Okay, the creek that runs across the street from my mom's new house is not only boatable, it has wavetrains. In the middle of the city! Granted they probably vanish during parts of the year... but I would kill for this. You can walk 500 ft, hop on and boat upstream (1/2 mile?) to the lake. Haven't tried it yet, but it seems possible. It seems damn ideal.
It's 7:30 am and already over 100 cyclists, stroller mamas, and pooch walkers have passed by my Mom's front window. At least. We're averaging about 4 a minute. More than I'd see in Saint Louis in a week.
Minneapolis is not good for my "I'm going to be excited about the 'lou for one more year!" plan. It'll happen, but being here reminds me strongly what Saint Louis is missing. If I go out tonight, I have about 4 great live shows to choose from. There are at least 6 or 7 local artists who I follow. My mpls restaurants-I-really-want-to-try list is limited only by my budget. There is breathtaking and accessible architecture. The greenways seem endless. And everywhere cute, interesting people in their mid-20's seem to ooze out of the sidewalks.
Downsides to the city of lakes? The demographics are heavily white - it's a little surreal after spending so much time recently in STL, Memphis, and Atlanta. But I love and am very comfortable in the city's neighborhoods with larger immigrant and african american populations -- I think they're communities I'll seek out no matter where I end up. It also gets really frikkin' cold from october through march! Obviously I'd just have to take up ice climbing.
Saint Louis has sponsored many fabulous laura-adventures, but Minneapolis is yet another reminder that the STL is not where I want to settle down. Seeing the northwest for the first time next week will be an interesting contrast.
Ok, only 8 hours to knock off my MPLS must-do list!
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