I have not yet driven into Minnesota. The only time I was in Minnesota I arrived by air.

I was returning from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on business. I requested that my stopover between Winnipeg and Newark, New Jersey, be in Minneapolis. I did this 1) so that I could see my old college roommate who lives in Rochester, Minnesota, and 2) so that I could add Minnesota to my list of visited states.

I had an added stroke of good luck in that my connecting flight out of Minneapolis would be delayed by some two hours. This gave me the opportunity to go out to dinner with Mark and, yes, to say, "Hey Mark, could we drive to St. Paul so I could get a picture of me in front of the state capitol?" That's right. St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota, not Minneapolis. Just like Sydney is not the capital of Australia (it's Canberra). This is the basis for the trivia question, "Which two state capitals end in '-polis'?" Answer is at the end of the page.

After a little creative navigation we made it to the Capitol grounds. I kissed the ground signifying my first visit to Minnesota (ok, I connected through Minneapolis on the way up to Winnipeg, but I did not venture out of the terminal) just a few steps from where I am in this photo.

Though it never happened, it was awesome to stare at the Minnesota Statehouse and just imagine Governor Jesse Ventura rappelling down from a helicopter to take the Oath of Office as he wanted to do.

As for the building itself, of the twelve state capitols I have thus far visited in conjunction with this project, Minnesota's is far and away the most impressive I have seen (Pennsylvania is a close second). This capitol projects a sense of power and authority, as well as stateliness and elegance. As I was with some people I didn't have a chance to spend much time here (not to mention I had a plane to catch). It's a little hard to see, but the rotunda has gilded accents all around. While the rotunda itself doesn't have all the columns that the U.S. Capitol may have, so far Minnesota most closely resembles St. Peter's.

So after a few minutes it was back to the airport for me. After bidding Mark adieu, and with "Jesse: Mess With Me, Mess With My Governor" coffee mug in hand, I was on my way back home.

The answers: The first is easy: Indianapolis, Indiana. The second is the one that everyone forgets: Annapolis, Maryland.

March 30, 2000