Today, Norm Goldman, editor of www.Sketchandtravel.com and www.Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest, travel author and writer Tim Bewer, who is an expert on Minnesota. Tim is also the author of Moon Handbooks Minnesota, as well as many other travel books and travel articles.

Good day Tim and thank you for agreeing to participate in our interview:

Norm:

Tim, could you tell our readers something about yourself, how long have you lived in Minnesota, your writing experience, and your expertise pertaining to Minnesota?

Tim:

I moved to Minneapolis in 2000, but I spent most of my life living next door in Wisconsin and visited the Land of 10,000 Lakes often before making it my home. After two years of exploring every nook and cranny in the state I published my Moon Handbooks Minnesota with Avalon Travel Publishing of Emeryville, California in December of 2004. Other countries I've written, edited, or updated books on include Wisconsin, Ecuador, and El Salvador.


Norm:

Could you tell our audience something about Minnesota, where it is situated, its climate, geography etc, and why, as mentioned in your bio that I recently read, you consider the upper Midwest to be the most beautiful place on earth?

Tim:

Minnesota is in the north central United States. It spans the boreal pine forests of Lake Superior's western shores in the northeast down to the tallgrass prairie and farm fields of the Great Plains in the southwest. The culture is quintessential Midwest--modest and friendly. The winters are as cold as you'd expect, but the weather the rest of the year is usually mild and comfortable.
As for being the most beautiful place on earth; well, no one can argue with the majesty of mountains, but I personally think the intimacy of a forest-fringed lake tops it and we've got some twelve thousand of them. Plus, there is an abundance of waterfalls, soaring bluffs lining the Mississippi River and Lake Superior, and large patches of tallgrass prairie.


Norm:

Do you consider Minnesota a great place for a romantic getaway or wedding destination and if so, why?

Tim: Absolutely. There are many historic small towns with luxurious bed-and-breakfasts or you can go "Up North" and find a remote lakeside cabin with a fieldstone fireplace and bearskin rug. And, no matter where you base yourself, you'll have sublime scenery around you.


Norm:

If you had to choose the five most unique and romantic venues in Minnesota, what would they be, where are they situated and why would you consider these five?

Tim: