Spelunking party survivors

Who knew riding in the daylight could be so much fun? Yesterday I (David) decided to cut my nap short and go do the riding that I had planned to do on Friday but had accidentally slept through. I not only wanted to look into career possibilities, but also explore the potential for last minute holiday shopping on Arcade Street and Payne Avenue. I began the ride by stopping at the Versa Foundry. It turns out that it is a Minneapolis facility, owned by Versa, that utilizes a factory in China for their labor-produced bits. The foundry in St. Paul still uses local labor. So I applied. Though I’d be a bit leery about working for an owner that is in cahoots with the commies. Something to keep in mind should they call me in for an interview and offer me more money than I’m making now.

From there I rode up Arcade and down Payne. A lot of the shops have changed since I was young. Going by at a slow speed, I was finally able to see all of the details of the changes. I made sure to stop at all half-dozen or so remaining antique stores. They were all closed. Oddly though, at least five of them had signs in their windows stating that they should have been open at that hour. Perhaps antique dealers don’t typically fare as well as other retailers this time of year.

In starting down Payne avenue, a sign caught my attention that said “home schooling resources”. I thought this was a great concept. Knowing that the odds were that they probably catered more to the non-secular crowd, I decided to venture a peek inside anyway, in hopes of discovering access to a vast network of local home schoolers (secular and non-secular alike). From what I could gather, it was almost exclusively a bookstore. Upon entering, the two women who had been behind the counter in the back, ran like startled deer into a dark corner of the store. I decided to slowly make my way in their direction so as to make an inquiry about local networks, events, or other non-book resources. But I was moving too slow. The titles on the shelves were read as I passed by. “Biology, It’s Better Than Fiction”, “Science and God”, “Science with God”, “Science is Satan”, etc. On the other side were racks upon racks of illustrated biblical stories. Before I could get to the back counter, a gaggle of holy men, armed with torches, holy water, and crucifixes emerged from a vortex in the ceiling, and I ran screaming for the door.

From there I continued south on Payne. Though it wasn’t news to me, I noted again that the Jolly Time Favors store was no longer there. Learning that was no surprise. I went in there once as a child with several dollars in my pocket. I had a desire to build a collection of those cheap little Chinese made plastic vehicles like one would find in the Perkin’s Restaurant wishing well (back in the day when all Chinese made toys were cheap plastic vehicles). But when I went into the store, a grumpy old lady stopped me and said I had to be accompanied by a grown-up if I, their key demographic, wanted to give them pocketfuls of cash. There’s a genius business practice for you. I spent no time mourning the loss of that local independent. Instead, I moved on to see if the UandI café (as mentioned in the May [18th] mblog archive) had opened up yet.

With the café still decoratively boarded up, I got back to the job search. I popped in at the Central States Wire Products, Inc. building on Edgerton. It turns out that they aren’t a manufacturer, but rather a warehouse distributor. So no jobs there. Being at the head of St. Paul’s lower landing, and with my next destination on University Avenue, I decided to cut across the valley. I stopped at an overlook that equated to a triple overpass for various forms of transportation (if you count small Chinese made floating toy boats as transportation). It looked like an interesting location; the kind I wish I had discovered when I was much younger. After snapping a few photos, I moved on to the boiler maker shop. I arrived at the other side of the street just in time to see the last office employee leave for the day. Next ride perhaps.

The lower landing valley was still itching my inner child’s explorative curiosity. So I went back and blazed myself a trail down to the new park that is beginning to appear in the old hobo hotel. The development of new trails certainly aided in the exploration process, but it was the chopping down of all the trees that really allowed me to see things I’ve never seen before. I was able to see Carver’s Cave for the first time. Blazing trails does have its drawbacks though. On my way back up to the top of the bluffs I caught a stick in my spokes which ended up snapping my fender. Stopping to take a photo of the event robbed me of the valuable minutes necessary to take a sunset photo. With the machine defeated for the day, and no lights on the bike, I decided to ride home and finish my nap.

So what might have delayed this bike trip for 3 days, many of you might not be wondering. Well I’ll tell you anyway. The weekend was all about Sis. Friday was her band recital, and the rest of the weekend was non stop birthday party fun (well, at least for her it was). A hotel room near the MOA was rented and Sis and her friends spent the weekend playing “pack a hotel room like a can of sardines” and “let’s confuse the elders by splitting up into small groups and disappearing for vast amounts of time”. Sunday, noonish, at the conclusion of the party, I heard mom say for the second year in a row “never again”. Despite the stress, Heather and I were able to come away from it in awe of Faith and her friends. Such a diversity of friends never existed amongst the cliquish surroundings of our Jr. High days. Diverse not just in demographics, but interests and personality as well.


Wow, this is a long entry (can you tell I’m done with school?). I was going to write about all of the details surrounding the Tegan and Sara concert last week (such as the strict dress code of striped and collered Izod shirts and a girlfriend on one’s arm), but I’ll cut it short. Instead, I’ll just recommend that y’all go see them the next time they come stateside.