Can we keep him?

Word to the wise: when a Motel 6 says they have "wireless internet" they don't mean in all of the rooms.







So, back to Minnesota (we're skipping St. Ignace for now)...

Look who we’ve come across! Mom and I were going to stay the night in Blue Earth, Minnesota, not knowing what wonders the town offered! And where did this landmark come from? Here’s what we found on Wikipedia…

“Created by Leo Burnett, the Giant first appeared in advertisements in 1928; the name originally came from a variety of unusually large pea called the "Green Giant" that the company canned and sold.
In 1978, the town of Blue Earth, Minnesota paid $43,000 to erect a 55-foot (16.8 m) fiberglass statue of the Jolly Green Giant to commemorate the linking of the east and west sections of Interstate 90.
The Green Giant statue arrived in Blue Earth via flat bed truck on September 21, 1978 and was actually erected on the 23rd. The Giant was hoisted in a sling by a 65 foot crane in the north roadside rest area along I-90, where he overlooked the official opening of I-90 at a point where east met west, marking I-90's completion and representing a 3,028 mile nonstop route from Boston to Seattle.
The statue was placed in its present, permanent location on July 6, 1979, a mile south of I-90 on U.S. Highway 169. It is estimated that 10,000 people a year visit the statue. The pedestal is accessible by steps, and the statue is maintained by the city, which cleans the giant at least once a year and adorns it with a red scarf around his neck during the Christmas Season.”


And as for Little Sprout…

The Sprout character was introduced in Green Giant advertising in 1973. He is an apprentice to the Green Giant who helps the Giant tend the vegetables in his valley. Curious and enthusiastic, Sprout represents the voice of the consumer and learns from the Giant’s wisdom.
(from BettyCrocker.com)

And here's me trying to fight the Giant, like David versus the Jolly Green Goliath: