Sun 5 Sept

Home from a lovely overnight in Mpls. Had a great lunch of scallop and sweet corn tacos at Highland Grill with a free dessert of mascarpone cheesecake with balsamic drizzled fresh strawberries that Dad and I shared. Got Grandma a replacement for her talking clock that went kaput, got a sun hat for Galapagos at REI, (no small dress so I'll keep the size medium), splurged on an iPad at Apple Store so we'll have a device to back up our photos on the trip as well as an easier device to stay wired on other vacation experiences. Dinner was at Cafe Ena, a Latin fusion place in Kurt and Barb's old neighborhood. Had more delicious scallops with coconut risotto and pineapple salsa with chocolate orange torta for dessert. The Sofitel left a lovely tray with three little tasty tidbits and a nice birthday note in our room.

The fair was very nice. On and off clouds kept it from getting too warm, and the sun felt good when it did peek out. We had crepes for breakfast and a shared peach-stuffed scone. Morning snack was a couple glasses of white milk with Sweet Martha's cookies. We took two containers out to the car along with some heavier items we had already accumulated, including the second and third books of the Ice and Fire series I found at a bookseller, and a copy of Shogun just like the one that Colin kept. We had one of the totally awesome huge peaches at lunchtime, and later shared some Jamaican noodles with loads of big chunks of veggies and a sundae with frozen yogurt, sliced peaches, and crushed gingersnaps. We each had a small ear of roasted corn, too. Had a glass of chocolate milk in the afternoon for a pick-me-up, and another glass of white milk with more cookies on the way back to the car for the final trip home. I was pleased that I got my 5 servings of fruits and veggies between the asparagus in my breakfast crepe, the whole peach, the peaches in the scone and sundae, the veggies in the noodles, and the corn. We avoided eating anything deep-fried, so the only real indulgences were the cookies and the quantity of milk.

I had an apple cinnamon scone and a large glass of water upon return home.