Sunday on Summit Avenue

One of my favorite things (among many) about returning to Minnesota is the amount of time Melissa and I have been able to spend together. We've been friends since we pledged Alpha Xi Delta together in 1991. We lost touch after college when she moved to Minneapolis, but while I was still in grad school she moved back to Brookings and we reconnected. Then I moved away in 1998, but we've managed to stay in contact all these years and now are finally in the same city!

We have many of the same interests and are trying to motivate each other to take advantage of all the great things that the Twin Cities have to offer. Most of our time so far has been spent shopping and trying new (to us) restaurants, but yesterday we went on a guided walking tour of Summit Avenue in St. Paul. It was a beautiful (if even a little too hot) day and our tour guide was so knowledgeable. Summit Avenue is the best-preserved Victorian boulevard in America, with 373 of the original 440 residences still standing along the 4.5 mile street.

Upcoming activites on Melissa's and my adventure list include Pilates classes on the reformer machine, cooking/baking classes and volunteering with a charity. Stay tuned!