Summer holiday 2

Minnesota

The next leg of the trip was St. Paul, MN. If you follow this blog you’ll know that this is a consistent stop for us, either at Christmas or during the summer. It’s a nice, relaxing place to hang out, often when we are in full on jet lag. This time, coming from Idaho, we were more coherent than normal.

Our friend Kathy showed us more of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Each time we see something new. I always say, it’s a very livable place – even during winter (so sayeth me).

In the summer the city is so green and there are so many trails and cool places to discover. One of the things we visited was Minnehaha Park. The central feature of the park, Minnehaha Falls, was a favorite subject of pioneer photographers. Although he never visited the park, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped to spread the waterfall's fame when he wrote his celebrated poem, The Song of Hiawatha, featuring the Native American hero, Hiawatha.

We had a picnic and rode around in one of those 4-person pedal karts. It screams tourist but it was actually a nice way to have a look around the area, covering more ground than if you walk. It’s a bit of work but something you need when you’re playing tourist, sampling lots of foods and not always getting the workouts in.

We also visited the Bell Museum which had just opened a week or so earlier. It apparently existed previously and was moved and upgraded. It has a digital planetarium, high-tech exhibits, wildlife dioramas, etc. Kind of a nerd’s delight. And of course we were all delighted. 

Next stop, southern Indiana.

Indiana

We soon found ourselves arriving in Louisville on our last leg of the trip. One of our main priorities this visit was the 90^th birthday of my father-in-law. It was planned to be a surprise, including the arrival of friends from their time living/working in India. It turned out to be a great and touching event. Quite a bit of work and thought went into it but it was worth it. We had some rain but tents had been arranged which allowed the event to go on unfettered. Cy had touched a lot of lives over the years and those present were just the tip of the tribute iceberg. Many of those who could not attend were able to pass on their sentiments via video which was compiled by one of their close friends from back in the day.

 

With the friends in town for the birthday, it was an occasion to do more tourism than we would have done otherwise. It’s not that we don’t explore the area but not quite as much as we did this time. In addition to having friends in town, there are other reasons for this. One is that Indiana is often our destination soon after arriving in the US. Add to that the fact that the in-laws is such a relaxing place and you end up with a perfect place to chill after stepping out of our rather bustling lives in Nairobi. Another thing that has changed over the years is that the girls are older now and it’s easier to explore with them. When they were little, there were fewer options.

drone fascination

at the Speed Art Museum

Japanese food

tasting bourbon

We spent a little more time in Louisville than we normally do. It’s a pretty cool city with lots to do. We had heard about bourbon tours but had never done one before. The fact that the gang all seemed interested, we decided to give it a go. It turned out to be quite fascinating. The history of bourbon is intertwined with the history of the city. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had much bourbon in my life but the tour was well done and peaked my interest. Towards the end you do a tasting of different types of bourbon which I found super interesting, particularly with the information provided by our tour guide. 

crossing the bridge

We did the bridge walk as well. That’s something we do during most of our visits. The Big Four Bridge was built in 1895 and was formerly used for rail traffic crossing the Ohio River, separating Kentucky and Indiana. It was turned into a pedestrian bridge in 2013 and, though the transformation was a costly investment, it seems to me to be a big hit for locals and tourists.

Before long I was packing my bags and heading to the airport. I had to return earlier than the ladies due to my need to get back to work. The sad surprise, after I’d settled back into my dual life in Kenya and Somalia, was that my beloved wife broke her wrist while roller skating with the kids. It was a stunning revelation for a number of reasons. She hasn’t broken bones before and she’s generally pretty careful. In any case, thoughts immediately turned towards the implications of the days ahead with a forearm cast, in in particular international travel without dad to schlep the bags.

In the end they managed but it took some planning and a quite a bit of pain. I was happy to have them back in one piece, more or less.