This weekend we made a road trip down to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. While this was probably my 12th (or 20th?) trip down to Minneapolis, I observed a few random things I had not noticed on previous trips.

1. Winnipeg does an excellent job of snow clearing! Almost all of surface roads we came across in Minneapolis – including major thoroughfares like Lyndale and Hennipen –  only had 1 and a half lanes cleared. I’m not talking about a few inches after a heavy dumping, I’m talking about several feet of accumulated snow. This would never stand in Winnipeg.
2. In the absence of a uniting brand like Tim Hortons, old people hang out at “regular” coffee shops like Starbucks and Caribou. I wonder how this affect their brand image.
3. The Kindle has free 3G anywhere in the world! The ability to pull up wikipedia on the Interstate in the Middle of North Dakota is amazing!