Chicago via Amtrak

St. Paul's Union Depot

A quick trip to Chicago to hang out with my friend Julie who was there on a business trip. The addition to the adventure was taking Amtrak both ways. Here is the video summary.

Rode the Empire Builder from St. Paul Union Depot to Chicago Union Station. The Empire Builder originates in Seattle, Washington so it is a longer train with sleeper cars, a dining car, and a vista car.

The Empire Builder was not completely full so I had a seat all to myself in a coach car. The train makes several stops between St. Paul and Chicago but only at Winona, MN are you allowed to get off, stretch your legs, and get some fresh air (though it is also a smoking stop).

I'd day 75% of the passengers in coach were Amish families. It was a relaxing ride and not much longer than driving yourself. In Minnesota, the train travels down the Mississippi River. I saw several bald eagles. You cross the Mississippi at La Crosse, Wisconsin then travel due east to Milwaukee.

I arrived in Chicago around 5pm and walked to the Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue where I met Julie. At dinner, I got to meet yet another one of Julie's cousins, Katie.

The next day while Julie was at her conference, I walked through Grant Park to the Shed Aquarium. It is huge. I really liked the Amazon River exhibit. There is huge tank for dolphins and separate tanks for beluga whales. The building sits out on a peninsula into Lake Michigan. This provides outstanding views of the Chicago skyline.

I debated about going to the Field Museum but after spending $50 to get in the Shed and the Field Museum is enormous, I decided to just wander back to the hotel for a nap. On the way back, I happened upon the Special Olympics Eternal Flame memorial. The sculpture was designed by Richard Hunt.

After my nap, I ventured into Grant Park hoping to get to Lake Michigan. The park was being set up for a huge event, Suenos, so a lot of the park was blocked off including access to Lake Michigan. I got over to the Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain, which is gorgeous.

Cloud Scape (The Bean)

After Julie's conference ended, we tried to go to Trader Vic's at the Palmer House only find out it closed down a decade or more ago. We walked over to Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate aka "the bean." A sculpture that gathers a crowd. The weather was perfect. From Millennium Park, we walked to the El to get to Second City to see Pandemonium, Please Hold. It was a fantastic show of improv and scripted pieces. There was one particular piece by Cat McDonnell that had Julie and I losing it.

I took the Amtrak Borealis back to St. Paul. The Borealis follows the same route as the Empire Builder (I thought they were slightly different routes).

The Borealis is a shorter train without a dining car nor a vista car and is all coach cars. Being shorter, you hear the train's whistle being blown at EVERY track crossing. There are A LOT of train crossings in Wisconsin.... A LOT. The Borealis was also sold out so I shared a row with another St. Paul-bound rider. There is a cafe car where you can get a meal or snacks to take back to your seat.

I would recommend taking the train but perhaps just one-way. It makes for a long day but if you have a book or crossword or work to do, it is better than the hassle of flying. The train stations at both ends are easy to get to and you certainly don't have to arrive super early for boarding. There is no security so boarding is simple. There is no wifi on the train but there is cell service the entire way except for a short tunnel in Wisconsin.

The video.

 

Another trip to the North Shore with Maggie. We drove up on Monday and back on Wednesday. Link to a short video is here.

We stayed at Solbakken Motel and Resort in Lutsen again. I like staying here because it is right on Lake Superior and is pet friendly. The motel rooms have a little kitchenette for keeping and fixing food.

We stayed in Monday night after arriving. The trip was a chance to relax outside the cities. It was forecast to snow a little and there was still snow from the winter season.

It did snow a little over night which gave everything a clean cover. Maggie and I drove up to Grand Marais to meet my friend (and former Nash Finch Company boss) Holly at Java Moose Espresso. Java Moose is owned and operated by Sarah, an Instagram poster that I follow.

Holly and I discussed the recent events in the Twin Cities and Grand Marais. Different customers overheard us speaking and offered their support and stories. Holly, who is retired now, writes poetry. April is poetry month and she has taken up the challenge to write a poem every day in April. Her April 1 poem is below.

From Grand Marais, Maggie and I drove up the Gunflint Trail to the George Washington Pines Trail - an easy 2-mile groomed trail through spectacular red and white pines. Maggie rides in a backpack and is usually fairly quiet. About halfway through she started to get antsy and very vocal. I turned the backpack around so she was in front and that seemed to satisfy her.

The fresh snow was lovely. We saw lots of animal tracks, a live grouse (always seem to see these birds), and a bizarre flying insect.

Back at Solbakken, Maggie didn't want to go out again so I hiked a trail that I had not seen before and was directly across Highway 61 from the motel. Encountered 3 deer along my way. There were lots of deer on this North Shore trip.

Tuesday night was dinner at the Cascade River Restaurant. Irish Stew was a good way to warm up.

It snowed a little more overnight, but we did see the sunrise out on the big Lake...and a deer walk by our window. We left for home after stopping at Caribou Cream to get maple syrup.

Clear here for a short (2 min) video review.

Poem (04/01/2026) by Holly Lamond:

I cannot save this world 
and the snow is still falling
my soul still wintering
I cannot save this world 
yet I ache for the parents
fear-frozen by impossible 
choices
I cannot save this world 
and my heart harbors the cold
reality that Easter is almost here 
(and you are not)
I wonder if I can save myself – 
life feels Lenten-long
winter, this world acting like 
twin thieves, robbing me of
spring
Yet today, I had coffee with an old friend
and we shared our winter stories – 
a stranger who teaches fifth grade  
overheard, shared hers and soon
we were three with tears running 
like rain 
I am reminded thaw can happen 
anywhere, anytime, and right now
 
just before green,
hope trembles
and soon it will bud

--Poetry Tracks In Snow by Holly Lamond

https://poetrytracks.substack.com

1961 Hooker Furniture Walnut Six-Drawer Dresser

Splurged a bit and purchased a restored 1961 Hooker Furniture walnut six-drawer dresser from MidModMen in St. Paul.

This replaces a not-so-cheap dresser from Wayfair that was not real wood and had required assembly.

I like that this is vintage piece but fits my somewhat modern bedroom set.

The grain on the doors is matched and the drawers also have etching that follows the curve of the pulls.

Sixty Hours in New York City

30 Rock

My friend, Julie, and I flew to New York City on Thursday, had a whirlwind adventure in Manhattan, and flew back to Minneapolis early Sunday morning. For a quick trip this is a long post...we did SO MUCH!

We saw four Broadway musicals in three days, caught up with friends and family, and still had time to tour the Empire State Building and the New York Public Library. A 3 1/2-minute recap video is available here.

We landed at LaGuardia right on time, took the free bus to the subway, then the #7 subway line into Manhattan to Grand Central Terminal. We walked from Grand Central to our basecamp for the 3 days - 2nd Avenue and 48th Street East (just a couple of blocks from the East River and the United Nations).

Our first adventure took us to Lincoln Center via 5th Avenue and dinner with my friend Robin. We stopped at 30 Rock and took pictures of the Luise Vuitton inspired construction masking. The impetus for this trip was to see Ragtime, the musical, at Lincoln Center. I have loved this show for years and especially since I had the opportunity to work very temporarily as an ASM on the touring show many, many years ago.

Waldorf Astoria with Julie

The production at Lincoln Center exceeded all my expectations. It was stunning and even if we hadn't done another thing, my trip would have been complete.

Thursday was the rainy day and night. From Lincoln Center the plan was to take the subway to Grand Central so that we wouldn't be out in the rain so much. 

We made it to Times Square but the subway to Grand Central was not operating (probably too much rain) so we ended up walking from Times Square back to the apartment. We were doing pretty good until about 2 blocks remaining when it really started to pour. Everything got hung up to dry.

Friday morning, we met a cousin of Julie's at a nearby coffee shop then a walk-through of the stunning Waldorf Astoria. Back to the apartment to get our host who was joining us for lunch with my friend John Arnone.

We met John at Grand Central and ended up at The Brasserie - lots of theater stories were shared. A woman walked by our table and I did a double take - it was an actor I had worked with at The Guthrie years ago - Brenda Wehle. She was headed to the train to go to Connecticut. We chatted briefly.

From Grand Central, Julie and I walked to the Empire State Building. The company Julie works for has a connection with the building and a co-worker lent us his VIP access card. It was incredible. Friday was cloudy but no rain and no fog so the views were amazing.

Friday night we saw All Out: Comedy About Ambition. This is the show Julie had on her list primarily because of the band Lawrence. The show had announced it was closing March 8, so we caught one of the final performances. The band was fantastic. The stories by Simon Rich and read by a quartet of stand-up comedians were not as fantastic.

New York Public Library reading room

Saturday, we met Julie's cousin Chloe at the New York Public Library. Besides being a beautiful and historic building, there are exhibitions to visit. The exhibit, 100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity, was enlightening and stunning.

Chloe joined us for the remainder of the day and evening. We walked to Times Square to stand in line for TKTS tickets. We were in line for 1hr+ but brilliant-ly we ordered food online and Julie and Chloe picked it up while I kept place in line.

We made it to the ticket booth in time to get tickets for two shows. We decided on Buena Vista Social Club matinee and Moulin Rouge. Our host clued us into Buena Vista, and I've wanted to see Moulin Rouge ever since the movie.

Both were so, so good and we got great tickets to both. Between shows we ate at a French restaurant, visited the M&M Store, and had pizza slices.

We contemplated going to a club after Moulin Rouge since we were so fired up from both shows but also so very tired. We ended up saying good-bye to Chloe and walking back to Michael's apartment for a quick 2 hour "nap" before catching a Lyft to LaGuardia.

Wow! What a trip! Click here for the 3 1/2 minute video recap.

Mazatlan - Carnaval

I traveled to Mazatlán during Carnaval but didn't participate in any Carnaval activities! It was just nice to get a break from the cold and chaos of Minneapolis and to spend time with friends Pam and Bud.

Walked the beach and saw baby sea turtles struggling. Also, so a sea snake wiggling its way back to sea. Unfortunately, also so a few dead puffer fish. These were all firsts.

Had delicious home cooked and restaurant food (though we had one rather not-good restaurant meal). Met new and old friends.

Finally got to play in the Pacific Ocean!

You will notice in the video that I am obsessed with the birds flying by Pam's condo. 😊

Palm Springs - pre-birthday trip

View from Bud's backyard.

Quick post just to list out some of the adventures (and relaxing) in Palm Springs for a few days before my birthday. I stayed with my friend, Bud, who is snow-birding again this year in Palm Springs. Video here.

For my birthday we went to a new (6 months) restaurant, Ash and Vine. It is housed in a bungalow on La Plaza. The food and service were special.

Our first hiking adventure was to Anza-Borrega State Park, California's largest state park and about 1 1/2 hrs south of Palm Springs. The park is west of the Salton Sea.

Our destination was Maidenhair Falls Trail which starts at Hellhole Canyon Trailhead. We had like 3 different map apps which all had different trailhead locations. So you know, the trailhead is just out of the town of Borrego Springs (it isn't 3 miles out or 6 miles out).

Before you get to Borrego Springs, the drive takes you through the Badlands which is reminiscent of the South Dakota Badlands and worth the photo-op.

The trail to Maidenhair Falls is well marked for the most part until you get closer to the falls then you end up scrambling over boulders and around cacti but nothing too strenuous. But the "falls" -- oh boy. With all the recent rains, I was hoping for water falls though the name gives away the supposed real attraction - maidenhair ferns. There wasn't much of either - water or ferns. 😆In fact, you have to nearly crawl under overbrush to get to the cliff face (and Bud opted not to).

The hike to the "falls" and back is 5 miles or so. We enjoyed perfect temps and I am always amazed that there are oases with palm and deciduous trees. It was also very green for being in a desert.

We stopped in Borrego Springs after the hike for a meal and peruse a very interesting Fredericks Ancient & Ethnic Art gallery.

On the return drive to Palm Springs, we saw a hot air balloon that really looked like it was going to land on the highway or possibly a parking lot. For the longest time it was just stationary in the sky and not very high up. As we got closer, the igniters were turned on to try to get some elevation but didn't seem to work. No idea where it finally landed.

For another birthday dinner, we went to The Purple Room, a supposed rat pack hangout. It was very old school, very entertaining, and very Palm Spring.

On my departure day, we went to the popular Murray Canyon on the Agua Caliente Reservation. The palm trees are crazy tall. We took the Victor Loop that goes up above the canyon for dramatic views of Palm Springs and the surrounding mountains. Along this trail, we did encounter a big horn sheep. 

Video link here.

Annual Cozumel, Mexico, Trip

Once again, another wonderful time in Cozumel, Mexico. This year's group of friends were Jenny, Dave, Bud, JT, and Ellen. A short (5 minute) video is here.

It was rainier and stormier than usual but not so much that it interfered with our adventures. I got in two runs and Jenny swam every morning except one.

Bud did two dives. I joined on one of the dives to snorkel. It was fun to watch the divers from up above and I got to see a Spotted Eagle Ray AND a nurse shark....that is my first shark!

This year we also so a very large sea turtle right at the hotel and a very bizarre fish called a Flying Gurnard!

We spent a day at Buccano's Beach Club again. It is so beautiful, relaxing, and the snorkeling gets better each year.

We ate at the usual restaurants - Guido's, Casa Denis, the beautiful Mision, and Palmera. We tried a new spot, Ohana, which is known for deep dish pizza and peanut butter tequila!

Jenny and I snorkeled A LOT! The video of our underwater adventures is here (warning it is 20 minutes long but very relaxing).

Sea Turtle

Flying Gurnard