MOSQUITO coast

Greetings and Salutations Race Fans,

I had the good opportunity to do a "two-fer" recently. The first part, this part, took me to the old stomping grounds of Minneapolis and then on to Fargo to do lunch and learns and representative trainings. Lunch and learns, for those who are not into the architect scene, are the de facto way of presenting your goods to the pros. They get free lunch and mandatory credit, you get some of their attention -depending on how good the meal is.

Speaking of meals; I had the good fortune to make it over to St Paul for a change and have a meal at FOREPAUGH'S... which is on the flip side of the street from the original MN Gov mansion. Sweet chiba, panama red! This place is pretty cool. The food was great and the dining can take place in a number of different rooms depending on size of the party, reservation, time of arrival, disposition of host, etc. They took us (a big MSP architect and a city inspector) upstairs and deposited us in front of a screen door leading to a balcony. The breezes were cool and relaxing. Half way through din-din the sky darkened. Just as we finished the meal, thunder was heard and the two drunk older women, who had been pleasantly getting ripped on expensive wine and what seemed to be at least a pack of Camel smokes, made a crooked (drunk) bee-line for the door. I of course, being the guy that had a divorced father that said, "Treat a lady like a lady always," popped up and opend the screen door. (My father's advice always seemed sound to me, albeit with a tainted scorecard to back it up.) The drunker one of the two ladies flirted harmlessly for a moment or two as they stumbled in . Then they tumbled their way into an adjoining room to sit by the fireside and drink. My dining companions were all smiles. The cathedral and Excel Energy Center are also St Paul products. When in MSP, boogey on over to SP and check out FOREPAUGH'S.

The thing I was looking forward to the most, in addition to seeing the MN reps, there, you know -ya, you betcha, was to stop at St. Johns on the way to the Fargo gig and take another peek at the Breur masterpiece (http://www.marcelbreuer.org/). It's an amazing church, abbey, structure. Well worth the price of taking five minutes off of the interstate. Look for the signs. If coming from MSP, you will pass under the foot bridge that expands over I-94 before hitting the exit. The photos above do not do it justice. Stop, drop and roll with this unbelievable concrete symphony -you will be glad you did.

From there I went on to Fargo. The wierd stucco apartment building above is where I met the better half. Yep, yep, yep... ten years of wedded bliss this August.

Anywho, I digress, the Fargo scene is always cool. Good art, good rural venacular, good architects to present products to over lunch. I found out recently that we quoted about 100SF of fascia or something like that in Fargo. Whew! Glad to see that paid off. Um...

Seriously though, I love the industrial plants and the grain silos and the strong primary and platonic forms of ND's rural setting. But don't be fooled...

Head on down to the Fargo Theater on Broadway and check out the interior... it's fantastic. Walk a few blocks south to the Hotel Donaldson. The locals call it the "HoDo." Like J-Lo, only slightly less populated. Check out the art, the food, or, better yet, spend a night. The sleep will definitely leave your eyes when you see that the hip has been hidden from those eyes and all you had to do was wander inside.

While you are up in that neck of the woods, check out some of the local talent: EAPC, Phil Stahl, David Schultz, Terry Stroh, Rich Burns, Unrelated architect-Mike Burns, etc. Mike did a great job in transporting an old school supply warehouse into an actual school. (I will get photos next time.) Terry has redone a lot of downtown... check out the law offices on NP right down the street from his office, Rich has done some beautiful lake homes over the border in MN lake country, David has done some nice downtown rehab as well as work in nearby MN, Phil has won an AIA North Dakota award for his artist house behind one of the senior homes off of University Drive south... it was also in Dwell, and EAPC is the largest regional firm in the Dakotas and is headed up by one of the better design talents to come down the pike -although he gets very little design time in due to management duties. Check out the website at www.aianorthdakota.org The photographer on the home page is Leo Kim. His photographs can give you a brief overview of the beauty that is in North Dakota. http://leokim.com/index2.htm

Another great site is http://www.ghostsofnorthdakota.com/ for you hardcore prairie and ghost town people. Again, don't be fooled. North Dakota is vibrant. The ghost towns increase the vibrant nature of the state.

When you wake up the following day (in Fargo), pop into the Old Broadway Diner. Cheap and tasty with a nice atmosphere. I am a breakfast guy and this is my second most favorite place to eat at. You will have to guess on the first.

The second half of this post will appear shortly (three to three hundred days) and will concentrate on the COAST in Mosquito Coast. Thank you Paul Theroux.

Disclaimer: No Disclaimer... just enjoy life for once. Gee, come on! Life is for the living. You are going to have to let go off this obsessive need to always cover your backside.