Enjoying Minneapolis

This weekend I went to Lake Calhoun and walked around. I was trying to get a good picture of Minneapolis from across the lake and wanted to get outside before it starts to get too cold. We have had the most wonderful fall weather and there's tons of color in the trees right now. It was my first time at Lake Calhoun and I really enjoyed myself. I try and experience new parts of Minneapolis whenever I can because I think that this city, and surrounding area, have so much to offer. I especially love the park systems that the state and Twin Cities area counties maintain. I think it's so great how Minnesotans love the outdoors. I read on MSN that Minneapolis/St. Paul ranks in the top 15 healthiest cities to live in the US. There are so many places to go and things to do outside here in the Twin Cities area and a lot of them are full of history and culture. I love the rich diversity of city life and rural living that you can find in Minneapolis. I mean, seriously, this lake, with numerous playgrounds, beaches and a 3 mile biking/walking path around it isn't even outside the Minneapolis city limits. You wouldn't have to travel more than 5 miles to get to the theater district downtown. You only have to travel about 1/2 a mile to get to great restaurants and entertainment. I'll admit that around February it seems that Minnesota has a never ending winter, but I think it's drives the people who live here to cherish the nice weather once it finally comes. It's so much a way of life that things like well maintained public park systems have become a priority. I think it's a great place to live.

These are a few of the pictures I took around the lake. I know I've already said it, but I have to say it again- I had such a good time walking around. I like to people watch and there was a huge variety to choose from that day. Of course, most of the people there were exercising in some way, which I love. Some things I saw were super skinny middle aged ladies that you can tell run way to much and a hippie guy with long blond ratty hair riding a bike in flip flops, wearing a tank top and shorts that were so short I think it might have been a speedo. Oh yeah, and the shorts had large sunflowers on them....less than 5 minutes later I saw the same guy laying next to the shore with his shirt off and shorts hiked up (and not around his waist) trying to get a tan. Umm hummm. I also saw couples out for a stroll holding hands, groups of ladies out walking for exercise and good conversation, guys playing volleyball, and tons of people walking or running with their dogs. They had lots of benches around the lake so people could sit and enjoy the view if they were so inclined. I think it was very worth the drive and a place that I hope to visit often.

I brought Ruby along with me to enjoy the nice weather and get some exercise. She was about at overload with all of the new smells, tons of people around, and me making her walk at a fairly brisk pace. Every time I stopped to take a picture she would lay down in the wet sand to cool off. She did really well except for when people would come by on roller blades or with strollers. She doesn't like the fast moving things very much. She's also a little timid around larger dogs, I think because their bark can be so loud and intimidating. We'll have to go on more outings like this so everything isn't quite so scary.