Phalen Lake waterfall (St. Paul)

I will be adding more photos to this post when I get the chance.

I had a wonderful time boating on Phalen Lake and exploring the park there! Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the actual lake this time (gasp!), but I did take a bunch of the man-made waterfall at the park. Climbing into the waterfall like I did was clearly NOT recommended by the park, hence the fence. In fact, it may well be against park rules to climb into the waterfall area, so I cannot say that it is either safe or legal to do that, but I did go ahead and do it anyway. I do highly recommend visiting Phalen Lake and at least taking a look at the waterfall, though. It is a lovely park which is often overlooked by Minnesota natives.

Across from the waterfall is a nice sidewalk, but look out for bikers! I almost got hit by speeding bikers twice while I was walking from the lake to the waterfall. Many families come to enjoy the park, but I never felt crowded. There is plenty of space for us all!

Lake Sylvia at Camp Chi Rho (one photo, near Annandale)

I will take more photos of this lake and Camp Chi Rho in future years and will update this post.

Every year my mom's side of the family goes to a camp on Lake Sylvia for our family reunion. This lake is near Annandale, Minnesota. The lake is beautifully clear and sunsets are always lovely over the water.

Minneapolis

This past summer I worked at the Life Time Fitness Athletic Club in Minneapolis, which gave me the chance to see the Minneapolis skyline up close. Below are some of the photos I took today. I will post more as soon as I have the opportunity!

Below was my view from the bus stop every day!

Below: looking up at Capella tower, where I parked on the weekends (as a side note, NEVER attempt street parking in Minneapolis unless you're with someone who knows how to do it properly- I got my car towed just yesterday as a result of a street parking mishap!).

Another view of Capella:

Below: the entrance to Capella Tower, which (strange, but true) is often locked after 4pm. I had to snake my way behind the main entrance to enter into Capella's parking garage after hours. It currently costs upwards of $10 an hour to park in Capella before 4pm. After 4pm and on weekends it's $6 for the day. Capella is expensive, but I do admit that the parking there was definitely more protected than in many of the other parking ramps. There's a door closing out wandering vagrants from entering uninvited, and the inside air is conditioned or heated to match the season (which prevents your car engine from freezing in our frigid Minnesota winters).

I wish I could tell you the names of these other buildings, but frankly I simply don't know! I walked past them every day, but was always rushing to the bus stop. When I did get a chance to enjoy the view, I could never see any names on the buildings or signs outside to tell me what companies owned them.