If you’re going to go all this way to hop on a riverboat, why not come a day early and rest up for the big event? Our thought exactly!

Besides the chicken and wild rice soup at lunch and the nap after, the highlights of yesterday revolved around three fun people. The first two were our flight attendants who were friendly, hard working, well meaning, and funny. The lead attendant started the flight by suggestion we embrace her word for the day: kindness. She said it spreads easily … just like peanut butter and jelly. The other flight attendant did not have a word for the day but she was bubbling over with good humor and enthusiasm for her job.

The other fun guy was our Somali cab driver. Dressed in a grey dishdasha and speaking Way Too Loud for the size of the cab, he started in on how he has lived the American Dream the last 28 years, raised four children, college educated professionals one and all, and lives in a sate of gratitude. He explained that Saint Paul/Minneapolis has the largest Somali community in the country, and a vibrant and supportive one it is. He turned the conversation from him to us by asking where our trip began. When we said Virginia the floodgates opened! In summary and to put it mildly, President Trump is Not His Guy! Oh boy, has the president not heard of the “balances and checks” intentionally designed into our system of government? We had a lot of laughs during the short ride and assured him we’d do what we could when we got home. As we parted he left us with a loud, “Vote! Share the message to VOTE!”

We rounded out the day with a short walk in the rain, a stop at Walgreens, and a shared meal in the hotel. A relaxing start to the trip.

Today, cruisers continued to arrive at our downtown hotel, The Saint Paul Hotel. It was built in 1910, has been beautifully maintained, and is famous for having hosted the likes of five US presidents, royalty, gangsters, movie stars, and athletes. Mother would give it her personal seal of approval knowing Lawrence Welk played here back in the day. Gene Autry’s week-long stay would have Cleone’s stamp, and Dan has given it his stamp of approval because of the chicken pot pie he had for lunch today. He followed that with a wedge of carrot cake the size of Minnesota.

The day was cool, wet, and windy, not the kinda day that inspires much exploring. Dan did venture to the cathedral a mile and a half away, one might say to work off the humongous pot pie and cake. I on the other hand chose to relax in the beautiful hotel with my book and iPad.

Two of the new arrivals this afternoon were Cyd and Rick, our travel buddies this trip. They arrived in time to settle in before we met for a fun dinner in the hotel bar. We made it an early night, so we’d have ample time to organize our bags for a 7:00 AM pickup tomorrow.