Best of Both Worlds

I love my little house in the country--the fresh air, the open spaces, the solitude when I want it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. But . . . exploring a large city stirs something in me. I love the hustle and bustle, the mix of people and languages, the attractions and events. And, I especially love to navigate a city's public transportation. It is a great opportunity to really get to know a city and its people.

Last week Steph dropped me off at the nearby train station and I took Minneapolis's new Metro North into Target Field, then I took a bus over to St. Paul to the Science Museum exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The exhibit was very thorough, exploring all the details of finding and acquiring the scrolls in the 1940's and 50's, as well as the culture surrounding the time of the writing of the scrolls. Although the scripture they contain is Old Testament, they were written during the time of Christ. They are the earliest copy we have of the O.T., and they agree completely with the copies our Bible is translated from.

Also on display with the scroll fragments are pages from the St. John's Bible, the first hand-written, illuminated copy of the Bible commissioned in 500 years since the invention of the printing press. It will be completed next year after twelve years of work on it. It is a beautiful book.

Minnesota has many beautiful parks, and one of the most renowned in the Twin Cities is Rice Park. Besides being the location for the ice sculptures during the Winter Carnival, it is a memorial to Charles Schulz, one of St. Paul's favorite sons. Of course, my favorite is Lucy reading a book on a park bench.

On another day we visited the Minnesota Children's Museum, also in St. Paul. They currently have a special exhibit about the Wizard of Oz. Here's Emily on a bike like the one the witch rode in the movie.

For lunch we had a picnic at Harriet Island--not really an island--but a very nice playground for the girls.They always have fun--whatever they're doing.

There are so many parks, we could probably go to a different one each day for a month.

I love this last picture. Emily came out with this outfit on (all on her own) and Bri just happened to be wearing her froggy Peace shirt. Aren't they a couple of hippies from the 60's?

Have a great day!