Minnesota Evening

19 December 16

It's cold here.  Cold isn't my thing.  I prefer to be sweating it out in the jungles of India or on the Buffalo River at the height of summer.  The weather channel app said it was -25 yesterday.  Apparently this was a record for the area.  These are not the kind of records I want to experience in person...

A few notes on the capital city:
  1. They are remarkably adapted to cold.  The variety of machines I saw that move or remove snow was immense.  They have figured out how to function in this snowy wonderland.  Another adaptation, skywalks.  I literally chose a hotel based on proximity to restaurants I could walk to, a gym and free breakfast (note theme of not having to go outside).  I accidentally happened upon the skywalk system when two elevator passengers got off there.  They are like airborne people tunnels that weave through downtown.  I was able to walk a half mile and only had to go outside for 1 minute.  It is an ingenious and creative adaptation to the climate.
  2. People are fairly kind here.  It almost feels disingenuous because of the degree of politeness, but it's neat.  The Minnesota accent is a bonus.
  3. My hotel sells ear dry in it's "pantry."  For those of you that don't know, it is used after water sports, swimming, kayaking, etc., to help dry up some of the water that may have made it down in the ear.  Why in the world is this a critical item in such a limited assortment?  I will continue to ponder.  There is probably an epic pool somewhere in the hotel that I failed to notice.  
  4. Lastly, and not really capital city related, I was reminded sharply to trust my intuition this evening.  I won't go into the details, but I was compelled to do something way out of character and it turned out to be the right thing to do.  It was odd to be so overwhelmed with an inclination.  I'd encourage you to pay attention to those urges and don't be too cautious in pursuing them to completion.  
I'm back in the warm, dry room.  I'm so thankful that I'm full of a healthy dinner, tired from a work day and great workout.  This is a charmed existence that some people will never get to experience.

Here are a few views from the warmth of the skywalk system:



This is the jam for the evening:


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