Stopped at Five Watt Coffee for a cuppa. “California Dreamin” was playing in the background and inevitably became an earworm. On the way out, a red elevator lobby demanded my attention.
Category: Minneapolis
Chairs in a Park
On our walk: the Fairfield Chair Company had set up a pop-up showroom in Gold Medal Park for some interior decorators.
Projecting Calm
On my cycle ride: bollards projecting calm. Presumably originally installed to protect a ramp for launching small boats from barges, it’s now purely aesthetic. This section of the Mississippi is now closed to barge traffic.
Breakfast at Lake Harriet
Breakfast at Lake Harriet.
Remnant of WWII
On my cycle ride: World War II guard tower built to protect a Norden bombsight factory. Today, tenants of the old factory buildings include a distillery and a company that develops LEGO military model kits. (The LEGO Company has a strict policy against selling military models.)
Aquatennial Fireworks
Watched the Aquatennial fireworks from our balcony.
Energy Recovery Center
Cycled past the carefully named Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center where over one-third of our county’s (population 1.3 million) waste is burned and turned into electricity and steam for district heating. More than 11,000 tons of metal are recovered annually.
Rainbow Run
Hundreds of runners unexpectedly surged towards us, just as we reached the middle of a bridge. The starting line for the Rainbow Run 5K was just beyond the bridge in Boom Island Park.
Things will be Hopping
Cycled past evidence our neighborhood is going to be hopping this weekend. (Stone Arch Bridge Festival.)
(Almost) Self-Sustaining Building
On our walk: a mill worker depicted at the Pillsbury A-Mill. Completed in 1881, it was the world’s largest flour mill for 40 years. Today the building is well-appointed artist lofts; a hydroelectric generator, combined with geothermal, produces 75% of the building’s energy needs.