Days 37-43, June 26^th through July 2^nd Layover in Eagan, MN.  Abi met us on our arrival at Dorchester Ct.  We unloaded and Dave headed off to find Eric’s Bike Shop and UPS store to start shipping his bike and gear home.  It was an early evening, partly because we were tired and partly because Jay and Sheila had to work the next day.   On Tuesday, June 26^th, Sheila was gracious to give us a car and Dave and I did a tour of St Paul.  We visited the Minnesota History Museum, which had a couple of interesting exhibits, one on the creation of the Constitution of Minnesota and another on the Greatest Generation of Minnesota.  Minnesota has 2 original Constitution documents, one signed by the Democrat legislators and one signed by the Republicans.  The two parties hated each other and would not agree on several wordings so each group signed a different document.  Luckily, both documents were similar in meaning.  General John Vessey, former Chief of Staff of the Army, is from Minnesota, and served as an enlisted man during WWII in the 34^th Infantry Division.  GEN Vessey was instrumental in putting together the collection from Minnesota’s Greatest Generation.  There were many items that Dave and I remembered from our youth purchased by our parents who were part of this generation.

On Wednesday, Jun 27^th, we shipped Dave’s box of gear at the UPS and discovered the stuff Dave was carrying weighed over 70 lbs!  No wonder it was a slow go up the small hills of the Eastern U.S.  I started immediately to find a way to lighten my load for the rest of the trip.  Dave’s bike also got packed and shipped and weighed 38 lbs.  This was another reason to relook my load.   I took Dave to the airport and we bid so long until Glacier Park.   I really appreciated Dave riding with me.  His riding experience and good humor made the trip always enjoyable.  He made several “good calls” along the way that saved us time, distance, or kept us out of bad weather.  I will miss having him along.  Bob and Patty Bastain arrived late in the afternoon to start the Pitt Mini Reunion.  Cindy arrived around midnight and was a welcome sight after 5 ½ weeks.

On Thursday, Jun 28^th, Arba 4 arrived as well as several others of the Pitt Crew for our mini reunion in Minneapolis.  Jay took us on a rambling tour of the sights of Minneapolis and St Paul.  The Twin Cities area is quite a large metropolitan area.  Minneapolis, St Paul, and Bloomington are the 3 largest cities in Minnesota.  There was a lot of road construction and a new light rail line is being built from Minneapolis to St Paul which hampered our tour.  Jay drove like the New Yorker he is and got us through.  We ate lunch at Lake Harriet, one of the many (Land of 10,000 Lakes) lakes that dot the area and near an old Street Car line.  The weather was warm and clear and it was a very pleasant lunch with Walleye pike sandwiches and cheese curds.  We also saw a BNSF train in the Energy Park area so the tour was very successful.

On Friday, Jun 29^th, Jay organized a bike ride on some of the many walking/biking trails in Minneapolis.  We rode up and down the banks of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers and ended near the confluence of the two rivers.  Mileage for the day was 20.6, but I am not sure if it counts toward the total miles on the tour.  On Friday, we also moved to a new venue to the house of friends of the Rodsteins.  The house is quite the palace with an indoor pool, electronic games, pool and ping pong tables, TV’s everywhere and plenty of sleeping arrangements.  The Pitt Crew got into gear with orders to “finish the keg” and spent a wonderful, lazy afternoon and evening catching up and enjoying the company.

On Saturday, Jun 30^th, everyone was moving slowly and we bagged any bike rides.  We took a tour of Fort Snelling, the first buildings in the Minnesota territory.  It was another beautiful day although hot (about 90 degrees) but inside the stone buildings it was pleasant.  We learned a lot about early Minnesota history and the life of the soldiers and civilians sent by the U.S. Government to the area.  We also visited the Mall of America, the high holy place of American consumerism, but didn’t stay more than 2 hours including lunch in the food court.    Next up are the Pitt Olympics in the back yard, more beer tasting, and relaxing.   We were so exhausted from the Olympics were very sedate but everyone participated in Ladder Toss, Beanbag Toss, Ping Pong, and Pool Antics. 

On Sunday, July 1^st, (where did June go!), the Pitt Crew began their departures for home.  The Rodsteins, Gates, and Williamsons did do a short bike ride so Nancy and John could show off their tandem bicycle.  We spent the rest of the day recovering and moving back to the Rodsteins.

On Monday, July 2^nd, I said so long to Cindy until Glacier, cleaned up my gear, and got ready to head out for Montana.