Yesterday was the big wedding day in Burnsville Minnesota — John’s niece Lynanne, first daughter of sister Carolyn, to her betrothed Keyur. It was a cultural mashup of Hindu and Western wedding traditions, with dancing and music both before the ceremony and after the reception. The couple and the rest of the wedding party had many roles to play and traditions to navigate, with the officiant chanting in Sanskrit (I believe), explaining what was happening and putting everyone at ease with grace and humor. To my western eyes the Hindu part was eye-catching, colorful and exotic, but all parts were beautifully done. I was worried John would upstage the bride with his twirling orange bowtie, but it fit in perfectly with the festive mood of the day.
The ceremony was in an arts center with floor to ceiling windows behind and to the side of the action, which looked great in person but created impossible backlighting for amateur photography. So we await some official photographs. I offer a group shot of the happy extended family the next day, with the groom and bride on the left:
Today we left Minneapolis to continue east to Menomonie Wisconsin, just a way station on our route east. First a stop in St.Paul to see the state capitol building … good thing we had already seen it on our earlier trip!
Then nearby to see St. Paul Cathedral:
The Menomonie Super 8 Motel, chosen for its nice budget price, had plenty of handicapped parking and a fine bathroom, with a tub/shower (as expected) but the first to include a transfer tub bench for the combo:
We’ve been lucky with the roll-in showers but would try a tub bench if the need arose, so it is something to watch to see if we see one again.
The real surprise was this:
Alas, I could not persuade John to give us a live demo 🙁