Home Town

I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but my parents moved me and two of my sisters to southern California when I was five. Until this trip, I had only been back three times: in 1960 (my parents and the first four kids drove), again in 1990 (I flew back with my dad), and the last time in 1998 (for my grandparents' 70th wedding anniversary party). Sam had never been to the land of 10,000 lakes, so we stopped for a couple of days and stayed with my cousin Colleen.

Just as happened in Yellowstone, bad weather preceeded us, but while we were there, it was very pleasant. We were able to have short visits with my two aunts who, except for funerals and some weddings, I don't get to see very often. Chatting with them was so much like talking with my dad and my grandparents, it was a nice reminder of how much I miss them.

On one of the days we were there, Sam and Colleen played golf, while I rode along in a cart, taking pictures. It was a beautiful course, and they had a good time, tying their scores in the end. Golf is huge in the twin cities area. There are golf courses everywhere, and bars and pubs will give you two for one beers when you show your golf receipt. So, needless to say, we stopped at an Irish pub afterwards!

(Click on photo to enlarge, then hit back button to return.)

The next day, Colleen took us on a tour around St. Paul to see the house my great grandparents owned, and where my grandparents lived and raised my father and his two sisters. I remember it vividly, but of course, it seemed much bigger when I was a small child. Back in 1990, my dad and I went to see it and when we saw people outside of it, we asked if we could go inside. It was amazing how much I remembered. Great old house! (Of course, it wasn't pink when I was a kid!)

These are my great grandparents.

 After driving though the old neigborhoods, down Summit Avenue, looking at all the beautiful old homes, and then past the Cathedral of St. Paul, we went over to Harriet Island Regional Park, where we could look across the Mississippi River and see the St. Paul skyline.

Cathedral of St. Paul

                           

The last evening we were there, my cousin Julie came to visit and shared some old photos and letters that belonged to our grandmother. One was a tintype of our great-great-grandmother, which was pretty cool because I had recently received information from a geneologist about her family, dating back to the 1600's.