IF NOT FOR THE SNOW, I can envision this as some place warm and sunny. Some location other than here. Some place with real palm trees, not just those painted on the side of a building.
I can picture myself on the patio, relaxing and conversing at a table with friends, drinking margaritas while the hot sun bakes my skin. But wishful thinking doesn’t land me in Arizona or Texas or California or Florida or Mexico. I am in Minnesota, outside the shuttered Cancun Grill Mexican Restaurant, drawn here by an inviting tropical scene of ocean and palm trees.
Just days after a major multi-day winter storm dumped some 14 inches of snow on Faribault, I find myself photographing the “for sale” restaurant. The contrast of snow layering tables, chairs and patio against the backdrop tropical-themed mural catches my creative eye, allowing for a visual and mental escape from all this winter.
I’ve never dined at this restaurant, although I wish I had based on the positive online reviews: Authentic wonderful Mexican cuisine. Best tacos here. Excellent burritos and margaritas. Large portions. Delicious. Great service.
Now it’s too late to experience this taste of Cancun in my southern Minnesota community. But I can dream. I can dream of palm trees I’ve never seen, except at Como Park Conservatory in St. Paul. I can dream of places I’ve never visited. I can dream of staying at an all-inclusive fancy resort, of warm beach sand filtering through my toes and sunshine on my face. I can dream of lazy days lounging by the sea with a good book rather than time spent shoveling snow.
In this moment I am not in Minnesota, enveloped in a wintry landscape. Rather, my imagination melts away the snow, replacing it with beach sand so white I need sunglasses. Ah, this is lovely, this Cancun of fleeting travel.
This permanently closed restaurant along busy Fourth Street Northwest/Minnesota State Highway 60 in Faribault offers me a momentary escape. I feel the breeze as palm trees sway against the merging blue sky and water while I sip a strawberry margarita on the sun-drenched patio.
© Copyright 2023 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
You’re welcome to visit in the warmth of my backyard in Texas anytime you’d like, Audrey. 🙂
Thank you, Penny. I appreciate the open invitation.
We are e route to Texas so I will send some sun and warm vibes your way to melt your snow. 😊
Safe travels. Stay clear of storms.
I too can see the white beach sand in your photos. Some of it’s piled up on top of the patio furniture!
That’s right, darned partiers putting sand on the furniture. Enjoy the balmy beaches of Branson.
Texas has questionable weather at times. One of my grandsons lives in Midland, and his wife says when she gets up in the A.M., she never knows how it will end in the evening.
You’re right, Norma. Texas has experienced some rather rugged weather.
A fun tropical escape always sounds nice this time of year!
It sure does.
Mexican food and a good margarita! Now that sounds like a great escape from the snowy Midwest.
You got that right!
what a good escape, even if only in your mind for a bit, that offers a bit of respite from the winter as well
It sure does.
Isn’t imagining perfect for times like these? That looks like a very inviting place to eat, unfortunate that it closed.
🏝️🏝️🏝️🏝️☀️☀️☀️☀️
Yes, I wish I would have eaten here. And, yes, the imagination can take us any place.
Next winter I think it’s time you make your dreams come true and head south, especially since you never have. Rick and I have done 2 trips to the south during the winter months, we choose winter only because I cant stand the heat and humidity of the south in the summer. I think you and Randy would love it!
Our second daughter has taken several trips into the South (Savannah) and loved it. Yes, I think we would enjoy the history, the food, the culture and the warmth, if it was winter in Minnesota.