Florence + the Machine

Last Friday night, M and I went to our favorite outdoor venue, the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater to see the very sold-out show,  Florence + the Machine for their first ever concert in Minnesota.  If you don't know who they are, then you probably live under a rock or at least don't pay much attention to music.  Florence + the Machine are from England and they were nominated for best new artist at the Grammy's this past winter.

M and I have been listening to Florence since October 2009 and we were excited when tickets to this show went on sale last February however was extremely mad when they sold out in 1 minute, literally, and had to get tickets to the show on the secondary market, which as everyone knows, is a rip off because you usually pay big money.  Economics 101: Supply and Demand.  M actually did end up buying one ticket when they went on sale but only one because that's all that was available.  We thought we'd end up being able to buy another ticket close to that one for me but there weren't any available so we bought a pair and sold to one ticket to a guy named Dave on eBay who lives down by Rochester.  We met Dave at the zoo and gave him his ticket.  He was pretty cool and he said I looked familiar, which is a comment that I rarely get so maybe he has seen me somewhere before.

The sky was unstable and it looked ready to rain at any moment, however the rain did hold off until just as the concert ended.  We ended up dealing instead with extreme humidity being packed in like sardines with 1,500 other people.

The show was very theatrical and dramatic with a beautiful backdrop and stage props.  Florence twirled around barefoot in her fuchsia-colored dress and shawl/cape throughout the whole performance.  Her voice sounded perfect and exact and the most important thing was she sang so effortlessly.  These are the good things I remember about the show.  The not-so-good things I don't want to remember was the drunk bitch sitting next to me.  She had two beers sitting below her feet and it would be a matter of time before she knocked them over and spilled them on my purse, an act I did predict to Michael.  She was young and dumb and couldn't handle her alcohol.  She grabbed my arm and asked me, why aren't you clapping?  Ummm....because I have a camera in my hand and I'm taking a picture, you #%*&#@.

Here are the beautiful moments of the show!  Please click on each picture to enlarge.

This is probably my favorite Florence song.  For whatever reason this song is abbreviated and is not the album version.  Please have a listen!

Twins Vs. White Sox

It's already been over a week since I went to the Twins game with my sister.  Last Wednesday we went to see the Twins play the White Sox.  I had never been to Target Field with my sister so it was fun to be with her.  The Twins scored three runs in the 3rd inning and we went to get something to eat and walk around.  We were almost 3/4 of the way around the stadium and we noticed it was already the 6th inning.  The game went fast, so fast that it was actually the fastest game of the year clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes.  The Twins won 4-1 with both pitchers, Pavano and Floyd pitching a complete game.

North Shore/MS 150 Weekend Part II

After a night of some drinks,  M woke up bright and early ready to ride on his bicycle for the next 70+ miles.  I drove him to the starting line and he would have taken off about 8 am however when I left him, we didn't realize that his sunglasses were in the car.  He called me and I had to come back and give him his glasses which delayed his start about 30 minutes.  It wasn't sunny when he started. It was cloudy and 47 degrees but my honey took off in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.  It wouldn't be long until the sun came out though.

While M was pedaling away, I went back to the hotel with hopes of going back to bed.  I laid there forever trying to fall asleep and eventually did, waking up at 10:45 am.  I bummed around the hotel a bit, glancing at some brochures when I noticed that checkout was 11 am!  I guess I just assumed it was noon.  I rushed around packing everything up and forgoing a shower before heading out the door.  Not how I wanted to start the day!  I headed out to walk around Canal Park, take some pictures and walk to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  I got in the car and went to Park Point across the aerial lift bridge.  There were tons of garage sales going on tons of cars and traffic everywhere so it took a long time to get down to the beach area I wanted to be at.  On the way back and waiting to cross the bridge, M called and said he was 13-16 miles away from Hinckley.  I left Duluth as soon as I could and he beat me to Hinckley by about 10 minutes. I picked him up and we went to his parents house for the night and watched Dumb and Dumber.

We left his parents house in the 7 am hour on Sunday and I drove him to the starting line and he went on his way.  I went home and M arrived at home around 3:30 pm.  Not having trained much due to the bad weather we've had all spring, M still did pretty good.  He had a pretty sore butt though!  M exceeded his goal of $1,000.  He raised $1,165 in just 8 days!  Thanks to all of those that donated!

By the start line on Saturday:

What I saw in the meantime:

At the start line on Sunday....a little warmer and sunnier.

Pictures M took on his 150 mile journey throughout the weekend:

North Shore/MS 150 Weekend

Normally for the MS 150 bike ride, M and I would head up to Duluth on Thursday night and spend that night and Friday in Duluth but because finances are tight, we cut out Thursday night and headed up late last Friday morning.  We were able to check into our Canal Park hotel early but then decided to go eat lunch.  We went to a place called Anchor Bar and Grill which was suggested to me by my blogging friend Sara who lives in Superior as well she told me it was featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We got there around 1 pm on Friday afternoon and there were lots of cars parked outside. The place was packed.  It's not a big place at all but we had to wait a little bit to get a table.  The wait was worth it though.  They have great burgers and fresh cut fries.  I'm pretty sure we'll go back when we're in the area.  Thanks for the suggestion, Sara!

We then headed up the north shore to Gooseberry Falls like we always do but first stopped along the road to take some pictures of Lake Superior.  The water was very aqua by the shore.  I thought by the amount of snow and rain we've had this past year that the falls would be fiercely flowing but it was quite the opposite.  There was room to walk and explore in dry areas that sometimes are flowing with water.  It's always a different scene at the falls.

We headed further up north to Palisade Head near Silver Bay.  It's always so scary up there as it's at its highest point.  There were rock climbers when we were there but we didn't get to see them in the act.  Just so you can realize how tall and large this cliff is, look at the picture below.  There is a person on the cliff in the very left hand side in the middle of the picture.    

We then headed just a couple more miles north and visited with M's aunt Carol.  We talked with her for a while before checking out Illgen Falls quickly and heading back to Duluth. 

M needed a marshmallow malt

Once back in Duluth, we freshened up and I took M out to for his pre-ride dinner at Timberlodge Steakhouse.  We've been pretty impressed with their food the last few years.  After dinner, we went to Fitger's Brewhouse where we met our friends Jill and Brent for a beer and then headed across the hall to Red Star for another drink before calling it a night so M could rest up and get up bright and early for his bike ride in the morning.

To be continued...