Petals: Como Zoo-Teil Zwei

So I know, I know Como Zoo been there, done that...cop out post... Well not really as it is a place that changes all the time.  It ebbs and flows with the seasons.  And in the year between visits there are many things that can change.  They have polar bear now...yes, I know not a flower, but super cool anyways.  And an itty bitty baby giraffe, well itty bitty is not the best descriptive term for a giraffe, but you get my point.  But I digress and on with the pretty!

 

Just a warning, I bet there will be a few orchids in these here pictures.  I like them...so deal with it ; )
But like I said, it was just that much different, and by the way still as humid.  I was really drawn to the fern and palm tree-esque plants.  What can I say, but the tropics would be nice this time of year.  But it was September when I was at Como and an absolutely gorgeous day.

The only thing I would change about Como is to make it bigger, the plant part (conservatory) not the zoo part.  It kinda feels like you go in and boom, you are done.  And I feel as though I am being rushed to get through ahead of other people.  The actual conservatory seems quite large and that there is a lot of space that is not being used, but I guess they do what they can.  But it is one of my absolute favorite places in the Twin Cities!

Wild/Rags: An Uninspired Game-but some damned good pics!

Ok, once again I was up in the cities for some hockey!  So I have only seen one win at the X this season, and that was the one where I wanted to the home team to lose.  Yeah, that's my luck.  Well, I went up to the Twin Cities with my sister, and we braved the mall to see some jellyfishies(!!!) and to have a late birthday supper with my younger bro, a childhood friend and her fiance.  Then the next day we saw HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!! I cried.  Big time!

I did have to get one of the old goon- my friend adores him

So like I said, hockey!  The wild were playing the Rangers.  I hate the Rangers.  But the Rangers have a few good men, ones that I enjoy watching.  Oh and that Marian Gaborik feller, big fan of his, regardless of how he left the Wild.  Sadly the wild also have one Derek Boogaard, not a fan of his, yeah, not really in to the lack of skill goony types.  At least be able to back it up with your play. (But that is just me, and I know lots and lots of people whose opinions went the other way.)

Oh look Avery in the box!

Lets just say there was some uninspired hockey from one side and so much better hockey from the visiting team.  Needless to say I got some pictures. And that is really what this is about... Oh, and I got a bobblehead so that rocked.





 (Author's note: As I have been lazy this week there will be no Petals post.)

Petals: Lan Su Gardens: Portland Oregon

Going back to the Oregon trip for this petals.  Are ultimate destination was Portland.  Bascially that was the turn around point and from there is was back to Minnesota.  In Portland we met up with a friend of the person I was traveling with.  We hung out for a bit, and decided to check out the Lan Su Chinese Garden.  It was pretty awesome, but I think most gardens are when they are smack dab in the middle of a city.  It is kinda like a hiding place or peace and quiet in a gigantic mess of city.

 It rained.  I know shocking, rain in the pacific northwest.  It wasn't bad, just some drizzles and an over cast day.  I was really impressed with it, as it seemed way bigger than it actually was.  There were a lot of really pretty buildings and really neat carvings.  I like the decorative door ways and windows the best.  Did I mention fishies, there were a lot of bridges that wove a path over a big old pond.

It was one of my favorite places in the Portland area.  There was something very peaceful about the gardens, it really was an escape from the city.  I could have spent the day there, just taking pictures and reflecting.  There were some beautiful parts that I know I didn't spend enough time in.  But alas, places to go, people to see and the like.  You can only spend so much time anywhere, and you always have to leave something unseen.  Gives you a reason to go back.

Minnesota 150: Trois

I gotta start this one off with a little love fest.  Now I am not a huge baseball fan, it is kinda boring, and I am not even a huge Twins fan... I know, I know but hey, I will always kinda love them.  For one reason...Kirby Puckett.  He was my first crush.  I was madly in love with him, well, forever.  I still get choked up thinking about him sometimes.  Oh and the Twins won the world series twice! 1987! 1991!

And some more love for Paul Wellstone!  He was a rare one, one of those politicians that actually gave a damn about doing the right thing and reform, and the people who elected him.  Tragically, his life was cut short during his 2002 senate campaign, when is plane crashed. 

Walter Mondale a Minnesota senator, U.S. vice president and presidential candidate.  He was Carter's vice president and he ran unsuccessfully against Reagen in 1984.  His running mate Geraldine A. Ferraro was the first female vice presidential candidate.  He only carried Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Oh yeah, I voted for him once.

Yeah, Prince or whatever he is going by these days.  I have to say I am not really a fan, but my sister is.

 
L. David Mech-the wolf expert-he did a lot of his research on the wolf population of Minnesota and he is an adjuct professor at the U of M.

Ann Bancroft of Minnesota was the 1st woman to cross both the North and South Poles.  She crossed the North Pole in 1986 and the South Pole she led 4 other women in an expeditions in 1992 and 1993.  She also was the first woman to cross Greenland.



Well folks, this is probably the end of the MN-150... the rest of the pics aren't that good.

Minnesota 150: Deux

Continuing the Minnesota 150.  It was actually so cool that my sister and I went back, well, the reason was probably the Ben Franklin exhibit, but lets pretend!  Oh the first part can be found here.  Getting started now...
...The Great Northern Railway!  It went from St. Paul to Spokane.  It was formed by James J. Hill and would become one hell of railway hub!

Yes, he was actually born and raised in South Dakota.  But he was a two term senator from Minnesota, and the vice president under LBJ.  He was also mayor of Minneapolis!  And he lost to Nixon in the 1968 bid for the presidency.

This one I have no clue about.  It runs from Minnesota all the way down to Louisiana, and is nicknamed the blues highway.  Bob Dylan wrote a song about it, and there was a movie too...

This one is bit blurry, but they are campaign buttons from Eugene McCarthy (not to be confused with Joesph McCarthy from Wisconsin).  Eugene McCarthy was a senator from Minnesota who ran in 1968 for president in a very anti-war campaign.  He would run again in subsequent elections.

The honeycrisp!  An apple that is fabulous!!!!  It was cultivated in Minnesota!  People love this apple!!!

And how else to end this one, but with SPAM!!!  Not a fan, honestly.  Once or twice I might have enjoyed it, but yeah, not a fan.

Minnesota 150: Un

So being a pretty big history nerd (apparently my sis is one too, but that was news to me) while in the Twin Cities last fall, we decided to go to the History Museum.  It is pretty awesome.  Been twice now in the last year.  We went specifically for the MN 150- or the 150 most important things from/about Minnesota.  Some of the pics might not be that great, and I am not gonna show ALL 150 items.  Enjoy!

Burma Shave, a shaving cream company from Minnesota was very well known for having absurd road signs with sayings and rhymes on them

Thank god and greyhound they're gone.  My mom used to love to sing that when we would stay at my Gramma's.  Greyhound originally began in Hibbing.

This one is kinda creepy to me, the butter queen.  Or as she is officially known as Princess Kay of the Milky Way.  Her butter bust is on display at the state fair.

The Miracle on Ice!  While not wholly a Minnesota thing, Herb Brooks was a good old Minnesota boy!  And there were 12 players from Minnesota on the team.

Paul Bunyan and Babe, not originally from Minnestoa, but were embraced by the state.  There are several statues in Minnesota.  Notably the one in Bemidji (which I am going to see again in a few days) and Akeley. Oh, and Lake Bemidji looks kinda like a foot.

Garrison Keller and the Praire Home Companion is one of those things that just screams Minnesota.  While life in Lake Wobegone might be a bit far fetched, it is really endearing!

This is Dan Patch.  I originally learned about Dan Patch while volunteering at the local historical society.  And being mad about horses, I was shocked I knew nothing about him from before.  Dan Patch was foaled in Kentucky and then in 1902 at the age of 6 he was sold to Marion Willis Savage a resident of Minnesota, who moved the horse to Minnesota.  He only lost two heats, and no races in his career-he was retired in 1909. His pacing mile record stood until 1960.

And could the MN-150 be complete with out Jessie "the Body/Mind" Ventura?  I think not, he played a significant part in Minnesota politics.  Right or wrong, he got people fired up and voting.  I remember being excited about this.  But the novelty of a wrestler as governor wore off and it seemed like it became a joke to everyone.