Saturday, August 30, 2008

Welcome to MSP!

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

For those of you arriving in the Twin Cities this weekend for the Republican National Convention we would like to welcome you. You have to remember that Minneapolis and Saint Paul are two distinct cities and that people from Saint Paul will take offense to you calling their city Minneapolis.

Both cities have fantastic Democratic Mayors. RT Rybak is Minneapolis' mayor and Chris Coleman is Saint Paul's.

I lived in Minneapolis for 8 years before moving to Denver 2 years ago. If I still lived there I would have missed the convention in Denver and been on the protest lines in Saint Paul.

You will arrive in the beautiful Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport (MSP). The airport is located just south of both cities and is much closer to everything than Denver's airport.

If you live in Minneapolis, chances are a plane is flying directly over your house right now.

You may want to take a brief stop in the bathroom on the left if you have time. Wide stances and toe-tapping are not suggested while you're there.



Things I can suggest seeing while in the Twin Cities are the Chain of Lakes (Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles). If you're a Mary Tyler Moore fan, the house at the opening of the show is on Lake of the Isles. While in he area check out Uptown and a great restaurant called Chino Latino. Just north from uptown on the way to downtown Minneapolis is the Walker Arts Center and Sculpture Garden.



In downtown Minneapolis you can see the Target Center, where Ron Paul and his supporters will probably outnumber McCain supporters in Saint Paul.

Another thing you may notice is the walkways connecting all of the buildings. It gets a little chilly during the winter and these allow you to stay inside as much as possible.

Minneapolis is a beautiful city... take time to walk around. I could go on and on about all the great places to see.


Saint Paul is the capital of the great state of Minnesota and while often thought of as Minneapolis' smaller sister, it's really come a long way to becoming a destination by itself.

Check out the Science Museum across from the Xcel Energy Center, the Cathedral of Saint Paul and the State Capital.

The X (as the locals call it) is the best arena in the world. There's no better place to watch a hockey game or see a concert. It's a shame the Republicans have to slime it up.

Almost forgot... they have a pretty big mall there to. You can get to it on the Light Rail from Downtown Minneapolis. It's worth checking out once. I think I remember hearing that the population of the Mall of America at times makes it the 3rd or 4th biggest city in Minnesota.

Have fun! And Republicans... please clean up when you're done. Thanks.