Technology

Michael's street in Madrid.

When I was a junior in high school, my dad spent a year in Viet Nam.  He was a social worker with American Red Cross, and was working as service to military installations.  He was stationed with the marines near the demilitarized zone, and later with the air force.  Besides daily letters, we used to make reel to reel tapes, which we would mail to him.  It took about three weeks for the tapes and letters to get to him.  He would record a message back to us, and it would be another three weeks before we got to hear his voice.  It was a very, very long year!

The park near Lisa's home in Minneapolis.

Technology has come a long way since those days.  My daughter, Lisa, lives in Minneapolis.  She has lived there for a long time.  We connect daily through text messaging and phone calls. Now that she has a smart phone, we are able to be part of each other's lives much more easily than even a few years ago.

Michael's neighborhood, and the hotel where I stayed for my visit.

This morning I spoke with my son, Michael, who lives in Madrid, Spain.  We talk daily, either through texting, voice clips, or phone calls.  When I talk to him, it sounds like he is right here in town.  We use Facebook Messenger, so it is also free.  Because I was fortunate to actually go to Spain at the beginning of this year, I can visualize where he is living, as well as hear his voice.

I am so grateful for the technology that makes this daily communication possible.  I understand why they want to live in these beautiful places, and the technology makes it much easier to have my adult children living so far away.

Happy Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving morning we all went walking along Summit Drive along the Mississippi River.  It was mid fifties in the morning and the scenery was beautiful.  By evening the temperature had dropped thirty degrees and it began snowing. 

The Night Before Thanksgiving

We did things a little differently this Thanksgiving.  The day before Thanksgiving, Mom and Jacci headed for Arizona.  So instead of our usual Thanksgiving Day meal, we had our Thanksgiving dinner together  on the Saturday before.  For Thanksgiving Day I drove to Minneapolis to spend the time with Lisa and Colin and to meet Colin's Mom and her partner, Nancy.

The temperature on Wednesday was an incredible 58 degrees.  Winnie and I even stopped at a rest area and had a little picnic along the way.  That night we all went down to the Stone Arch Bridge to walk.  The weather was beautiful and so were the lights of downtown Minneapolis.

Photo #192/365: Shopping My Way to Minneapolis

I am not one of those travelers who drives non-stop to their destination, intent on making good time. I stop along the way. In fact, I stop a lot, and one of my stops is usually at the Preferred Outlet Mall at Medford, which is about fifty miles south of Minneapolis. I always stop there to pick up my yearly supply of shower gel and body lotion at Bath and Body Works. You really can't beat 75% off of regular price. I picked up this entire bag of gel, lotion, and handsoap for just $19. Boy am I going to smell good!

Photo #190/365: The Minneapolis Lifetime Fitness Triathlon

The Triathlon started at very early and was held around Lake Nakomis. It began with the swim. I was very worried about the weather because it has been so hot. Fortunately it was overcast, and that kept temperatures down in the early part of the day.




This is Lisa coming out of the water and heading to her bike. All the bikes are lined ready and waiting for their riders.



After her bike ride, Lisa heads off for her run around the lake. And my favorite photo of all, the triumphant athelete. She did it!

Photo #189/365: Downtown Minneapolis

My daughter, Lisa, competed in the Minneapolis Lifetime Triathlon over the weekend. She is an experienced marathoner, but this is just her second triathlon, so I wanted to be there to see her compete. I drove up on Friday afternoon, and was able to go with her to pick up her packet.



There were about 3000 people participating in this event, and packet pick up was in downtown Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Convention Center. This beautiful church was located across the street from the convention center. It is Central Lutheran Church. I was also interested in the lines of the downtown buildings.