May 26 -- Minneapolis to Milwaukee via Madison

The day was beautiful--clear blue skies and 75 degrees. We enjoyed our drive very much, but we were surprised by the terrain in Wisconsin. Expecting lots of flat land with grain fields and dairy cows, we were surprised to see rolling hills with lots of woods. We had driven over 100 miles into Wisconsin before seeing our first dairy farm. In Madison, we had lunch near the University and had a good view of the Capitol. The picture of the Capitol was taken from our outdoor table as was the picture of the two of us. It seemed like the Capitol, which our travel guide says is the largest outside of the Nation's Capitol, was part of the University. Driving on to Milwaukee we saw more dairy farms, but not many. It makes us question their title "America's Dairyland." The number of dairy farms is declining due to the high costs.

After checking into the hotel, we turned on the TV to the weather channel and discovered that Northern Virginia was having severe thunderstorms, so we called Jenn and Terry to see how things were. Apparently, it wasn't really storming yet and Terry said they really didn't notice the weather because they never get outside--too busy finishing the painting in the nursery and putting together the baby's furniture. We would feel sorry for them, except we are too excited about becoming grandparents.

After a short rest, we headed for downtown Milwaukee. On the way we passed Miller Park where the Brewers play. It looked a lot like the outside of Camden Yards, except for the retractable dome. Next, we discovered that they are building a new interstate through downtown Milwaukee and our navigation system doesn't deal well with detours. We drove out to Lake Michigan and took a walk on the beach. On the way back to the hotel we drove through a small park that reminded us of Rock Creek Parkway in D.C. and then we drove by some beautiful mansions just about a block from the Lake. On Memorial Day we hope to tour Milwaukee and some of their beautiful old homes like the Pabst Mansion.

May 26 -- Minneapolis and St. Paul -- The Twin Cities

The first thing we learned on our tour of the Twin Cities was that they do not get along and they have very different cultures. Minneapolis is constantly tearing down its old structures and building new. St. Paul preserves its historic buildings and has strict codes regarding their rehabilitation. St. Paul thinks Minneapolis gets all the States perks. (Minneapolis has the major leagues athletic teams, the State Theater and the State Opera House. ) St. Paul has the Capitol Building and St. Paul's Cathedral. They both have sky walks that allow you to walk around the downtown area without ever going outside. They are heated in the Winter and cooled in the Summer even though our guide said they only have two seasons in Minnesota -- Winter and road repair time. The sky walks in St. Paul are owned by the city and are all uniform. The ones in Minneapolis are privately owned and are all different. St. Paul was originally called Pig's Eye after the scoundrel who was kicked out of the military and stayed in the area near Ft. Snelling. Fortunately, a French Roman Catholic missionary showed up and built a Church called St. Paul. He was subsequently successful in getting the name of the city changed to St. Paul. Since then a new St. Paul's Church has been built and it is the 4th largest Church in the United States.

We drove past many of the Twin Cities' highlights, but it was hard getting pictures from the bus. Later, when we went back to some by car, our camera battery died. We saw Hubert Humphrey's grave; Walter Mondale's home; the house used in the Mary Tyler Moore show; the Governor's Mansion where no one has lived since Jesse Ventura was Governor three years ago; MANY statues of the characters from the Peanuts cartoon strip (Charles Schultz was from St. Paul); several of the city parks (1/6th of the land area of Minneapolis is dedicated to city parks); Minnehaha Falls where Minnehaha and Hiawatha were going to plunge to their death until Hiawatha's Father gave them permission to marry; the house where F. Scott Fitzgerald lived with his parents (after flunking out of Princeton) until This Side of Paradise was published and he had enough money to move away from St. Paul, marry the glamorous Zelda Sayre and never return (now the City honors him and named the Theater where Garrison Keillor of Lake Wobegon and Prairie House Companion fame broadcasts from); and several other things that escape our mind at the moment.

Key to pictures: 1) State Capitol Building (presumably it has the largest unsupported dome in the world. 2) The house used in the Mary Tyler Moore show on TV. Apparently, she never saw the house until the series was off the air, but the owners showed her around when she did come for a visit. They have a statue of her downtown on a street throwing up her tam like she did on the show, but again, she never walked these streets in the show. 3) Schroeder and Lucy in a St. Paul park that is dedicated to Charles Schultz. 4) A house on Summit Avenue, which is the snob hill street for St. Paul. The Governor's Mansion is on this street. 5) Minnehaha Falls, supposedly the highest urban water fall in the country. 6) Sky walks in downtown Minneapolis, 7) The spoon with a cherry (water runs over the cherry) in sculpture park. The Basilica of St. Mary's is in the background. It was designed by the same person who did St. Paul's Cathedral, but it is not as large.

What a moose would look like if she dressed like a Red Hot Momma, or...

what Jeanine would look like if she were a moose. Take your pick. We found this adorable moose in the Department 56 store. Carol Ann and John, you guys would love this store. Be sure to check it out if you're ever in the Mall of America--3 rd floor, West side.