Over the last couple of days, I was in the Twin Cities. I dropped my youngest daughter at the airport to go visit her older sister in New England. Then I walked around Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, where the Spring flowers were in full bloom. The Cities are two or three weeks ahead of Bemidji in this change, so it was very enjoyable. Then I went to look at some apartments in Saint Paul. I discovered that the one that I was most attracted to from the photos on the apartment search page was in a very busy part of downtown, adjacent to the field where the Saint Paul Saints play. It was a bit too "hopping".
The place I decided on was in a very quiet neighborhood a block or so off both Summit and Grand Avenues. Basically on Summit Hill. It's a very pleasant 1 mile walk to the college, past the J.J. Hill mansion, where a row of lilacs are currently in full bloom along the front fence. The third-floor studio apartment is bright. Its windows face east, so it catches morning sun as well as afternoon sun reflected off the building next door. It's not big at all (400 square feet), but that should be enough for me and Toshi the office cat. His pal Haku has become a part office, part outdoor boy; so I imagine he'll be happier remaining in Bemidji.
The apartment I looked at will be available on the first of July. That will give me a month to get situated and settle in before work begins at the college in early August. One last thing that pushed me over the edge with this apartment was that when I was walking from it to the college, to see how that would be, I came across a little flock of wild turkeys strolling along. These birds looked extremely sleek and healthy, and they just seemed like a good omen. If nothing else, they suggest this is a relatively peaceful area of the city.
