Spring break with the kids.

This week I am taking the kids to Kauai.  I have never vacationed in a tropical place (generally I piss and moan if it gets above 78`), we usually go no further than Seattle or Oregon for vacation but this year I thought -- what the heck!
Rose is almost graduating, I am somewhat bucket-listing my life of late, and endless years of endless friends going and loving it have taken their toll. I bought the tickets, rented the vacation house and the mid-size Ford. 
I will post pics.  Supposedly, according to my son, we are zip-lining.  That means I will be laughing and screaming in terror and probably need to be wearing some sort of urinary accident protection.  Too much information?     I won't share pictures of my tonsils as I scream.  

Minneapolis

This is a window from the Lutheran church between my hotel and the convention center.  I didn't want to interrupt a service and gawk at the building, so I dodged up this tower and sat and listened to the music out of sight--and took a pic of a fantastic window.  I am telling you, if they had built churches in Seattle like the ones I saw in Minneapolis, we wouldn't all have the reputation of being such agnostic heathens and humanists.  I would go to church anyday in these stunning buildings!

Window detail

Personal pet peeve.  You tear down a building and put something else up... what do you do the the highly skilled stonemasonry work from the building?  Put it on the ground, in a teeny area, outside the new building.  These were designed to be high on top of a building, not below navel gazing level.  Similar to laying Michelangelo's David on the ground... the perspective would be all off.  Stepping off soap box...
I guess this is better than them being in the landfill or a private garden out of view.

Historic photo of the park superintendent's office, Loring Park

Lovingly restored!  There was a sign that it is now used for the dressing area for performers/concerts in the park.

I loved this picket fence-like siding detail.  You can see that it was on the original structure, too.

Minneapolis-St.Paul

I am finally putting up pics from the museum conference I went to over a month ago. We ended up at many museums (duh) and it reminded me that I don't go to museums enough!  Besides being exhausted exhausted by the end of each day, it was also a fantastic town.

This was the biggest damn flag... inside a mall connected to skywalks throughout the city. Even when the weather gets (HOT!) and (COLD!) those residents can keep moving through Minneapolis on these elevated walkways.  

At the Walker Art Center (www.walkerart.org )... this was a 2-D art installation of a dolphin that talked with you by keyboard. You typed, he answered on a screen.  He'd also swim and look cute.  Excellent engaging art!

Again at the Walker, a room of dripping gooey changing color things.   It was very visceral. Definitely an experience, not a necessarily a good photo op.

This painting was huge. And it was actually a photo of a model town and I was fascinated by the detail- and that its model perfection was somehow  realistic.  (James Casebere)