Minneapolis, MN

To quote a friend of mine..."Minni-what? Surely there are better places to go!" Well, I will have to disagree and say that our time spent in Minneapolis was quite lovely! We met my Dad and his wife Valerie there and had a fun-filled 3 day weekend, including a great hotel with morning swims every day!







Here is the reason we went...to attend a West family reunion get together. I met many branches of Wests that I never had met before (nor could I keep track of how we are related either!) In talking with family members, we enjoyed getting to know what life is like in the Midwest, an area of the states new to us.









Chris, me, Dad and Valerie.


















As usual, Reid was a super traveller. After spending the day with the Wests, we enjoyed checking out downtown Minneapolis and what it had to offer. Here is Reid with the "Gold Medal Flour" building in the background.













We walked on a popular waterfront walkway and over the historic Stone Arch Bridge which spans part of the mighty Mississippi River.















Grandma Valerie, Grandpa John, and little Reid loving time exploring together.















The locks and dam in the Mississippi River.























The Mill Museum. A fantastic new structure built out of an old one. I love the architecture.



















The Falls in downtown Minneapolis. A view from the Stone Arch Bridge. Note the ominous sky...















Even Reid likes to feel the wind blowing through his hair! Once again, enjoying checking out waterfalls. Little did we know that the wind started picking because a huge thunderstorm was about to attack.

We thought we had more time, so we walked across the Stone Arch Bridge itself and then made a run for a Gazebo in which many fellow Minnesotans joined us for a good 30 minutes or so of a torrential downpour.

Tired of waiting, we emerged from our shelter and made a run for it back across the Stone Arch Bridge. Luckily, shortly after, it blew over! Chris stayed a bit behind and captured the rest of us jogging back to the car.

The next day, while the men golfed, the women (and Reid) went to St. Paul (Minneapolis' Twin City) and took a river boat cruise on the Mississippi. I was so excited to be on the River and tried to teach Reid how to spell it. Don't you remember growing up and singing M-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i? Maybe that was just an Oregon thing...







On the River cruise ship, ready for a great ride.

Here is a view of St. Paul as we were coming back. It really is a beautiful city.

The St. Paul Cathedral. My picture from the boat doesn't quite do it justice, up close, it was immaculate and impressive.

Reid enjoyed wearing Grandma's bracelets all weekend! Here he is having some bonding time with Grandma Valerie (or 'Granma Vowerie' as Reid says).

The land of 10,000 lakes is not a misnomer! While the guys were still playing golf, Valerie and I took Reid to a 5 lake park with a fabulous playground.

Our happy boy collecting goose feathers at the park! If you blow up this picture, you can see the pure joy of Reid. It is now our computer screen saver.

The final day of our trip, while waiting for our flight, we checked our bags and took the light rail to the Mall of America. (If you haven't heard, it is the largest mall in America) and it is wild! The 4 story mall surrounds an amusement park of wild theme rides and just a general kids paradise. Here is Reid and I with the craziness behind us!

Chris and Reid in front of the Sponge Bob fountain. Reid's eyes were huge as he checked out all of the wild rides and happenings around him.

Fun trip! We are always up for visiting a new place and learning about life around the states and world! Thanks Dad and Valerie. :)

New Jersey High Point

Since Chris has visited a number of states "High Points", we decided to check out the High Point of New Jersey. Ok, you Northwesterners, hold onto your hats...we climbed up to the whopping 1,800 ft elevation spot! It was rough, but we made it. (just to make my sarcasm clear, a typical Northwest hike could run us climbing 3,000 ft or so in a day). It was still quite fun! We are still acclimating to the "flatness" of Jersey!

We started at the state park and hiked up to the monument. You can see Reid with the High Point monument in the background.

You can see Reid and I (very small) in the front of the picture, but also you can see the popular spot of the state park with a lake for swimming behind us.

Cutie with his water wings, ready for a swim!

Swimming with Daddy! Swimming is always a good time. I didn't go this day because I was still picking gravel out of the hole in my knee (which looked like raw hamburger flesh) from a bike crash the previous weekend...(a whole other story!) but I didn't want to get it infected. Maybe TMI.

Ok, Reid is almost to big for this backpack, but it will still work for a while longer. We stopped at a platform viewpoint on the way up to the monument.

The view from the high point. Quite pretty in the valley. See, I keep telling you New Jersey is not just the Sopranos and industry, but quite beautiful!

Reid and Chris in front of the High Point Monument sign.



Another nice day exploring the sights of Jersey!

Jersey Biking Trips (and a bit more)

Well, we finally pulled out the bike trailer and my favorite bike mechanic (Chris) tuned up the bikes! We took Reid for his first of many rides in his bike trailer. We have been having fun exploring the bike trails in New Jersey. The trails are mostly flat (as is the state of New Jersey) so not like the typical Chris and Amy bike ride...but probably a good thing since Chris is now pulling an extra 50 pounds or so.







The night before our first ride, Reid got prepped with trying on Chris' helmet and wearing it around the house!












Chris getting Reid ready (with his very own brand new helmet) for the inaugural ride.















This strap is too tiiiiight! Can we fix this thing?
















The biking family entering the pedestrian bridge to cross over the Delaware River from the Jersey side to the Pennsylvania side.












The Delaware River Pedestrian bridge.























A view of the Delaware River.















An Amy artistic shot...you know you're in Jersey if an American flag is flying! I have never seen so many American flags on display in my life. This one was quite beautiful hanging off the bridge.











You will find many old stone mill buildings along the river here.

Reid and I taking a little break, checking out daddy's bike.






















This is a continuation of our trail ride, (the following weekend from our first ride). We are trying to do about 20 miles a weekend to complete the entire Delaware River/Raritan Canal trail system (about 140 miles round trip!). We just drive to where we left off the following weekend and go from there! Here is a pretty view of the canal (once used to help handle barge traffic between Philadelphia and New York). Mules and steam tugboats used to pull the barges on the trails we are now riding!

Below is the Delaware and Raritan Canal Park website if you want to check out park map and trail system we are covering.

http://www.dandrcanal.com/park_index.html




A waterfall along our way. Reid loves checking out waterfalls. Nearby they were doing a Civil War reenactment so on our way back this way, they closed the trail! We had to go around another way, but then we heard non-stop cannons going off and understood why.










It wasn't the sunniest of days when we did this ride. In fact, we rode through thunderstorms for most of this day. I was not properly dress (dressed for the typical hot, humid summer day here) and was freezing and soaking wet by the time we arrived back at the car. Well, Reid was equally soaked because we let him run out in the rain, so I stripped of my pink tank top, stripped down Reid to his dipey, and we both rode home half naked (but dry)!















Well in honor of Chris (yeah, some of you know the story of the pink dress!) I enjoyed that absolutely adorable sight of my little guy in mommy's pink tank top dress and let him run around the house and play for a while. He loved it too. You guys just don't understand the freedom of wind up your skirt! Reid gets it.














So we like to hang around the house a bit. Reid was chillin' with Stella (can you spy her, stuffed into the basket?).












We call these Croc feet...no this is not dirt! Actual polka dot tan lines from a summer of wearing Crocs. Would this make a great ad or what?













Another common occurrence around our house. "Snuggle Stella" Reid calls this. He loves his cat and thankfully she is as patient as you could imagine a smothered cat could be...ok, well most of the time.