Of course, the mall has a least three Caribou Coffee stores with our favorite coffee drinks. Donna loves their coffee of the day with cream, hot in the morning and cold in the afternoon. I prefer their Campfire Coffee, which is a mocha made with extra chocolate, white, mint, regular, or dark, or a combination of all four!
We just had to "pay" our Minnesota State Visitors Tax before we left the Mall with several bags of goodies! There is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota, so it's easy to convince yourself that you're saving money (not).
The mall is in the midst of a huge expansion program, which is designed to almost double its size, as if we needed even more shopping floors to walk!
Bill and Linda and Donna and I stopped at Bubba Gump's for lunch, and contrary to the appearance of my stomach, this photo was taken before lunch!
Tuesday was another shopping day, after Bill and I went to breakfast with his neighbors Chuck and Jeff. A fourth, Byron, was away on vacation and couldn't make it, but the four of them go every Tuesday to a restaurant of the choice of the alternating driver. They've been doing this for years and have established a great relationship! They were kind enough to invite me to go along, and I enjoyed the conversation and friendship immensely. After lunch we all went to the 3M Company store for a supply of post-it notes and various 3M products. Somehow we managed to throw over $100 at the 3M pension fund! A quick trip of Costco completed our shopping today.
In the evening we went to dinner at Nacho Mama's with Bill, Linda, their daughter Cara and her husband Bruce, along with their kids Jacob, Victoria and James. It was Summer Tuesday, where the whole town turns out to enjoy music, food and drink, and a movie on the grass overlooking the St Croix river.
Nacho Mama's is not your typical Mexican restaurant. The portions are huge, and we brought home at least half of our Chili Rellenos, Smothered Burritos and Enchilada Bake. The Bake was and enchilada dish made like Lasagna, with layered tortillas baked in an individual deep dish! We started with a couple of appetizers that included bacon wrapped Jalapeno Poppers! Wonderful.
As soon as we got to the park along the River, the kids disappeared (thank goodness), leaving us to enjoy the evening talking and laughing. Cara and Bruce even managed to get an "alone" moment.
As the evening grew later a dinner cruise ship made a circuit of the River just offshore from the park.
Today, Wednesday, we went back into St Paul to visit the State Capitol, which is undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation. Unfortunately the central rotunda was completely closed off. We did manage to get photos of several interesting architectural areas.
The formal stairs to the second floor are beautiful.
While the room that the State Senate meets in is very beautiful, with its skylight and ornate backdrop,
We enjoyed the House of Representatives room more.
Perhaps the attraction was the chance meeting with the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives. Mr. Albin A. Mathiowetz. He is the gentleman that oversees the entire staff of the House, and sits at the center desk just in front of the Speaker of the House when the House is in session. In Minnesota, the Legislature meets for 3 months starting each year in February, and somehow manages to still complete the work of governing a diverse state! Methinks our home state of California could take a lesson! In any case, Mr. Mathiowetz has been the Chief Clerk since 1971, and had a number of interesting stories to tell. His position is non-political, but allows him to see up close the inner political workings of the House. A very interesting person, he related a number of facts and figures about the room, including the fact that the acoustics are phenomenal. Each member when standing in the "well" in the front center of the room can be heard clearly throughout the room. Unfortunately, each member seated at his or her desk can also be heard in a specific narrow area of the room, so they are cautioned not to speak out of turn or indiscreetly, because some other member may be able to hear them. Interesting!
At 2:30, we stumbled on a demonstration of the Navy Leap Frog Parachute Team. These Navy Seals are on a nationwide tour and provided a wonderful example of precision jumping. With proper gear, they can jump from 30,000 feet and travel some 70 miles before landing. Today they jumped from about 4500 feet over the State Capitol.
Two jumpers tagged up and made a tandem landing on a small square of grass directly in front of the Capitol.
The third parachutist, having held back for a bit, deployed an American Flag and circled the landing area.
And then made a perfect upright landing directly on the target!
Congratulations and Thank You, Navy Seals!
We returned to the interior of the Capitol to complete our self-guided tour, and then walked through the grounds in front of the building. Modeled after the Capitol Mall in Washington, the park stretches two blocks out in front and includes memorials to Minnesotans who have served and died defending our great country. Front and center of the memorials is a memorial to members of the Law Enforcement community that have given their lives in the service of the cities and state of Minnesota.
The narrow white band in the center lights up at night with blue lights, representing the "Thin Blue Line" of protection that we citizens have come to take for granted.
Well done, Minnesota!
Hey, Gary, I'll have one of those Campfire Coffee's right about now!
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the four of you at Bubba Gump's is priceless!