Heather’s in South Minneapolis has quickly become a family favorite for dinner out on their large patio. Our food has all been great, and the space is relaxing and enjoyable. Recommended. 🍽
Kayaking the Crow River
After our morning bike ride Tammy and I continued our day of fun and adventure with a late afternoon kayak down the Crow River. We met River Dragon Kayak Rental outside of Saint Michael and then drove upstream to Hanover and put in the river there.
Here we are at the put in spot. If I look nervous it’s because I’m not very confident in kayaks still.
After I settled in and navigated a few shallow water rock bumping occasions I got comfortable and we had a stellar paddle down the river. It took us about 90 minutes to go the 5 miles. After we finished we had a nice dinner outside at Main Street Farmer in St. Michael.
Ride the Dakota Rail Regional Trail
With the kids away with their cousin for a couple of days, I cleared my calendar and Tammy and I took a day to ourselves. We got started early with a big bike ride. We drove out to Wayzata and had a delicious breakfast outside at The Grocer’s Table. Then we went to the start of the start of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail and took off. The trail was great with wonderful views in all directions. When we got to Lake Waconia we turned around. We put 33 miles in on the out and back.
In addition to breakfast we stopped on our ride back for a fun round of mini golf at Big Stone Mini Golf. This is the best mini golf place that I’ve been. You are surrounded by stone sculpture too. After we finished golfing we wandered through the sculpture garden. After the round of mini golf we stopped for lunch at Dakota Junction in Mound and then finished the last few miles back to Wayzata. What a great way to spend a morning!
After our great bike ride, we went for an afternoon kayak!
Tammy and I finally watched A Star is Born. We both enjoyed it. Great acting. Music was of course great. 🍿
Martina’s New Patio
Tonight Tammy and I went to one of our favorite restaurants in town, Martina. We were excited to see their new outdoor patio space. Patios have gone from being a nice summer option to one of the most important things a restaurant can have during the pandemic.
The space is amazing. It is well designed with different levels, trees, and lighting. It is one of our favorite patios in town now. The drinks and food were amazing as always.
The distancing precautions and changes to their processes were also very well done to minimize risks.
The Panqueque dessert is still amazing, and perfect to share for two. 🍌🤤
Thumbs Cookies were a perfect snack at the end of a long bike ride. Their KIRBY mobile unit was in Linden Hills.
Tammy and I had a perfect night for a gorgeous 15 mile ride around the the chain of lakes.
Lucky is 8 months old today. She looks so small in her 3 month photos now. She also has this adorable habit of crossing her front legs.
I took my Yama Cold Brew Tower out for the first time in a long time today and was reminded how delicious the coffee is from this process. Smooth and delicious. Patience required though.
Potential Zoom feature: Autopilot
When autopilot is on the Zoom client will automatically leave meetings at the scheduled time, and automatically connect to the next meeting. No user input needed. There could be a preference for a brief intermission to stretch.
😬😂
Got a new 45 minute PR this morning in Sam Yo’s class! 122 out of 1,443 riders live. 523 kJ total output. 🚴🏼♂️🏆💪
Just finished an interview with tech.mn Jac Stark and Livefront Nels Pederson for their CTO Spotlight series. Looking forward to the published version! 🎙
Update Jan 2021: This is now published.
FC Bayern Münich celebrating their Champions League title! Great game! Nueur: “A human brick wall.” 21 consecutive wins. ⚽️🏆🇩🇪 Tyler was in full Bayern kit for the game.
Kayaking Pokegama and the Mississippi
We spent the morning kayaking down the Mississippi. We put in at Tioga Beach on Pokegama Lake, then Big Jay Goulde Lake, then Little Jay Goulde Lake into the Mississippi River. Portage around the Corps of Engineers Pokegama Dam and out at Paddle Hoppers. 2h 35m paddle time. We saw nice Lily Pads and huge swaths of Wild Rice along with gorgeous scenery.
These lanterns are very fun to watch fly. This one soared high above Pokegama Lake.
I came up with a new tag line for canoes:
Canoes, what 100 years of innovation left behind.
I’m not a fan of canoes. 😊
Enjoying a Lift Bridge Mango Blonde from my brothers dock on Pokegama Lake. 👍🍻
Discovered the Planters Nutmobile in our neighborhood on our evening walk tonight! Will be curious to see how this story evolves! 🥜
Just barely put up another PR this morning in Kendall Toole’s Metal Ride. 394 kJ (+1 over previous). Strong finish with Master of Puppets at the end. 🤘 #FitByFifty
Oddball at REM5VR
A couple weeks back we got to try REM5VR’s newest arena experience, Oddball. it is a VR version of laser tag. The four of us played and got to pair up in different teams. You wear a wireless VR headset that allows you to walk around in the space. You see the other players in VR space relative to where you are. There were some glitches getting the VR headsets all talking and calibrated to start with, but we were quickly playing and having a lot of fun.
It is a little odd to be in a VR space with other people walking around, but we didn’t bump into each other. The VR world allows the arena we were playing in to feel much bigger than the actual space, and there were teleporters and power up spots that would appear in the space.
REM5 told us we were the first customers to go through it, and the person running it was kind enough to capture the video of us playing and send it to me. Here is our 3rd round where Tammy and I got beat pretty handily by the kids.