Church and State... and Fish!

Get up, Max! It's gonna be a great day in Minnesota!

It was a leisurely morning. We discussed music with uncle Woody while I messed around with some watercolors and gulped coffee. Erin took Elvis for a walk, and lived up to her reputation as the dog whisperer. Our first stop on the town was lunch with Bonnie so that the boys could try the much talked about walleye fish.



The Minnesota state fish; the Walleye

Sam Info Interjection: The Walleye is a type of freshwater pickeral found in the Great Lakes. This is what it looks like: In 2003 there was a controversial issue in Minneapolis because some restaurants were using a frozen, Russian fish that was similar to the Walleye. Also, the Walleye in this particular restaurant was served fried and grilled. Max and I had the grilled Walleye for our meals as well as some fried walleye as an appetizer. It was EXCEPTIONAL! My advice to you: Go to Minneapolis for some nice Walleye fillet and you won't be upset!

A view of St. Paul's Cathedral





A beautiful painted ceiling in the church

Off to the capitol building!
Uncle Woody actually WORKS here everyday! As a lobbyist his job is to make sure the people that run the state do it the "correct" way! If you take a look in some of the Minnesota State Law Statutes you will invariably see some that he created!

We'll rule this state one day...(Sam interjection:) or California!

Senator Erin
Our wonderful and enthusiastic tour guide Scott "insert Scandinavian name here". He let us into the senate chamber just as the building was closing for the day and gave us a detailed rundown on the beautiful rooms.

Did you know that there is marble from 15 different countries located in the Minnesota State Capitol Building!


This room has Numidian (sp?) Marble from a small state north of Cairo!



This right here is actually a FREE STANDING staircase...how about that?




Max says that this latin says: "The Voice of the People is the Voice of God" (Max: Professor Marshall would be proud)



This guy loves hats!

The North Star; marble work on the lobby floor. Below this, there is a circular conference room, and light comes through the center of the star.


Max looks like a giant in this picture!

The best view of St. Paul's is from the capitol building steps

Why walk down all of those steps when you've got a big strong Maxlahem to carry you?
...he still looks like a giant...
The Capitol building was a totally awesome experience!