Living history

How far behind am I in recapping our vacation? I'm finally caught up to events that happened 150 yeas ago.

Okay, not really. But as part of our vacation NINE days ago, we shifted to the Twin Cities. The first stop? Historic Fort Snelling.

Unfortunately, it was late in the day when we finally arrived. We had a chance to watch a couple re-enactments, but didn't have nearly enough time to wander through all of the buildings.

We did make it into the Round Tower. Here's some quick history trivia: Built in 1820, it's the oldest standing structure in Minnesota.

The view from the top was quite impressive. Though the proximity to the airport made for a weird juxtaposition as ultra-modern jumbo airliners would pass overhead of these historic buildings.

Click on this picture to enlarge it. It's a pretty cool panoramic view. One of the fun tools my new camera can do.

It was while we were at the top peering over the railing that AJ remembered he doesn't like heights.

The last time I was here, I was probably close to AJ's age. I'm pretty sure it was part of an elementary school field trip. My strongest memory (I guess this is where Sydney gets it from) is getting to buy chalk and rock candy in the gift shop. I was happy to see they still offer rock candy, and bought a couple pieces to surprise the kids.

Surprise! AJ didn't like it.

"It's too salty," he complained.

"Salty?" I questioned. "Do you mean it's too sweet?"

Already losing interest in the conversation because he was too busy watching a DVD that he'd only seen about a dozen times, AJ distractedly answered, "Yeah, too sweet."

And that was that.