The651.com

I hate to admit this publicly, but as a milquetoasted stay-at-home dad, the highlight of most of my weekends has now become an afternoon nap – not exactly a rocking lifestyle. As the father of a five year old boy, I spend a large part of my day stuck in a giant pile of gobbledygook. Art projects usually become a heap of paint, glue, and sparkle. Sports activities, no matter the endeavor, normally turn into Wrestle mania. And after about twenty minutes of imaginary play, my brain turns to sludge (I can only make the Chewbacca groan so many times). This is say; parenting can be an exhaustive cycle of mind numbing domesticity. After taking care of Murphy all week, I usually look like Nick Nolte’s mug shot. In an on-going attempt to spice up my domesticated life, my son and I venture out into the hip Twin Cities landscape. But the problem is that all of our fun happens on the west side of the Mississippi. We never go to St. Paul.

I’m about as Minneapolis as it gets. I grew up on Nicollet Avenue, directly under the long shadow of down town Minneapolis. I attended Catholic school for thirteen years in south Minny. I’ll take the Replacements over Husker Du any day of the week. I currently live and work in Linden Hills, a trendy little hamlet just a few blocks from Lake Harriet, the picturesque Minneapolis landmark. When STAYcation asked me to cover the “Family” blog for this website, I initially wavered. How could a Minny-Apple nimrod like me cover the Capital City? After several preliminary reconnaissance missions into St. Paul, I whole heartedly said, “Heck Ya!” The way I see it, writing for the website is a way to improve the quality of life for me and my 612- stricken son.

Raising Murphy is at times the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done and the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We can only go to the Linden Hills library, Linden Hills Park, Sebastian Joe’s Ice Cream, and Lake Harriet band shell so many times before it begins to feel like an episode of Lost. This summer, though, the city of St. Paul will offer us a new world to explore, one beyond the confines of both our imaginations and neighborhood boundaries. For the entire summer, I will be visiting both the large scale places (the Science Museum, Flint Hills Festival, etc.) and the mom and pop neighborhood spots (Carbone’s Pizza in Mac Groveland, etc.) that make St. Paul such a wonderful city. We will try Izzy’s ice cream and burritos from El Burrito Mercado. We will cheer on the St. Paul Saints and invade Grand Avenue. And even though the relation between West St. Paul, the West side of St. Paul, and South St. Paul, is a geographical conundrum for me, I will joyfully cross the river that separates our two cities.

Do I need a passport?