Sunday assortment

A few from the camera this week:

And of course, happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad - and to Josh's dad, too, and all the fathers out there!

Dad is out of town this weekend, but make no mistake, we will celebrate all together next weekend. I am so grateful for all that he does. Much love to you, Dad.

Another Nokomis visit

Yesterday: my second visit to Lake Nokomis in a week, this time for a leisurely walk with my pup.

Last summer I started taking Wish out for little adventures on Friday afternoons, and it was a fun treat for both of us that I wanted to revisit this year. Yesterday, we walked around the lake - just under three miles - and took a few water breaks and one longer pause in the shade. At one point during a break, I looked over at Wish and saw him dog-grinning, so I scooted next to him and took our picture:

Wish was loving all of the lake smells, which I got a kick out of watching, except when I had to drag him away from a fish that had washed onto shore. He also heard a fish flop in the water about 20 feet away from where we were standing and got a very funny confused look on his face.

I've written many times here about these peaceful lakes so close to the downtown skyline, but I don't think I will ever stop marveling at them.

Onward with the rest of the weekend!

Glowing lupines

Near Lake Nokomis, before Tuesday night's softball game:

Happy Friday to you!

James J. Hill House tour

Earlier this year, I bought a Minnesota Historical Society membership. I've had wonderful experiences with the organization's museums (including the Mill City Museum and Minnesota History Center) as well as the Summit Avenue neighborhood tour and the F. Scott Fitzgerald-themed walking tour, and I'm excited to support its great work and learn more about history, locally and statewide.

Last week, I visited St. Paul's James J. Hill House for the first time!

James J. Hill was a railroad magnate who built the Great Northern Railway that connected St. Paul to Seattle in 1893. His mansion was finished in 1891, and he lived there with his wife and most of his 10 children. I'm learning more about houses (thanks to lots of HGTV) and one detail that floored me was that this home is not 5,000 square feet or 10,000 square feet, but 36,000 square feet. The tour guide—who also led the Fitzgerald tour I took!—did a delightful job of blending architectural details with stories about how the family used each space. The 75-minute tour surveyed all three floors plus the basement, though there are additional tours that take different angles (such as the Nooks and Crannies tour offered in the summers, which sounds great). Our group of six or seven also paused toward the end for a short video, played in the Hill boys' schoolroom, that provided some context about James J. Hill's work.

I didn't expect this, but knowing I could (and likely will) drop by sometime soon for another tour left me feeling more relaxed. Instead of trying to absorb every tidbit our tour guide told us, I'd think more about a story she had mentioned, imagine the house back in the 1890s, and notice more details that piqued my interest.

And, oh, the details were plentiful:

The end of the tour brought our group to one of the mansion's several porches. I have a soft spot in my heart for porches and I liked wrapping up the tour by visiting one of them.

If you can't already tell, I enjoyed the James J. Hill House tour greatly and highly recommend it. I loved learning some of the stories and history behind a Summit Avenue landmark I've passed by so many times.

On the water

In Minnesota, there are a lot of lakes. (Nearly 12,000!) Because of my running routes, I spend my fair share of time near some of the Twin Cities' prettiest lakes. But there's something especially wonderful about being on a lake up north, especially during the first few weeks of spring and summer. Over the weekend, I spent time with my family near two of the state's lakes: a small lake adjacent to the campground as well as nearby Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota's second largest lake.

A visit to the dock

On Saturday afternoon, a few of us took a stroll over to the smaller lake. The rainclouds had cleared out completely by the time we made our way over to the dock, and it was so peaceful in the warm sun that I think we all could have napped there. (I think my sister did, actually.)





In the evening

Later that night, my mom and sister and I circled back to the water. The water was more still and I loved the reflections.




In the morning

I don't often see lakes in the early morning light, so as soon as the sunlight woke me up on Sunday morning, I trotted back to the lake. I was so glad I did. The overnight low temperature had dipped down to 44 degrees, and there was steam coming off the water.





To the big lake

On Sunday morning, my dad took most of us over to Mille Lacs for a short boat ride (Josh and Wish stayed back). I haven't been on the big lake in many years, and it was a treat to be out on the lake with my dad, who fishes there often. There were only a few boaters nearby, though the boat launch picked up after we returned.





The weather (and water) was just cool enough to keep me from jumping into either lake, but I'm putting that goal in writing right now to make sure I do that sometime this season, too.