A View from St. Paul's Harriet Isalnd

The entrance to St. Paul's Harriet Island Park.

The park isn't really an island, but a peninsula that sticks out into the Mississippi River.

I liked the view of the St. Paul Cathedral in the background. It's on the opposite bank of the river, and as you can see, atop a tall hill.

River Boat Grill & Views of St. Paul

The Mississippi River cuts through the city of St. Paul. I'd never really spent much time around the river in St. Paul and so the other day a friend and I decided to check it out.

We stumbled upon the River Boat Grill, a restaurant on an old boat docked at Harriet Island.

Could there be a better way to enjoy views of the water and downtown St. Paul than to sit on a boat with something to drink? No. We found a table and ordered some lunch.

The boat's menu told the long story about the boat's beginnings and how it came to be a restaurant in St. Paul. Unfortunately, that story isn't posted anywhere on the restaurant's web site. And I didn't have too much time to absorb it at my table. The waitress set upon us pretty quick for our order before snapping the menus out of our hands.

Oh well. The sign on the receptionist stand had warned us. It said something along the lines of Beware the Bitter Waitress.

We didn't give it much more mind, other than to giggle a bit over it. The views of downtown St. Paul were just too pleasant and the people watching was equally appealing.

Garza Canela Hotel in San Blas, Mexico

Nothing about my stay in San Blas, Mexico has been quite what I expected, but that's not to say the town hasn't exceeded my expectations.

In fact, I wish I could pass another day here. Part of the reason I'd like to stay longer is the hotel where we've been staying.

The Garza Canela Hotel is run by just the nicest, cutest people ever! It's owned by the Vazquez family.

The family's four sisters Josefina, Doris, Betty and Diana all take a role in running the place, as does their mother, Dora, who must be in her 80s (or older), and their four dogs, who greet every single customer to pass through the doors.

Betty is a rock star chef who trained in Europe but returned here to little San Blas to set up shop inside her family's hotel. Betty's food is amazing! Eating one of her meals is a luxurious experience.

Or, as she told us herself, eating one of her meals is a memory for the heart. You can not re-eat a great meal, she said, but you can remember how it made you feel forever.

Yes. And something else I will forever remember about my stay at the Garza Canela is what was waiting for me inside the bedside drawer in my room -- a copy of the New Testament and a copy of The Teachings of Buddha.

And you know what? There was nothing remotely strange about that at all (well, okay, at first I thought it was strange). But after staying there and experiencing the welcoming warmth of the Vazquez family (and their dogs) first hand, it seemed perfectly natural.

Walking Across the Mississippi River

The scenery in Minnesota's Itasca State Park is amazing.

Even though it's June, the air temp was chilly up here in northern Minnesota. That didn't keep the crowds (including us) from coming to visit this famous state park, though.

There are 150 lakes inside its borders, not to mention the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

That's right. In case you forgot, or just never knew, the Mighty Mississippi starts in Minnesota and that me walking across it's very very beginning!