Chapter 7

We found out this morning at breakfast that yesterday afternoon, in all that rain, there were 8 tornado sightings in Minnesota. One “in the afternoon” was in Nicolette, which we passed through around 6:00. Luckily, no people or buildings were harmed, though trees lost branches and some corn was damaged.

We drove about 1.5 hours to Minneapolis, listening to NPR. Our first stop was actually St. Paul, and the state capitol. This was a beautiful, huge building, with a gold topped dome, and four gold horsemen above the front door. Fun Fact: The dome is 60 feet in diameter, and one of the largest self-supporting marble domes in the world. One interesting thing about this capitol was that there were inspiring quotes everywhere – lining the walkways, around the rooms where the senate and house meet, anywhere they could fit one. (We noticed throughout the day that everywhere we went, there were inspiring quotes – a Minneapolis thing?) Tom asked at the desk, and they gave him a printout with all the quotes. Also, they had a Lego model of the capitol. A beautiful building!

Next, we drove a short distance to Summit Avenue, which begins with the Cathedral of St. Paul, another beautiful dome. Almost across the street is the mansion that James J. Hill built. We walked along the street for a while, admiring one mansion after another. Apparently, a few years ago, this was a rundown neighborhood, but it is beautiful now.

We then drove to the waterfront in Minneapolis. We ate lunch in the car, and then walked over to the new Guthrie Theatre. It is completely open to the public, and two different employees were eager to show us which elevators to take, first to the “endless bridge” which juts out toward the river. Great views down to and across the river. Then we went up to a higher floor, with a “view box”, which made everything look yellow. More views!

Just next door is the Mill City Museum. Minneapolis was the flour milling capital of the world from 1880 to 1930, and there were many mills. This museum is in the historic Washburn A Mill, the flagship mill of the Washburn-Crosby Co, which became General Mills, makers of Gold Medal flour (and other things). This mill closed in 1965 and burned in 1991. The museum is built within the ruins. There were displays about how wheat is milled and about the machinery used, but the highlight was the “flour tower 8-story elevator show”. We sat on risers in a former freight elevator that went up and down and experienced the sights and sounds of the workers and machines that used to work there. We finished at the top with more views of the river. On our way out we passed through the Baking lab, and Tom got some questions about pizza crust answered.

Next stop was for tea, and we found a great coffee/tea shop for tea and scones.

Then we went on to the Walker Art Museum, which is a museum for modern art. We looked in a couple galleries, and then up to “9” (they don’t say 9th floor in Minneapolis, just 9) for an interesting installation from Japan. We colored some pictures, and then scanned them. They were added to ones other people had colored, of birds, butterflies, frogs and flowers. They flowed around the room and changed as people touched them. Flowers broke apart into petals, and birds and butterflies flew. There were 2 whales floating around too. It was beautiful.

Outside is the sculpture garden, which has just been remodeled. The most famous pieces are a giant spoon and cherry, and a blue rooster. We enjoyed walking all over the large space, where there are over 50 sculptures.

By then we were ready for dinner, and we found a restaurant not too far away. We had a beet and pear salad, a hummus and vegetable plate and a cheese plate. It was a delicious dinner, and all the vegetables were great. After dinner, we had a one hour drive here to Red Wing, Minnesota.

One thing we liked about Minneapolis was seeing lots of Black Lives Matter and other similar signs. After nearly a week in Trump country (Trump: Brains and Balls was a favorite), it was good to be back where people are welcoming to all.