Just the Basics: We spent the day in our motel, sleeping late and catching up on correspondence and such. At 5 we met 9 of Riley's relatives for dinner at Pracna, Minneapolis's oldest restaurant, in the heart of the Old Town area on the East Bank of the Mississippi River, just above St. Anthony's Falls.
In attendance: Aunt Marge and her daughter Ann and Ann's husband Marc, and Aunt Marge's son Jimmy and his wife; Aunt Irene and her husband Jimmy; and Uncle Nathan and his wife Harriet. We had a wonderful time catching up and spent more than 3 hours together. Some highlights: Ann and her husband have cycled in Vietnam and are going cycling in Croatia next month - they also cycled to our dinner from their home about 14 miles away! Cousin Jimmy is an engineer who works for General Mills and was able to tell us how Cheerios are manufactured - what fun! Marge and Riley reminisced about her wedding, which Riley attended when he was about 11 years old. Irene runs a dress shop and makes regular buying trips to New York City and Chicago - who knew that bedbugs are a BIG problem in even the nicest hotels in NYC!! Nathan and Riley had great times talking about making model airplanes together when Riley was a little boy. Irene told a story about making root beer with Nathan in the family attic - the batch blew up! It was a real family dinner - lots of catching up with various family members, politics, education, people's health - the whole nine yards!
After that we took a brief walk in the downtown area - see today's photos.
Today's Photos: (1) The 3rd Street Bridge over the Mississippi River from the east side; (2) The St. Anthony Falls Power Station; (3) View of St. Anthony Falls (named by Father Hennepin) from the Stone Arch Bridge which James Hill built as a railroad bridge but which is now dedicated to the use of pedestrians and cyclists.
Tomorrow: We will still be in St. Paul, spending the afternoon and evening with friends.
For Those Who Want More: That's it.
In attendance: Aunt Marge and her daughter Ann and Ann's husband Marc, and Aunt Marge's son Jimmy and his wife; Aunt Irene and her husband Jimmy; and Uncle Nathan and his wife Harriet. We had a wonderful time catching up and spent more than 3 hours together. Some highlights: Ann and her husband have cycled in Vietnam and are going cycling in Croatia next month - they also cycled to our dinner from their home about 14 miles away! Cousin Jimmy is an engineer who works for General Mills and was able to tell us how Cheerios are manufactured - what fun! Marge and Riley reminisced about her wedding, which Riley attended when he was about 11 years old. Irene runs a dress shop and makes regular buying trips to New York City and Chicago - who knew that bedbugs are a BIG problem in even the nicest hotels in NYC!! Nathan and Riley had great times talking about making model airplanes together when Riley was a little boy. Irene told a story about making root beer with Nathan in the family attic - the batch blew up! It was a real family dinner - lots of catching up with various family members, politics, education, people's health - the whole nine yards!
After that we took a brief walk in the downtown area - see today's photos.
Today's Photos: (1) The 3rd Street Bridge over the Mississippi River from the east side; (2) The St. Anthony Falls Power Station; (3) View of St. Anthony Falls (named by Father Hennepin) from the Stone Arch Bridge which James Hill built as a railroad bridge but which is now dedicated to the use of pedestrians and cyclists.
Tomorrow: We will still be in St. Paul, spending the afternoon and evening with friends.
For Those Who Want More: That's it.