Another Weekend Away

-
Had a nice four day weekend trip to Minneapolis, MN in October.   Left on Friday morning and headed to northern Wisconsin - to check out some land owned by two Nystrand brothers - cousin of my Grandma Laurina Nystrand Swanson.  Found the graves of one brother and his wife in Ladysmith, Wisconsin - Fred Nystrand and his wife Inga.  Then we found the approximate site of the land they owned just south of Hawkins, Wisconsin.
Fred and Inga Nystrand's graves



Headed to Minneapolis after that - to our hotel for the weekend.  Checked in and headed to the closest restaurant (next door) for dinner.  Saturday we headed out to Fort Snelling - a fort built to protect against Indian attacks.  Very interesting visit - there were many costumed interpreters, a cannon shooting display and a musketry drill.  Learned that Dred Scott lived at Fort Snelling in the 1850s with his master, Dr. Emerson.  Also spoke with a woman from the Dakota tribe regarding Indian relocation in northern Minnesota.

 After Fort Snelling, we headed to the American Swedish Institute where we had lunch in their Swedish cafe, FIKA, and toured the museum which is housed in a 33 room mansion originally owned by the editor of the Swedish American newspaper, Swan and Christina Turnblad.



Found the Gustavus Adolphus Church where my father did his internship year in the early 50s.  Also drove by the State Capitol which was under repair and covered with scaffolding.  Good day all in all.
Sunday, we walked along the walkway around lower St. Anthony Falls.  The weather was sunny and in the 80s so a great day.  Drove back into Wisconsin in the St. Croix River area and along the Swedish corridor, the area Vilhelm Moberg wrote about in the Emigrant series.  Did some wine tasting, walked along the river and took lots of pictures, enjoying the fall colors.  Had a great dinner at a nice little restaurant, Swenson's Lakehouse, Center City, MN along the road headed back to Minneapolis.  Monday we headed for home - weather was about 30 degrees cooler and it was a very blustery day.  We drove on the Great River Trail in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, stopping to admire the river and the colors along the way.



Popular posts from this blog

-
 Christmas 2023 A great day with family! Celebrated at John and Sasha's house in Oak Park.  John, Sasha and Xochitl along with Kristin and Scott, Anna, Jim and Luke plus Paul and I and Mom. Photo Highlights here .
Read more

Spring Has Sprung! The Time to Travel has Begun!

-
Spring has sprung! And the time to travel has begun.  Retirement is great because we have time to do the things we want to do, including traveling as the weather warms up. Of course we are traveling safely, wearing masks and not making contact with too many people. This March we drove out to the Cape to visit my mother. I have been going to the Cape in March for a number of years, though I never made it last year. Paul was able to go with me this time. The weather was decent - at least no rain - so we tried to spend some time outdoors. When I go to the Cape I always want to "find the water" and eat fish and chips. This time we found the water at Dowses Beach, the National Seashore, Plymouth Harbor and the Sandwich boardwalk. We had fish and chips from Bobby Byrne's Restaurant and Seafood Sam's.  Finding the Water We had a nice visit - drove out to Provincetown one day, stopping to see the water in various places. We drove to Plymouth to visit the harbor, see Plymouth ...
Read more

Home Improvement - Part 2

-
Kristin has been staying here for the past few days - and while she has been here she has been working on painting the 3rd floor.  The bathroom is now slate blue instead of green.  And she is working on John's old room painting in there as well - a rather pleasant shade of lilac - not sure exactly what the paint shade is - but it looks good so far.  There is lots of wall space to cover so it has been taking time.
Read more