My First Minnesota Thanksgiving

Step back with me to November of 1998. I had been married for 3 months, 20 years old for 2 months, and my mom had been gone for 6 months. I was 1000 miles away from my whole family. Thanksgiving was my mom's favorite holiday and my sister's birthday is right after it. This Thanksgiving was going to be rough.

Jer's former roommate, Jason, had gotten married a few days after us, in Sweden, and had brought his bride halfway round the world to Minneapolis. This was Magdalena's first Thanksgiving. We decided to celebrate together, to create something new for all of us. We met at their darling apartment near Loring Park and had a roast chicken. The guys played video games, she and I took a walk through the Park. It was exquisitely beautiful, a warm and yellow day in Minneapolis.

Magdalena and Jason (and their wee one) moved to Sweden this summer. While I am happy for them, I miss them terribly.

I went to our old neighborhood today. We lived near St Anthony Falls in the Mill District. We both worked downtown, and would cross the 3rd Ave Bridge (over the Mississippi) every day, either by bus or by walking. I was thinking of how we would cross it, even in negative wind chill weather and how cold it was! But how marvelously beautiful the Mississippi is.




This is the view we would walk towards every day. It's changed some in 10 years, but I still think it's a beautiful view.




Old mill signs (Gold Medal Flour) can be seen from this view, away from the skyline. On the bottom left, you can see the Stone Arch Bridge. Just beyond that is the new 35W bridge.





This photo was taken from the bridge down to the little shopping area below. We spent quite a bit of time there. We went to movies at the theatre, and often went for coffee (or flavored steamers and cocoa!) at the Aster cafe. The building next to the theatre shows a date of 1890 on the top.
This is also where the the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices used to be located. Unfortunately it closed in 2002 and we never made it there.

This area also connects with Nicollet Island, which had a prominent scene in 'Untamed Heart' (when Caroline is being chased). There's a scene in downtown Mpls, in City Center, Adam lived near the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, and our apartment was a mere two blocks behind the coffee shop Caroline worked in. The coffee shop was already gone by the time I moved here, but the billboard was up for a little bit. The actual, physical billboard and lot are still there, just under different businesses.

And now I want to watch Untamed Heart and look at old pictures:).