Minneapolis, by bike

Minneapolis charms - I'm staying on an island in the Mississippi, in an old 1890's hotel, looking over bridges, paris-like boulevards with cafes, and bicyclists everywhere on plentiful bike paths and greenways.  I rented a bike and rode down to Anodyne coffeehouse, which had a tasty gluten-free croque monsieur.  My visit was too short to get to the many distractions I 've been interested in seeing in this city, such as the Walker art museum, the Shambhala Center, friends.  I started getting a cold the day I drove into town, so have been taking it easy here. If you can call a 15-mile bike ride easy.

(River greenway, Midtown greenway, Nicollet Avenue, Downtown)

I did reach Jim Lanning, one of my cousins descended from our great grandparents Edna Bolles and James W Lanning, and he invited me over to his house in the Medicine Lake area of Minneapolis.  Jim is the 4th of these James Lannings, but the numbering skipped a generation so he's got a 3rd in the records.  I shared the old photos of the original James Lanning and Jim's father and uncle and my grandmother Dorothy, who he met as a baby.  We have more to figure out about the family history, such as what happened to the 2nd James Lanning, who apparently died fairly young, since Edna remarried Edgar Bensel and my mother knew Edgar as her grandfather, not James. It gets confusing keeping all the James's sorted!

I'm now on the 7-day trip back east, through the Upper Peninsula tonight, then into Canada. Back to camping, and cooler temps.