Lake Phalen

Where had the time went? It seemed like we had arrived in Minnesota only yesterday and it was almost time to leave. As we still had a few days left in our St Paul visit, we decided to take a bike ride to Lake Phalen and to drive to Maple Grove to visit Phil and Brenda.
Loading our bikes we drove to Jenny and Vito's place at the Northern Artist Coop. There we met Jenny and discussed the days ride. We had a couple choices, either ride along both sides of the river or ride to Lake Phalen. Since we had already rode the river we decided to do the Lake Phalen loop.
The first couple of blocks were down St Pauls streets. We rode past the deserted Farmers Market,(it was a Saturday afternoon), before turning east and meeting the bike trail. Riding past a custom bike building shop, (we heard the sound of a bike being tested from gear changes), we next turned south and coasted along and then over railroad tracks.
From there the ride was along a greenway with the occasional empty factory building. Soon it merged with other trails with the one we wanted paralleling a street that led us to the Lake Phalen.
Arriving at the lake we decided to ride around it. The park there was quite busy and the trails were full of bikers, runners,and families strolling their kids.
It was an easy ride as the bike trail is one way and parallels the pedestrian path.
The total ride was about twelve miles and a nice distance for us. Minneapolis and St Paul should be commended for their bike trails. They are by far the best we have seen in our travels!
On Sunday we picked up Vito and Jenny,(actually Jenny drove), and we headed to Maple Grove. There we managed to miss the turn before retracing our steps and finding Phil and Brendas house.
They have such a pretty house, bordering a park, and it was so nice to sit and visit about our travels. Phil and Brenda have a pretty hefty list themselves and they told us about Jamaica and Cabo and the Florida Keys.
We bored the kids with stories of old times and genealogical dead ends. We have been stuck on the Chandler side for quite a while, maybe this visit is the push I need to make a serious attempt at ending this genealogy mystery? The time passed too quickly and we said our goodbyes, before heading back home,(our rv).
Our last day was spent in packing the house. I grumbled, as usual, about all the stuff, even though Jenny and Vito had gladly taken some of our discards. That night they came over for a barbecue, and we had time for last visits before tearfully saying goodbye, but the road beckons and the mountains call.
We have been truly blessed. Clear skies.