Last week was momentous in the events that transpired. Two major Supreme Court decisions and President Obama singing an impromptu Amazing Grace at the uplifting conclusion of tragic events in South Carolina. Amazing Grace has always had the power to affect me profoundly and as I watched the replay at 1.37 in the morning after an exciting night and week I was overcome by a wave of emotion.

My blog is not about politics or propagating my personal views. Rather it is a celebration of places and cuisines that impact me on my travels and at home. This past Friday I was enjoying a summer evening with two good friends who are enthusiastic photographers. My photography has improved greatly as I participate in discussions with them and I treasure all the tips I pick up from Christine and Lisa on Composition and Visual Tension.

The evening started in a surreal fashion. We were surrounded on all sides by angry thunderstorms, hail and rain but Lisa’s beautiful deck was an oasis of calm as she prepared the perfect summer repast: grilled pizzas with pesto/tomatoes/basil and barbecue chicken/red onion, and a cucumber/ white onion salad with cucumbers diced so thin they luminesced in their transparency. A broccoli/ramen noodle cole slaw and cut watermelon rounded out the feast. I was all set to raid her refrigerator the next morning for leftovers but Lisa put a kabash on that 😞

My two photographer friends suggested we drive downtown and photograph the iconic bridges over the Mississippi lit up to reflect the historic week of Supreme Court decisions. So from sunset to 1am we wandered under the bridges and on the sands of the Mississippi.

Enjoy!  
       

The I-35 bridge featured above has been rebuilt since it collapsed into the Mississippi in August 2007. I remember the evening vividly as I was driving downtown and was caught in the massive traffic back up. It was a sad event and memories of that day came rushing back as I stood under the massive arches of the new bridge only 5 feet above the swiftly flowing water. It is not possible to imagine the terrifying plunge from over a 100 feet into the water but as I stood there that night I was overcome by a dueling sense of grief and peace. I now use the bridge often to go to the University of Minnesota and it was a unique experience to see the impressive engineering from the bottom up. It’s beautifully designed and gracefully  built. 

We also visited the Lowry bridge in North East Minneapolis and it was an experience to walk on the sandy banks of the Mississippi a mile or so upriver from downtown. In all my years of living here I have never been this close to the river. It is mighty and in a flight of fancy I wanted to throw a bottled message into the dark waters and know it would eventually flow into the Gulf of Mexico thousands of miles south from where I stood.

We met a benefactor that night who gave us a tour of the sands beneath the Lowry. Thank you Chuck as I am not sure we would have found our way down there at midnight.  

So adios amigos from the three of us as I close the weekend this Sunday night on momentous events in our nations history.  

Till next time as always!