There is a particular way Minnesotans are described, sometimes. We’re “Minnesota Nice.” Minnesotans are widely viewed as polite and friendly. That certainly was what I hope Cas took away from our Red Wing adventures yesterday. I felt totally at ease, surrounded by people who look, act and dress like me. Sure, that’s to be expected. I was born here and spent the first seven years of my life in this city. Stands to reason that I kind of fit in here.
So, I left you hanging at Randy’s. That was the first thing we did yesterday, but by no means was it the last. From there, we went on a little walk down Main Street, because, of course, it’s called Main Street. We went past the school where I attended up until second grade, the park near that school where I used to play, and into the public library where I checked out my first book. With a little more wandering, we landed at the river. Red Wing was a big hub back in the day, with a train depot and great access to the Mississippi River, lots of business flowed through Red Wing in its heyday.
After our stroll through downtown and by the river, we hopped in the rental car and drove to the trailhead for Barn Bluff. Leave it to pragmatic midwesterners to name a bluff because it resembles a barn. Cas loves hiking, and I have developed a fondness for it, as well, so up we went, and Barn Bluff, though its name is rather ordinary, did not disappoint. We took in views of the river, the city, and everything we could see from atop the large chunk of rock. It was beautiful, and afterward, we were filthy. So, we headed back to the hotel to clean up a little prior to lunch.
We went to lunch at a spot called Liberty’s, which I always enjoyed. It was founded in Red Wing a year after I was ”founded” here, so it’s in good company. There are classic motorcycles hanging from the ceiling at Liberty’s, a fact that I certainly must relate to my dad, in case that’s a new feature since his las visit. He’ll be in the area at the end of the summer, and I suspect he will want to come in, have a beer and grab a ladder for closer inspection. After that, we walked to the Red Wing Shoe museum and store to have a look at the world’s largest work boot. Why wouldn’t you? Then we waked through the Uffda Shop, and despite the very Scandinavian-ness of everything in there, we didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without.
After that, we got in the car and drove a little. We went to the very first house I ever lived in, but we were there when I was a baby, so no memory lane, I’m afraid. Then, we saw the place my family lived until I was seven. That one, I remember. It looks smaller. Probably because I’m bigger. We drove down the gravel road where my mom grew up, photographed the spot where my grandpa’s house used to be and made our way to the church where my folks were married and where I was baptized. We were standing out front when the 6pm church bells chimed. It was such a long series of chimes, that I captured a quick video of the bells- it’s in the photo album.
I know it sounds like our day took us from one end of Minnesota to the other, but we actually had a little time to kill before dinner at this point- Oh, I mean supper. I failed to mention, when you are in Red Wing, you have breakfast, dinner and supper, in that order. There is no such thing as lunch, and dinner is in the middle of the day. So what I meant to say was that we had a little time to kill before supper. That’s better. So we headed to Colvill Park. It’s pretty, right on the water, and in the winter, it’s a spot where you can see lots and lots of bald eagles. Not so much in the summer, though. No matter. We both suspect we saw one flying around early in the morning, but he was pretty quick, and we can’t be sure.
For supper, we headed to the Smokin’ Oak. It’s a nice enough place, but Cas has long been fascinated by the Minnesotan pronunciation fo the long O. The Smokin’ Oak has two of them, and just saying the name in the voice of the people here was enough to sell him on a meal there. It was really good. We had rotisserie chicken and ribs, and our waiter told us the “hot” barbecue sauce is “hot to a Midwesterner, but I don’t know where you’re from.” I found that both practical and helpful. Cas found the sauce just about perfect. I went for the regular sauce.
With that done. We went back to the historic Saint James Hotel. It’s what the local folks would call “spendy.” The rate isn’t all that bad, honestly, and it opened its doors in 1875, so it’s pretty cool. We’re staying on the fourth floor of the building that sits right between the river and Main Street. It’s gorgeous. And as a benefit for booking when and how we did, we somehow scored a $20 gift card to their bar, so that’s how we capped off the evening. We had fancy cocktails in the Saint James bar.
It’s a traveling day again, so we need to head out soon, maybe return to Randy’s, or maybe head over to the rather cool looking Caribou Coffee shop, then head to the Minneapolis Saint Paul airport for our trip to Boston.
I leave you with this photo- Cas and I in front of the world’s largest work boot.
And here are the rest of the photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/2sYnZaQSheDb6sfJ6
No comments:
Post a Comment