..Twin Cities..

As we pull into the Minneapolis metropolis Jarvis and I are both stoked to be back in the land of traffic, restaurants, clubs, and city noise. We spent the prior week in the small town that is Canby (which I will post an article on before long), so being back in a city is a breath of fresh air for both of us. Minneapolis is an outstanding city, and if the winter months weren’t so brutally cold, I think we would consider spending some real time here.

Our first night in the metropolitan area was spent in the outer reaches of the Twin Cities with a few of Jarvis’ cousins and his oober cute God Son. That evening, we had a bbq supper in the park. I enjoy our time sitting around the picnic table swapping stories. Jarvis got to run-a-muck with the lil’ one for a bit before we ate, and it makes me extremely happy to know that he is building memories with his favorite kiddo. We might have stayed there visiting all night, but as the sun set in the distance the mosquitoes began to congregate and irritate.

We make our way out of the fringes of the cities in the morning and head into NW Minneapolis to meet an old friend from San Francisco. Every time we stop through Minneapolis, we make it a point to drop in on our good friend Rich – he’s consistently cordial, and his extensive knowledge of the cities best dives, eateries, and watering holes is extraordinary. Upon our arrival he took us to Manny’s Steakhouse for one of the best lunches that I’ve consumed on this entire vacation. I had the surf n’ turf sliders with a crock of French onion soup and Jarvis can’t help but exclaim over the fact that there are bits of applewood smoked bacon in his potato salad. I’m delighted to be somewhere where I can order Prosecco with my lunch. Fantastic. That night we hop around some of the dives in the neighborhood and meet some other good friends for beers and dinner. It is absolutely superb to be with some good peeps that I love – swop stories and get to know the new additions. A few of us catch some live hippy music at the 331 Club and then saunter down the street to one of the seediest strip clubs that I have ever visited. Good times. Good times.

In the morning, we visited The Mall of America. I figured it was a must see attraction on the all American expedition; after all, consuming is the all American way. This place is absolutely ridiculous, and you have to reference the store guide and map to find anything. There’s a Nickelodeon themed amusement park in the center and the rides are like something out of the future. The highlight of the venture was that we met up with Jarvis’ momma, and she and I got to spend the afternoon browsing the endless amount of clothing racks for various odds and ends. We had dinner with Jarv’s aunt, uncle, and their two beautiful girls later that day. Our lasagna was served with a side of laughter, and I’m thankful to have expanded my family circuit to include so many new and fantastic faces.

Today I came down with a sore throat and a bit of a cold, but I’m glad that at least we are around the mom for some genuine love and care. I thank the stars that I was blessed with such a marvelous mother-in-law – being at her home is cozy and comforting. Jarvis and her are in the kitchen making some homemade vegetable soup right now – the perfect cure for the probing cold.