Journal entry by Al Negstad — a minute ago
In 2008, when Joanne and I relocated from our suburban home in Golden Valley to our downtown condo, we discovered the convenience of Happy Hours. Many, if not most. bars and restaurants have a late afternoon happy hour. For people of our age, 😉, Happy Hours work well. We geezers like to eat early and we don't need a big meal, so the the light Happy Hour menus and early schedules are ideal.
Joanne embraced the Happy Hour routine. The woman from whom we bought our condo told Joanne, "When you live here you'll never cook." She was prophetic. When our kitchen was remodeled Joanne placed the range, so when she stood at it she could look out the double, sliding, glass, deck doors. She tolerated my teasing about never seeing the view from behind the stove.
Joanne's embrace of the Happy Hour lifestyle was marked by the spreadsheet she kept about the venues. She not only recorded evaluations of those we visited, she researched others as potential options. We had a balance between frequenting the 'tried and true' and exploring new sites.
Tonight, enjoying Happy Hour with friends who are newly returned from Arizona, we visited a 'tried and true' place on Nicollet Mall. With summer temperatures we seek outdoor places that are dog friendly so Trygve can accompany us. Had Joanne been with us she would no doubt have made a note that, while the establishment was as usual, the bus traffic was almost unbearable.
The bus traffic is an illustration of the old adage "be careful what you wish for." When the Mall was reconstructed a couple of years ago there was a movement to reroute the buses off the Mall. The business owners along the Mall objected so the buses remained. Now Hennepin Ave., which runs parallel one block over, is under re-construction, so for the next two years the Hennepin Ave. buses are added to the Nicollet Mall buses. This has a deleterious effect on sidewalk dinning on the Mall. Would the business owners still want buses on the Mall with the current volume of traffic?
The conversation at our table, as we prepared to leave, centered on venue options for future Happy Hours; where there are no buses!
Takk for alt,
Al
Joanne embraced the Happy Hour routine. The woman from whom we bought our condo told Joanne, "When you live here you'll never cook." She was prophetic. When our kitchen was remodeled Joanne placed the range, so when she stood at it she could look out the double, sliding, glass, deck doors. She tolerated my teasing about never seeing the view from behind the stove.
Joanne's embrace of the Happy Hour lifestyle was marked by the spreadsheet she kept about the venues. She not only recorded evaluations of those we visited, she researched others as potential options. We had a balance between frequenting the 'tried and true' and exploring new sites.
Tonight, enjoying Happy Hour with friends who are newly returned from Arizona, we visited a 'tried and true' place on Nicollet Mall. With summer temperatures we seek outdoor places that are dog friendly so Trygve can accompany us. Had Joanne been with us she would no doubt have made a note that, while the establishment was as usual, the bus traffic was almost unbearable.
The bus traffic is an illustration of the old adage "be careful what you wish for." When the Mall was reconstructed a couple of years ago there was a movement to reroute the buses off the Mall. The business owners along the Mall objected so the buses remained. Now Hennepin Ave., which runs parallel one block over, is under re-construction, so for the next two years the Hennepin Ave. buses are added to the Nicollet Mall buses. This has a deleterious effect on sidewalk dinning on the Mall. Would the business owners still want buses on the Mall with the current volume of traffic?
The conversation at our table, as we prepared to leave, centered on venue options for future Happy Hours; where there are no buses!
Takk for alt,
Al
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