Minnesota 2022

	Thursday, June 2, 2022: Let's summarize a ten-hour drive to Minnesota with this one picture of Castle Rock in Wisconsin.
	We were headed to Minnesota for a college reunion ...
	... but we navigated straight to Carbone's on Randolph, of course.
	We wolfed down a small Carbone's Special quickly and placed an order for nine frozen pizzas for pickup before returning to Indiana.
	Going to Scott's Liquors to pick up some Schilling Cider has become a regular part of any trip to Minnesota, no matter how short. We also picked up a couple of variety 12-packs of regional beers and a bunch of ice to get us through three nights without a refrigerator.
	Tom dropped off Debbie to go register for the Macalester College Reunion while he tried to find a parking spot near the dorms.
	Registration in the student center took just a couple of minutes, ...
	... and it was just another minute's walk to the dorms.
	Reunion housing in the dorms is grouped by class years and classes from the 1980s were placed on the second floor of Wallace Hall.
	This was an off-year for Debbie (her 38th), ...
	... but friends Ken and Kurt next door were celebrating their 40th.
	Tom had managed to score the very best possible parking spot - right outside our room on Macalester Street, visible from our window.
	After settling into our beautiful corner dorm room and rearranging a few desks and dressers and beds and chairs, it was cocktail hour and we enjoyed a cold beer each.
	We went for a walk around the dorms. Debbie had never spent more than a minute or two in Wallace Hall before, so it was nice to get familiar with it. This pretty old building is the oldest of the dormitories.
	The staircase has been given a fancy name: the Leonard Legacy Staircase. Named for a family with a long line of Macalester graduates, Debbie was surprised to find that one of the family members was in her graduating class.
	Here's Wallace Hall's main floor common room, ...
	... and the recently-remodeled kitchen adjacent to it.
	We visited Debbie's old single room on the second floor of Bigelow Hall - 266.
	The door was ajar when we arrived so we were able to look around the room and out the window. This dorm wasn't being used for alumni housing, so it hadn't yet been cleaned since the students left for the summer and was probably left open by college staff.
	We also visited the other room in Bigelow Hall where Debbie lived for a semester - 372 on the third floor.
	The view from the hallway next to her room had changed a great deal since the addition of a new wing to Turck Hall across the courtyard.
	We visited 30 Mac, the newer dorm where we had stayed during the 2018 reunion.
	We found the door locked at Dupre Hall, so all we could do was peer in the window at the entrance at the dorm where Debbie lived for two years.
	Standing between Dupre and the dining hall is the tree that Debbie once drew as an ill-advised art major.
	The dining hall has a large glass atrium that was added at some point after Debbie's graduation. We peered in through the glass at it too.
	Here are Turck Hall and Doty Hall, the dorms that figured heavily in Debbie's freshman and sophomore years.
	The breezeway was open but our residence hall keys wouldn't work on the Doty Hall door, so we didn't get to tour it either. We had seen Turck Hall last time so we didn't try that door.
	After our tour, it was still very quiet in the dorms so we spent a relaxing evening in our lovely Wallace dorm room.
	It's a little strange living in a dorm when you're in your 50s, using a shared bathroom and sleeping in a dorm bed, but it was lots of fun.
	Friday, June 3, 2022: We awoke to another perfect day. After using the dorm microwave to boil water for a breakfast of instant oatmeal, we set out for the morning. There's a nice view of Dupre Hall and Debbie's art class tree.
	This tree is dedicated to classmate Todd. It has grown quite a bit since we saw it in 2018 and were at the dedication in 2014.
	We passed the famous Macalester rock ...
	... on our way to the Macalester library.
	We immediately headed to the second floor to attend the Idea Lab open house. It's a magical place filled with tables, crafts, books, and all manner of things to express creativity.
	Of course, Debbie immediately locked onto the LEGO table ...
	... and took note of this adorable toast holder that might end up as inspiration for a life-sized LEGO fireplace in our home someday.
	The Idea Lab has entrepreneurial and crafty books available to check out.
	Here's one of numerous tables featuring different art supplies.
	These bins held random fun things to create with.
	Sewing machines and supplies were available. This would have been such a fun place to spend time in college had it existed 40 years ago.
	The Archives Office across the room was also holding an open house.
	They had lots of college publications to peruse, sorted by decade.
	A copy of the 1984 yearbook was out, with lots of pictures of people we know.
	On the wall outside of the office were window boxes containing displays representing the different decades of reunion-goers.
	Here's the 80s display.
	We returned to the main floor of the library ...
	... and admired the display of cat books and portrait of Max the Cat, who achieved some fame in 2017 for visiting the Macalester Library as often as he could sneak in.
	The jarring sound of bagpipes pierced the air as we walked past Weyerhauser Chapel as one of the Golden Scots classes ('70, '71, and '72) were piped into their event.
	We crossed Snelling Avenue to do a little shopping.
	First, we flung all of our money at the Macalester College store, ...
	... then we loaded up on some tasty baked goods on the corner at Breadsmith.
	Back on campus, we passed this cool bike stand, ...
	... and these odd columns near the dining hall.
	Here's our haul from the college store, including a pullover shirt for Tom, jogging sweats for Debbie, a water bottle for our upcoming river trip, and lots of snacks.
	Our bakery purchases included a mini chocolate babka, a big loaf of delicious bread, and a bag of amazing lemon sugar cookies.
	Even though he's been retired since 2020, Tom took an emergency work call while he was out of town. Some traditions are hard to give up. When he was done, we boiled some more water and had a freeze-dried entree for lunch with a side of fresh bread.
	At 1:00, Ken and Kurt's Dorm Room of Perpetual Hospitality was open for business, so we went next door to hang out with them until our next reunion event.
	We left the merriment and went to the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center.
	The old auditorium had been replaced with a much larger new one in the past few years.
	We enjoyed a nice chat with Kate before she was one of the featured speakers on a panel on the future of higher education. That's the back of President Rivera's head in the first row.
	Speaking of college presidents, here's a sculpture of the late John B. Davis, who was president during Debbie's time at the college. We had the pleasure of dining with him at the 2009 reunion.
	Back at Wallace Hall, Debbie had put her copies of the Spotlights from the 1980s for anyone to peruse and each time we returned, it was clear that they had been enjoyed.
	We went out again around 5:00. We passed the fleet of golf carts responsible for toting alumni and special guests around Macalester's little five-block-long campus.
	We passed Carnegie Science Hall on our way to ...
	... the collection of food trucks gathered at Shaw Field.
	It was an great surprise to see Alison from the class of '97. We've seen her at numerous Indianapolis-based Macalester alumni events, but never at a Minnesota reunion because her class year doesn't line up with Debbie's. Coming on an off-year has unexpected benefits!
	While Debbie claimed a table in the tent, ...
	... Tom bought dinner and dessert from the food trucks for us.
	We shared a beef pasty ...
	... and a bag of very tasty gluten-free donuts.
	On our way back, Debbie stopped at an alumni cart to write a note to incoming freshmen.
	Here's the exterior of Bigelow Hall, ...
	... and the front of our home-away-from-home for the weekend, Wallace Hall.
	At 7:00 PM, we headed over to Kevin's house for Clusterfuss 2022.
	Always the generous host, Kevin put on an impressive spread that included grilled chicken wings and a delicious brisket.
	We had a great time chatting with old friends and new ones.
	Classmates from the years of '82 - '84 arrived throughout the evening.
	Smiles all around!
	We had a great time talking with Jessie.
	Party revelers, ...
	... more party revelers, ...
	... and more, ...
	... and still more.
	When Kate arrived, Kevin gave her a nice long hug and warmed all of our hearts.
	It's always fun to catch up with John.
	Debbie had a nice time catching up with John and Catherine.
	More party scenes, ...
	... and more, ...
	... and one more.
	We walked back to campus shortly after 11:00, having felt the warm embrace of the 'Fuss.
	Saturday, June 4, 2022: We slept in late and had another breakfast of freeze-dried food and baked goods. We headed out onto campus again before lunch time. We noticed the names memorialized on the base of the flagpole, including President John B. Davis' first wife, Barbara, who died while Debbie was a student here.
	We were amused to find that the Macalester rock had been painted overnight and was now bright orange. Here's the front of it ...
	... and the back.
	We went to the All-Class Picnic on Shaw Field.
	Lunch was a delicious buffet of ribs, rolls, pulled chicken, and salad, ...
	... with brownies, cookies, and Rice Krispies treats for dessert, plus iced tea and lemonade.
	There were fun activities for the children ...
	... and a wonderful performance by Professor Emeritus Dave McCurdy's band. He was a well-loved teacher during Debbie's time here.
	Back at Wallace Hall, the Perpetual Hospitality Dorm Room was hopping.
	We went to the Macalester stadium next, passing the wind turbine ...
	... and the prairie landscape garden.
	The M Club was hosting its annual water balloon competition.
	It was nice to see old friend Steve there running the show.
	Allison stopped by and we enjoyed another chat. We learned that she was staying in the dorm room right over ours so we laughed about that.
	Once the competition started, we went over to the deserted grandstand ...
	... to cheer on the competitors. Teams of three, including some surprisingly good kids, took turns trying to get a water balloon closest to school mascot Mac the Scot (far left).
	And here's the man himself after some close calls but no direct hits.
	We found this cool sculpture behind Olin-Rice Hall.
	This lovely area is right outside the building where the computing room used to be.
	Right next to it is the Webers Rock Garden, named for a geology professor from Debbie's time here.
	With the All-Class Picnic done, Professor Emeritus McCurdy was being greeted by fans. We admired his beautiful banjo as we passed by.
	Of course, Macalester College has a peace pole.
	In fact, it has a second one a few yards away.
	This lovely sundial was a gift of the class of 1998. It probably works much better when it is sunny and when the metal piece that casts a shadow is in place.
	Professor McCurdy had just placed his banjo in the side car of his motorcycle when we passed him and asked for a photo.
	Debbie loves her college.
	When we returned at 3:00 PM, more guests had joined the D. R. of P. H.
	It was a little too crowded for our taste inside the room, but the keg from Kevin's party the night before magically appeared in the hallway so the party spilled out there.
	Always the genial host, Ken joined us in the hallway for a while.
	Lisa was across the hall from us, being the only other person from the class of '84 staying in the dorms. She had a life-size poster of Mac legend Beano stashed in her room and Kevin helped to stand it up in the hallway.
	Here's the first of many pictures of people standing next to Beano.
	Lisa made sure that Beano had a worthy nametag.
	The party in the hallway kept growing. Tom and Ken talked aviation for a while.
	It was great fun to catch up with the Lisas. They attend every year and are instrumental in making the reunion fun for the rest of us.
	Kate was staying just down the hall. It's amusing to know that as a college president of a huge university system, she would be presiding over large graduation ceremonies later in the month, but for now, she was staying in a dorm with the rest of us.
	More revelers ...
	... and more ...
	... and more.
	Tom snuck out to get some quick dinner for us from My Burger ...
	... before the party moved to the Wallace-Doty courtyard.
	The next event was a toast to Beano, a legendary figure in Macalester history. Tom took a photo of Debbie taking a photo of ...
	... Ken, recreating his part in the original photo.
	At 6:30 PM, right on schedule, Kurt gave a speech about Beano ...
	... then raised a toast to him. By now, many more classmates had joined the crowd.
	Next, Kevin gave a speech about our late classmate Michael ('85) and the cribbage table that Ron and Karin purchased for donation to Macalester in Michael's name.
	The inscription reads: "Ferociously devour the game of life!" The cribbage table was placed in the student union later that evening.
	Lisa distributed champagne to the crowd to continue the celebration.
	The next stop was Will's lovely home on Summit Avenue.
	We had been here five years earlier for a game night with Will and his sons, so we had already seen the beautiful interior, but it was still breathtaking.
	It was fun to see Bruce there.
	Kate had arranged a catered buffet of tasty Greek food for us.
	We enjoyed spending time with newlyweds Shelley and Stan.
	This AT-ST LEGO model caught Debbie's eye.
	Kevin arrived with a cooler of party supplies.
	He also brought a bottle of El Diablito tequila and was kind enough to share it with fellow guests. Dom was the night's DJ and he served up a great playlist of party songs and sentimental favorites.
	It had been five years since we saw Will's son, Noah, but he remembered the epic Game of Thrones board game we played on our previous visit.
	More guests continued to arrive as the evening went on, including Dominique, Libby, Bob, Paul, ...
	... and John.
	We said our goodbyes and were on our way back to campus by 10:30 PM. It was fun to see Forde's camper parked on the street behind us. We had last seen it four years ago and in that time, we had purchased and sold a camper of this size as well.
	Sunday, June 5, 2022: We had really enjoyed ourselves, but it was time to go.
	We dropped off our dorm key at George Draper Dayton Hall, the newest residence hall on campus.
	Our route to Lunds and Byerlys in Highland Park took us past the University of St. Thomas.
	The former site of the Ford Motors Plant has been cleared and replaced by multi-level housing construction.
	Lunds and Byerlys grocery aisle signs featured the names of area streets, all of which have been mentioned on this very website: Summit, Grand, St. Clair, and Randolph.
	This craft soda display contained Pop Shoppe brand soda, which is a happy memory from Debbie's childhood.
	We left with a six pack of craft soda, a six pack of CFDC, and a stack of fresh fruit for our next event: a picnic in Highland Park with Debbie's high school friends.
	Jean was first to arrive with her freshly-baked cinnamon-pecan-caramel rolls. They were so delicious that Debbie lost her manners and ate two. Jean's husband John joined us a half hour later.
	John and his wife Mary brought homemade chicken salad and greens.
	Judy had helped Debbie to arrange the event, and she and her husband Dan brought cookies. Kristine and her husband John brought homemade potato salad.
	Daphne arrived with a tub full of tomato and pepper plants she had grown from seed. We took three of them home with us and the rest went home with our friends.
	Smile, friends! We had a great time with everyone then wrapped things up by 12:30 PM.
	Our next stop was Norie and Bill's home. We admired their container vegetable garden on their front path as we made our way to their garden in back.
	As always, we had such as great time talking with Norie ...
	... and Bill. After a couple of hours in the perfect weather, we were on our way again.
	This store in Minneapolis was so colorful, it required a photo.
	By 4:00 PM, we were at Carbone's. We ordered our favorite pizza. This time, we were smart enough to order a large Carbone's Special instead of a small one, so we had some leftovers to enjoy as a bedtime snack. Then we picked up the nine frozen ones we had ordered on Thursday, packed them in our cooler with a bunch of ice, and headed home with a quick overnight in Madison to break up the drive.