Up early and out with Paul to the Minnesota State Fair – was this the fourth time I’ve been there? The fifth? Often enough that things are familiar to me! Paul has his traditions and I go along with them. We start the day with a church hall pancake breakfast. And then we make our way to most of the buildings, stopping for food every so often! Eco Building, Horticulture/Agriculture, Education, Dairy. Highlights include the seed paintings and the prize vegetables, the butter princesses, and all sorts of livestock. The Old Mill is a Tunnel of Love ride that’s about 98 years old. There are mini-donuts and cheese curds and all the milk you can drink (plain or chocolate) for $1. I had to try a deep-fried Reese’s – there’s a lot of unhealthy food at the fair, to put it mildly. My favorite food of the day, new to the fair this year, was Cincinnati chili – it almost made up for not having made it to Cincinnati last year or this, though I owe it a visit. We did the Tilt-a-Whirl at the midway, as well as a couple of arcade games. Paul reads the daily schedule and scopes out the giveaways – we got drawstring bags, lip balm, seeds, juice, and toothpaste! Plus I got a passport stamp from the Mississippi River NRA – along with a map of the area, showing the five passport locations to visit on a future trip! One of the best parts about the fair is its official song, which Paul looked up once and which we now always sing – Minnesota, Minnesota, we are east of North Dakota, we are south of Manitoba, we’ve got something really rare (I don’t know the rest, but it rhymes with fair…).
Then it was on to Target Field, the Twins’ new ballpark. It’s been sold out the entire season; I bought the tickets on Stub Hub. Paul hadn’t been there yet, so it was nice to go with him for his first time. We got there early enough to walk around – as did most of the crowd, filled with the thrill of the new. As Paul pointed out, many of the people in attendance had never been to an outdoor baseball game. There’s a nice view of the Minneapolis skyline from the third-base side, some nice-looking food stands, and a neon outline of the state of Minnesota with the original Twins logo; when someone hits a home run, the twins shake hands. And the fact that the team was in a pennant race made it all the more exciting. They didn’t win, but it was a close game.
Back to Chicago the next day – all four of my Southwest flights were pleasant and on-time. Maybe domestic air travel isn’t so bad? My lunch plans fell through, so I went to the Garfield Park Conservatory – it’s peaceful and beautiful in the rooms, and walking the labyrinth is one of my favorite Chicago experiences. Then I went to my storage space – I had no real time for it this week, but I wanted to pick up my carry-on; my little rolling backpack is on its last wheels. I decided not to be overwhelmed by all the boxes; it was actually good that I hadn’t planned on spending a lot of time there, because it was hot in the space (and beautiful outside!). Still, I feel the need to spend some more time there and get rid of more stuff. Dinner with friends; breakfast solo the next morning (I didn’t see everyone I wanted to see but I saw everyone I could see) and then I had a little time for a walk along the lake in my old ‘hood, and then it was back to New York. I may not live in Chicago again, but it will always be part of me, and I’ll be back!
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