read fun facts about Minnesota.
Shopping: I was surprised at how many cute shops I found throughout downtown Fargo. A few favorites were O'Day Cache, Stabo, Mint + Basil, and Cul De Sac. Brewhalla also has a handful of shops, Unglued was my personal favorite

Where to eat in Fargo Moorhead

The Toasted Frog: The cheese fried pickles are a must.
Moonrise Bakery: Get there early for one of their famous "pop tarts".
Nichole's Fine Pastry & Café: Great breakfast and lunch spot, don't leave without trying at least one of their baked goods.
Las Palmas Mexican Bar & Grill: Best spot for dining on a warm day.
Mezzaluna: Upscale Italian food. Then go for a cocktail at the Drawing Room speakeasy in the basement.
Blarney Stone Pub: Well known for their Shepherds Pie and other Irish fare
Beer & Fish Company: Popular fish & chips spot.
Brewhalla: This hotel and events space also has a food & drink hall.
Dairy Queen: Get a Dilly Bar where it was invented - the Moorhead Dairy Queen.

Right after the conference, I headed east to Bemidji, Minnesota where I spent 3 days at the Concordia Language Villages. This is a language camp that has been around since the 1960s. They offer 15 languages and have 8 permanent "villages" on the property.

During the summer this is mostly a children's language intensive summer camp. If you have kids that have any interest in language, look into their programs. We met camp directors that started as kids and have been part of the program from 20 years up to 40 years. But if like me you never went to summer camp, and feel like you maybe missed out, they also have adult language camps throughout the year. And if language isn't your thing, they have other activities like wellness retreats.

While we were here we had Korean and Mexican cooking classes, practiced speaking French, learned Norwegian heritage and folk lore, spent an evening in a Russian banya (sauna), and even ended our time with campfire smores. It's a truly unique and immersive language experience that you won't get without traveling directly to those countries.

Our group did get to spend a little time exploring Bemidji. After our 3 days at CLV wrapped, I had an extra day in town with my dad and stepmom (who drove to pick me up from camp like I was 15 🤪).

Things to do in Bemidji

Visit Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: Bemidji claims to be the birthplace of Paul Bunyan. While other towns around the midwest may also make that claim, none are passionate as Bemidji in its lore
Explore the old downtown: Here you'll find a surprising amount of cute shops for such a small city. Check out: Compass Rose, Four Pines Bookstore, Merry Piglets, Just Dandy, Bemidji Woolen Mills, and Grandmas Attic Antiques.
Sculpture walk: In the old downtown there are 30+ sculptures to see, and they are updated each year. If you find one you love, they are also for sale.
Go to a hockey game: Minnesota isn't the "state of hockey" for no reason. The high school state hockey championship may as well be a state holiday. During hockey season get tickets to a Bemidji State University hockey game.
State Parks: On the northeast side of the lake is Bemidji State Park. And 35 minutes southwest of the city is Itasca State Park, where you can walk across the Mississippi River headwaters.

After Bemidji, I had about 15 hours back in the Twin Cities before I was heading back north, this time to the North Shore along Lake Superior with my mom.

The North Shore starts at Duluth and runs all the way up to Grand Portage next to the Canadian Border. This is (in my opinion) the most scenic part of the state.

Things to do in the North Shore:

The main reason to be up here is for nature. This part of the state is 80% state park, state forest or national forest land. The area is full of hiking paths from easy to challenging and countless waterfalls of all shapes and sizes. FYI - a day parking pass is good for any state park if used in the same day.

Gooseberry Falls State Park
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
Tettegouche State Park
George H. Crosby Manitou State Park
Temperance River State Park
Judge C.R. Magney State Park
Grand Portage State Park

The Grand Portage National Monument is also a very interesting national landmark of a historic fur trading post. This is free to visit, and only open during the summer into mid-October, just as it was back in the 1800s.

The North Shore is also one of the best places for fall foliage in the state. Peak foliage varies each year, but typically lands the last week of September or first week of October. Lutsen Mountain is one of the best spots to get an aerial view, but can be extremely busy on weekends.

Where to stay on the North Shore:

This is pretty subjective and depends on what you want to do.

Duluth: Large city, lots of options for hotels, restaurants, and other things to do besides hiking, but still located right on the lake. Requires longer drive times to state parks.
Two Harbors: Just 30 minutes north of Duluth. Perfect if you want a taste of the North Shore without driving too far.
Beaver Bay / Silver Bay: Half way point along the shore. Ideal location for visiting Tettegouche, Split Rock and Gooseberry Falls State Parks.
Tofte/Lutsen: Best for access to Lutsen Mountain for hiking, or skiing in winter. My mom and I stayed at the Cliff Dweller in Tofte, where every room is lakeside. Eagle Ridge Resort at Lutsen Mountain is perfect for families, larger groups or people looking for longer stays.
Grand Marais: Hands down the cutest city on the North Shore and I'm upset this was the first time I'd ever visited. Also is well known artist community.

Travel Lessons Learned

For my recent conference in Fargo I did not fly there, instead I flew in to MSP because 1) it was cheaper, 2) I wanted to have some time before and/or after visiting friends and family 3) I wasn't sure which pre or post conference trip I was going to be assigned. This left me figuring out how to get to Fargo.

Since my family did not offer to let me use one of the cars 🤔 my next thought was to take the train. I checked Amtrak, there was one train each day leaving at 11:15, and arriving at 4:15. This was a perfect time for me, so I went ahead and booked it.

The night before I was leaving, I checked my ticket again, and color me surprised, the only train was for 11:15 PM not AM!?! I guess the joke is on me for thinking we should have more transit available in this country. Then I had to scramble to find another means to get 4 hours north to Fargo.

Fortunately, there were still seats available on the 10:30am bus. While it's definitely not my preferred means of transit, it got me (close enough) to where I needed to be.

Lesson:

Always double check the times for flights, trains and buses to make sure you have the correct time of day. This is especially true outside the US where the 24 hour clock is predominantly used.

If you can, spend the extra money and book the flexible fare when booking on Amtrak. The price to Fargo was $70 or $77 with the flexible fare. Since I paid the extra $7, I was able to cancel my reservation and get a full refund.

Save money on travel

Google flights is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to find flight deals. But it also can help you save money on flights that you either are already planning to book or have booked.

You can search and save flight alerts. Google will then send you emails about price increases or decreases. This way you can book it when it's cheaper, or rebook (airline dependent) at a lower price.

For example, let's say I decided to go back to Minneapolis for Christmas, but since I've waited so long prices are astronomical. I can set a fare alert to see if the prices drop. Or, I've I've already booked this flight, and the price drops, I can rebook it (not all airlines or fare classes allow this and is not available on basic economy fares) and get a credit for the price difference.

When you search for your flights, you can also see where the price falls in the average. If it's high and you have a lot of time, you can wait. If you see a lower than average price, book it.

You can also look at the date grid or price graph to see what the prices are for dates before or after the one you're initially looking at to find the best fares. In my Christmas flight example, there's maybe some, but not a lot, of flexibility with dates. But, let's say you're trying to go to Hawaii in February and dates are flexible. Use this tool to find the best time for X amount of days.

And remember, ALWAYS book direct with the airline and never through a website like Expedia. If you have any issues with your fights, the airline is going to send you over to Expedia to deal with it.

Need help with planning a trip?

Starting to think about summer travel, or a future milestone trip? Reach out for assistance with planning and booking your future travels.

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Blog Posts

Catch up on some of my blog posts below:

How to Have the Best Weekend on the North Shore of Minnesota

The North Shore of Minnesota is a truly scenic area in an already beautiful state. I’ve got the details for how to spend a perfect weekend up north.

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7 Day Trips from Seattle

Seattle is an amazing city, but there is so much more to the Puget Sound. For longer visits to the city, add some time in for one (or more) day trips from Seattle to get the real Northwest vibes

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A Complete Guide to the Cologne Christmas Markets

The Cologne Christmas market is a must visit on your winter market tour. From whimsical and festive, to low key and local, this city has a market for everyone to enjoy.

Read Article