Summer is here!

Yesterday marked the first day of summer! It was a beautiful day, with only a brief shower in the evening. Ben and I woke up to discover we did not have any coffee in our house, which is a disaster for me. We decided to finally walk to the Ginkgo, a coffee shop just a few blocks away from our house, to try it out. While we were there, Ben remembered he still had about $12 on a bus card from when he had jury duty, so we decided to walk over to University and hop on the 16 to go to the University of Minnesota to go for a walk and take some photos.

(the deserted mall - normally packed with people during the school year, looking toward Coffman Student Union)


(Walter Library)


(my very favorite building on campus, Folwell Hall)




(bridge closed - too bad - I liked this bridge, wonder why they don't use it anymore?)


(back across the Washington Avenue Bridge)


(Weisman Art Museum)


(view of downtown Minneapolis from in front of Coffman)

Later that day, we went to The Strip Club (review will be posted on We Got Served soon!) with Janelle and Scott, and then met Jake on University Avenue to watch the cruise that always happens on the Saturday night of Back to the 50's weekend. Jake had snagged a prime spot right across the street from Porky's. He just started a new website called Minnesota Motorhead - I kind of doubt anyone reading this blog is into cars, but if you are, you should check it out! I tried out panning again, and had some success! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the evening.

(Jake and Ben in front of Jake's '84 Monte Carlo SS)

(the weather last night was wacky - here is the sunset over scenic University Ave :) - it rained for a bit so we jumped in Jake's car, but it was only 5 minutes and then it cleared up)




(I used Pioneer Woman's "Vintage" action on this shot - it seemed appropriate)






(the crowd at Porky's)

I took a LOT of photos there, so if anyone is interested in seeing more, check out my set on flickr.

All in all, an excellent way to start off the summer!