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.
Category: Place
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.
Embracing defeat
Spent my day on the couch nursing a fever from the study drug. My current read, Embracing Defeat, covers the years of the American occupation of Japan, 1945–1952. Among all the failures of a collapsed society to support itself, a glimmer of hope is Japan’s 1947 constitution, which was written by a committee of Americans and remains Japan’s constitution today, remarkably with no amendments. Back then, America imposed democracy; today, our leaders undermine it.
Escaping into Ghibli
One young member of the clinical study staff who is traveling to Japan in September asked for travel tips. Since she loves hiking, I suggested Yakushima Island, which she immediately recognized as the setting for Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke. I mentioned a Japan Today article about the Tokyo live-action stage production of Princess Mononoke streaming online for one day in a couple of weeks. A nurse overheard, and suddenly I had two excited fans on my hands. Tomorrow, I’m bringing in these bags of KitKats I picked up from an Asian market on the way home.
Scenes on a bridge
Two pedicabs passed me on the Stone Arch Bridge. Beyond, two young people were creating content, presumably for social media, while one filmed as the other leapt across the path. Fundraisers had set up a table and were trying to attract the attention of passersby as I pressed down harder on the pedals. Off the end of the bridge, the usual Jehovah’s Witness stand was set up with two in attendance. We didn’t make eye contact, so I didn’t give my usual cheery greeting.
Powering the future
Cycled along a hydroelectric plant service road just below where we live, an area I’ve rarely visited. The 1903 red brick building across the river was originally a power plant for the Minneapolis streetcar system, but today it serves as the University of Minnesota’s Southeast Steam Plant. It heats nearly every building on the Minneapolis campuses and generates 20% of their electricity.