With four days' advance planning, Jeff and Matt and I decided to drive up to Minneapolis to mess around for Labor Day weekend. Good times were had, and gallons were burned.

	On the Friday heading up, Jeff cheerfully drove, and spirits were high.
	Matt hooked up about seven power-consuming devices together to give us a GPS-enabled existence.
	Jeff saw fit to take pictures while driving a car going 78 miles per hour.
	We stopped in Des Moines for a beer and dinner.
	Matt's next pose one of intense wincing pain, for nobody likes sudden flashbulbs in the dark.
	We magically arrived in Minneapolis, seconds later. This, it turned out, was not our hotel.
	We found our hotel, and Jeff went in to check us all in. Matt and I gazed around.
	This immense bed was only used by one person per night, because Matt and Jeff are a couple of 'phobes.
	My zoom wins!
	A typical empty street in downtown Minneapolis.
	In Minneapolis they preserve historic buildings, even when they're fully in ruin.
	Speaking of ruins, there's I-35.
	Matt and Jeff prepare to walk somewhere.
	Upside-down star of anarchy!
	Old meets new in downtown.
	This was only seconds before we started walking all day.
	The Cities' vaunted light rail train zoomed past as we approached the tracks.
	The Royals were in town to split a series with the Twins. Luckily, Royals fans do actually travel sometimes.
	Enjoy this poorly-framed shot of downtown.
	The poor-weather-inspired Metrodome stands vigilant over the city, draining hope from all who look upon it.
	The moneyed jerks have ruined yet another perfectly good slum.
	I had a feeling we weren't walking through the nicest neighborhood in Minnesota when I saw this.
	But in the rough parts you're also quite likely to see some goofy hippie businesses.
	I enjoyed this postwar sign.
	Eff!
	Little emphasis is placed upon well-maintained church signs.
	Nicollet ended quite suddenly just south of Eat Street, and the boys decided there was something that needed to be photographed under a bridge.
	They welcome families in Minnesota.
	Oh yes, bike/ped streets. We don't have those in KC.
	We exited the ped/bike street through a community garden as we neared Uptown.
	Things were growing in the garden.
	A typical renewed neighborhood in Minneapolis.
	Ping pong, anyone?
	This games store on Lake was intriguing to all of us.
	We reached Uptown proper, and wondered what to do next.
	This is a pretty house.
	Here, a typical Uptown resident with a penchant for motor oil sidles up against a gate. I took this picture purely for scientific purposes.
	We reached Lake Calhoun, and admired the wide array of water vehicles available to ride around.
	Someone lives there.
	This mallardess missed her man.
	This is a pretty house.
	I don't know why I like missing letters from building signs so much, but I do.
	At Jeff's urging, we stepped into a 3rd party Apple store.
	We grabbed some food and drink at the Green Mill on Hennepin. This is what they have on tap.
	This is a sidewalk. This is where people walk, in cities where not everyone drives for everything.
	I don't recall why I took this picture, but it sure was a lovely day, wasn't it?
	This is another sidewalk.
	An unloved real estate agent.
	In our hoof-quest, we reached a sculpture garden.
	No sculptures yet, but this is pretty.
	Jeff jumped on some "living art."
	I took a weird picture of said living art.
	Then, Jeff took a load off. We joined him soon.
	Here, some peasants go about their business.
	More peasants.
	Here, a peasant throws its young.
	Matt approached a large sculpture made to look like a bent spoon with a water-spewing cherry on it. I thought it looked pretty silly.
	We crossed Hennepin, though one's survival doing so was threatened by its increasingly highway-like nature at that point. So we crossed a large ped bridge.
	The city, with Loring Park in the foreground.
	A steeple from Loring Park.
	I enjoy alleys. We don't have a lot of those in Kansas City.
	We appeared to be reentering downtown.
	In the middle of the street there was a two-way bike lane.
	We visited Brit's Pub and Eating Establishment on Nicollet Mall that night. On the roof there's a lawn bowling... lawn.
	The Hiawatha Line stop awaits the arrival of the Hiawatha Line train.
	This is how our hotel room looked after two nights.
	On Sunday we decided to take on St. Paul. Here's the seat of the state's government.
	Here's where Garrison Keillor keeps it real every week.
	Some swath of pretty buildings.
	That same building, closer up.
	I enjoyed the yellow of this building.
	Jeff made a friend.
	Surprisingly, this is not the same building from two pictures ago.
	From St. Paul, the view indicates a more remote locale than the actual one.
	I love gardens.
	Some lazy, freeloading sons of bitches also kept it real on the river.
	Sons of bitches!
	A disabled police officer. Does that make sense to you?
	Here's the Capitol, up close.
	St. Paul's skyline is decidedly less impressive than Minneapolis.
	Dig that rotunda, kids!
	You love government buildings.
	Sven! Ha!
	This gentleman was excited to be in Minnesota.
	Of course, the real reason we came to St. Paul was for its excellent beer bars. After a visit to the Muddy Pig, we walked over to the Happy Gnome.
	Then, we went to Seven Corners back in the city, and tried this horrible fishbowl concoction.
	We finished the fishbowl and reverted back to normal drinks.
	A highway to nowhere.
	Matt makes a friend at Grumpy's.
	Don't let these guys fool you. We loved Minneapolis.
	Matt works on his Myspace pictures.
	Look between his feet. I think that's a lady of the night!
	Jeff was ready to go the next morning.
	Here's a moving picture of me trying the horrible fishbowl concoction.