hi all,
We are enroute again--this time our train, the Empire Builder, is taking us from Minneapolis to Whitefish, Montana. (We changed our tickets so that we will be going a few miles west of Glacier, given that our potential options for lodging in Glacier are considerably less hopeful at this point in the season.)
It is a bit dreary outside, and most of the passengers--some of whom are heading all the way to Seattle-- are sleeping on and off. We are somewhere in North Dakota, and there are a lot of fields, a few cows, and an abundance of nondescript gray--perfect for reading and writing, both of which I have been doing for the last four hours.
We are coming off a lovely weekend in Minneapolis/St. Paul with Ben Sheldon, a good friend from my Spruce Lake Wildneress Camp days, and his wife, Alison. When we decided to stop through the cities, another mutual friend (thanks, Nathan!) suggested that we connect with the Sheldons, which turned out to be one of the best decisions we have made so far! They have a wonderful home in Minneapolis, and Alison and Ben were the perfect hosts to us. They both happen to care about preparing and eating good food, which happens to be one of my favorite things, so I was delighted to learn about some of their traditions and experiments lately. Alison really inspired me to try making yogurt. She also introduced us to the wonders of goat cheese and a fermented black tea called Kombucha, with all sorts of great health benefits. On Saturday morning, we made breakfast together and then walked around their neighborhood and spent some time in a quaint thrift store where we found some treasures (one of my favorite plays by Henrick Ibsen and a pair of wool socks for 50 cents total!) When Ben got off work, we all headed to the Stone Arch Bridge and walked around downtown Minneapolis, stopping in Dunn Bro's coffeeshop--a definite must-try in Minneapolis. They have some good beans, and roast them on sight, which is always a plus. (In case some of you are wondering, I have not been drinking ALL of my coffee in my tin cup, but pictures will be coming in the not too distant future of my favorite moments with it...) We also were able to check out the Minneapolis Central Library, which was pretty amazing.
Afterwards, we went home and made dinner together, and Doug tried a local ale, before we all caught some shut-eye. Yesterday, Alison took us to the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, and we marveled at some of the cool sculptures (and downright strange ones) around the park. We made pancakes with Ben when he woke up, and then headed to St. Paul, to visit Common Good Books where we perused their selections and then tried some coffee upstairs (at Nina's) --maybe the best cup I have had so far on the trip.
We went to St. Paul's Cathedral for 5:00 mass, and the building was immense and hauntingly beautiful. I am always stilled into awe at the great Catholic cathedrals I have visited, St. Paul's being no exception. Doug got some great shots!
Following the service, we went home, had some dinner, played a game of 9-hole (yes, Doug got his best score ever; yes, I lost very dramatically) before we made it to the station to say goodbye to the Sheldons, change our tickets, and hope for a better night of sleep! A better night of sleep it was, but the dreary weather makes me feel tired and in the mood for reading and a good cup of coffee. Doug and I won't be having the Americanos or Dunn Bros lattes that we had in Minneapolis, or the good company and meals, but we will enjoy what we can of the day and look forward to the glaciers we will be seeing soon--twelve more hours until we get to Whitefish!
d&d
We are enroute again--this time our train, the Empire Builder, is taking us from Minneapolis to Whitefish, Montana. (We changed our tickets so that we will be going a few miles west of Glacier, given that our potential options for lodging in Glacier are considerably less hopeful at this point in the season.)
It is a bit dreary outside, and most of the passengers--some of whom are heading all the way to Seattle-- are sleeping on and off. We are somewhere in North Dakota, and there are a lot of fields, a few cows, and an abundance of nondescript gray--perfect for reading and writing, both of which I have been doing for the last four hours.
We are coming off a lovely weekend in Minneapolis/St. Paul with Ben Sheldon, a good friend from my Spruce Lake Wildneress Camp days, and his wife, Alison. When we decided to stop through the cities, another mutual friend (thanks, Nathan!) suggested that we connect with the Sheldons, which turned out to be one of the best decisions we have made so far! They have a wonderful home in Minneapolis, and Alison and Ben were the perfect hosts to us. They both happen to care about preparing and eating good food, which happens to be one of my favorite things, so I was delighted to learn about some of their traditions and experiments lately. Alison really inspired me to try making yogurt. She also introduced us to the wonders of goat cheese and a fermented black tea called Kombucha, with all sorts of great health benefits. On Saturday morning, we made breakfast together and then walked around their neighborhood and spent some time in a quaint thrift store where we found some treasures (one of my favorite plays by Henrick Ibsen and a pair of wool socks for 50 cents total!) When Ben got off work, we all headed to the Stone Arch Bridge and walked around downtown Minneapolis, stopping in Dunn Bro's coffeeshop--a definite must-try in Minneapolis. They have some good beans, and roast them on sight, which is always a plus. (In case some of you are wondering, I have not been drinking ALL of my coffee in my tin cup, but pictures will be coming in the not too distant future of my favorite moments with it...) We also were able to check out the Minneapolis Central Library, which was pretty amazing.
Afterwards, we went home and made dinner together, and Doug tried a local ale, before we all caught some shut-eye. Yesterday, Alison took us to the Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis, and we marveled at some of the cool sculptures (and downright strange ones) around the park. We made pancakes with Ben when he woke up, and then headed to St. Paul, to visit Common Good Books where we perused their selections and then tried some coffee upstairs (at Nina's) --maybe the best cup I have had so far on the trip.
We went to St. Paul's Cathedral for 5:00 mass, and the building was immense and hauntingly beautiful. I am always stilled into awe at the great Catholic cathedrals I have visited, St. Paul's being no exception. Doug got some great shots!
Following the service, we went home, had some dinner, played a game of 9-hole (yes, Doug got his best score ever; yes, I lost very dramatically) before we made it to the station to say goodbye to the Sheldons, change our tickets, and hope for a better night of sleep! A better night of sleep it was, but the dreary weather makes me feel tired and in the mood for reading and a good cup of coffee. Doug and I won't be having the Americanos or Dunn Bros lattes that we had in Minneapolis, or the good company and meals, but we will enjoy what we can of the day and look forward to the glaciers we will be seeing soon--twelve more hours until we get to Whitefish!
d&d
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