September 2003 .........
Bloomington: Mall of America opened in Aug of 1992 and is the largest retail and entertainment complex in the US. It has over 400 stores, employs 12,000 people and has 35 to 40 million visitors yearly. Some of the attractions inside the mall: Captain Snoopy - the nations largest indoor family theme park, with 30 rides and covers an area of seven acres. A four story lego showplace (you won't believe this); Bowling; an underwater adventure; a flight simulator and the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway. We walked around for an hour, ate great ribs at Tony Roma's and headed on down the road.
July 2008 ........
Collegeville: Saint John's Abbey - The Abbey is on the campus of St John's University, an easy drive from St Cloud. The monks of Saint John's "are a community of Catholic Benedictine men, that seek god through a common life of prayer, study and work." We were given a tour of the facility by one of the monk's who was a very informative tour guide. He showed us their new facility, including the basement that has many different prayer rooms, and the original facility. He told us there were 140 some monks in residence, and that there had been many more at one time. The Abbey is located on 2400 beautiful acres of trees and lakes about 10 miles from St Cloud, and 70 miles northwest of St Paul/Minneapolis.
Saint John's Bible: The Bible, commissioned by the Abbey and University , is the first handwritten and illuminated Bible in more than 500 years.The cost is 5.5 million. It is being written on calfskin velum using quills, hand-ground pigments, natural inks, and gold and silver leaf gild, and each page measures 24 x 15. All 73 books will be in seven volumes, because one would be to heavy. It is being done by Donald Jackson, Senior Scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's Crown Office, along with a team of scribes and artists. Doing the book, based on the New Revised Standard Version, has been a dream of Mr Jackson since he was a boy. Planning and work began in 1998 and is to be completed on 2010. The work is being done in a scriptorium in Wales, and when completed, the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library on the campus of the Abbey and Saint John's University will be it's permanent home.
We were shown a video about how the book is being created, then viewed 28 pages of the book that are now on display. I have to tell you it is absolutely awesome. It's our understanding that there will be tours around the country of some of the pages before they are all put together into the books and displayed at the Library. They don't allow photo's and even their brochures don't have actual photo's, just lots of bits and pieces. You can purchase copies of the books at their bookstore, and online. You can view each page online and purchase a copy of one page if you desire. They are all very pricey. Visit their web site www.sjbible.org for more information, and don't miss the Abbey and library if you are in that part of the country.
July 2008 ........
Stillwater: Directly across the St Croix River from Wisconsin, linked by a historic lift bridge. One of Minnesota's oldest towns, incorporated in March of 1854, it is often referred to as "the birthplace of Minnesota".It is a popular day trip from the twin cities, tourists enjoy the historic downtown and the scenic St Croix River valley. Top left photo is the courthouse, bottom left a war memorial. We always check out all the old churches, and I love to photograph them, and go inside whenever we can.
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