We Pay Our Respects to George Floyd and Survey the City

We've been having talks with Meadow about what's going on lately. It can be hard to explain without her actually seeing it. We've had the news on more, but I thought she should see some things in person.

This Sunday we came to 38th and Chicago to pay our respects to George Floyd.

I had wanted to come during a weekday morning as I knew it would be busy on the weekend. Masks and hand sanitizer were required before entering.

The names of black people killed by the police were painted on the road.

Black Lives Matter. The current structure of policing does not make many Minneapolitans safer, especially BIPOC people. Change needed to happen years ago, but hopefully we reach for a new understanding of what public safety means.

We decided to grab some lunch at our favorite tamale and taco places. Lake Street needs our business more than ever right now.

First I picked tamales for the kids at La Loma.

Then we got some tacos and a burrito at Taco Taxi.

Meadow has been asking to have a picnic lately. I think we fulfilled her wish.

Meadow has been interested in Star Wars lately so we have been watching the movies. Theo now thinks everything is a light saber.

We then decided to check out Midtown. Another area that was damaged with fires.

This intersection was much harder hit than where we'd been to date. A one block span of Chicago just south of Lake is nearly all severely damaged.

It was a hot day. Our neighbors offered us their old sandbox to use as a wading pool for the kids.

It's strange to go and reflect on how we systemically hurt Blacks in this country and then come home to lily white Southwest Minneapolis.

Still, on a hot day it's a wonderful time to play in our condo buildings little yard.

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To Chippewa Falls for the Northern Wisconsin State Fair

I saw that the Northern Wisconsin State Fair was happening and we didn't have anything else planned. We booked a campsite at Lake Wissota State Park and we were on our way. We hadn't been to a county fair yet and this seemed like it might be even better. We set up camp first in case we would be back late. This was a good excuse for a quick camping trip. Plus we'd never been to Lake Wissota State Park before or Chippewa Falls, really. Since 1897 Chippewa Falls has been hosting the Northern Wisconsin State Fair. More of a super-regional county fair, Wisconsin’s other state fair started as a way for folks up north to avoid the grueling, long haul down to Milwaukee County. Our first stop was to fill up our big jug of lemonade. I think this is the 4th year of this big jug. Brooke brings a couple of our old lemonade jugs with just in case. Then you get the refill price.

A Smoky Weekend at the Cottage and a Stop at Ladysmith's Northland Mardi Gras

This summer we decided to go to the cottage any weekend we had nothing else going on. This week, due to fires in the Boundary Waters and Canada, the air quality was pretty terrible. We debated if we should still go, but it looked like it would clear up by Saturday. So we took the chance. And by terrible, we mean the worst air quality we'd ever seen. Along the way we decided to stop at John and Heidi's Happy Daze . We've passed this place probably 100 times. It was about time to stop by. I ordered the prime rib sandwich special. Yummy. The sandwich that is. Everybody's food was really good, but Brooke's was the star of the show. I want to get back here asap. Now if only this pesky smoke would go away.

A 250th 4th of July in Three Lakes

A couple of weeks after we were last up at the cottage, you say? Not soon enough, we say. We assumed dinner would have already been done by the time we arrived so we stopped to eat at Culver's in Rhinelander. While we were eating, I got a text from my dad saying he was in Rhinelander with Chelsea at Urgent Care. I guess Viola had taken a hard fall. When we got to the cottage Daniel was just starting dinner. We hadn't seen Viola since Christmas, she's a little girl now. She was super shy around us at first. She did also just get back from the hospital. I'm not sure if I approve of fireworks the night we get there, but due to scheduling conflicts that's when Three Lakes got in their fireworks show. 2nd of July fireworks would do.

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