Minneapolis

We spent the weekend in Minneapolis with Kristen, Kathy’s niece, and Heidi—and of course with Chewy, Gromit, Shmadios, and Taice,their dogs and cats. For a long while now Kathy has wanted to go out to visit them, so I'm glad we could do it.

Saturday we did a driving tour of both Minneapolis and St. Paul’s, went to the Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden,

and stopped nearby for the mini-golf course designed by artists. We had some of the best falafel I’d ever had at the Holy Land (even better than a lot of what I’d had in Jerusalem!), snuck in a little gardening, and ate with Heidi and Kristen’s friends M.B. and Alex at another good restaurant whose name escapes me. Sunday, Kathy got a chance to play several hands of canasta with Kristen while Heidi and I went to a workshop on communicating with animals. Then, after a little partner canasta and some brief time riding on motorbikes--

I still haven’t gotten the hang of making a left turn without speeding the bike up, but I enjoyed riding more than Kathy did-- and a great meal at home, we ended the evening by competing on the Wii. I now know that I can’t hoola hoop for my life!

I really enjoyed Minneapolis' greenness (so much parkland and so many bodies of water) alongside what seemed like most of the benefits of a large city--theater, progressive ideas, and good food. And I hope that Kathy found it a nice blend of seeing a new place and family time.