Cycled with a friend around Railroad Island, a St. Paul neighborhood hemmed in by train tracks. An Italian restaurant, an Italian market, and a supermercado highlighted its strong immigrant ties. Riding along mostly quiet residential streets, we passed the oldest brick house in St. Paul and stopped by an urban farm holding an open house.
Category: Place
Hallowed ground
Walked over to the farmers market. In the shade of the Guthrie, a painting class focused on a red food truck, its faint reflection visible in the windows behind them. This space is special to us. During COVID, we held our spontaneous wedding reception here, complete with lawn chairs, alongside the two friends who witnessed our vows in the judge’s chambers.
Asian market run
Picked up this haul from an Asian supermarket: Japanese snack mix, Japanese mayo, Asian broccoli, Japanese curry cubes, and Japanese KitKats. Japanese egg salad sandwiches are the best, thanks to that mayo. The slightly bitter Asian broccoli nicely offsets a sweeter dish. I’ve read that over 90% of Japanese homes use curry cubes to make a curry base: just add leftover veggies, spoon some rice on the side from the rice cooker, and you have a satisfying, quick meal.
An early sign of fall
It wasn’t a protest as I cycled past people outside the U’s ice arena holding signs. It’s Welcome Week for new students, and the signs were meant to group everyone by department. Looking at them, I find it hard to believe I was ever that young when I was a fresher back in the UK.
A short cycle ride to the 26th Avenue North Overlook
My nephews would’ve enjoyed scrambling on the climbing net at the foot of the beacon… maybe a dozen years ago. The beacon leans out over the Mississippi at this overlook in North Minneapolis, a short ride from our home. This was my first outing in three days: the study treatment has kept me laid low, which means it’s doing something! It felt good to be out among people clearly enjoying the beautiful day.
Winding down the week
It felt like the end of our workweek at Town Hall Brewery, just a few blocks from home. For me, it marked the end of a busy week of 12 tiring medical appointments, including four hours today, with a welcome break until Monday. For Dwight, it capped off his time today in the university greenhouse. The onsite-brewed beers were excellent and paired well with the Happy Hour pulled pork sliders.
Where the bison roam
Had a great bike ride through Spring Lake Park Reserve with a friend. We’ve cycled this stretch that includes bluffs above the Mississippi, downriver from St. Paul, plenty of times, but today was different. It was the first time I actually got to see the bison up close on the restored prairie.
Saturday food run
First port of call today: stocked up on veggies and bread at our local farmers market, tucked between the Mill City Museum and the Guthrie Theater. I then cycled over to Coastal Seafoods for a nice fatty piece of Atlantic salmon, then on to the Seward Co-op for our favorite almond milk ice cream, which conveniently kept the salmon cold on the ride home.
A man on the move
On a bike ride with a friend, we stopped at this statue of Thomas Lowry, best known for overseeing the early growth of the Twin Cities streetcar system. Our house was in the Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis. My friend grew up in Lowry, Minnesota, a town that owes its existence to the Soo Line Railroad, which was founded and led by Lowry.
Unmistakeably Minneapolis
On my cycle ride: spoon, cherry, and Basilica. The Basilica is currently undergoing restoration work both inside and out.