5.4K likes isn’t too shabby

MK on the babysitting gig

Uncle Greg would be proud

Happy iPhone Upgrade Day for kid one

Thanks, Auntie Lynn

Nice look there, Luna

We had a great time on Maui last week, despite the record high temps (and crazy dew points). We had lots of great food recommendations from people, but Mama’s Fish House took home the prize for most memorable experience. Located on the central north shore of Maui just outside Paia, Mama’s was a 2018 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant. Open Table says Mama’s is the second most popular restaurant in the United States, Trip Advisor has them listed as a Top 10 U.S. Fine Dining Restaurant, while ZAGAT has them number one for food on Maui. Everyone we talked to said Mama’s was expensive, but also a can’t miss.

Needless to say, expectations were high…

Floyd and Doris Christenson have an awesome backstory. The location, atmosphere and general setting of Mama’s is probably the most Hawaiian thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You turn off the Hana Highway at the fishing boat and enter a lot that offers complimentary valet. Once checked in, you get to roam around their own private beach, which we were told often has sea turtles playing in the water. The day we visited had a high surf warning, so the turtles were (hopefully) playing elsewhere. After checking in at a second host stand, we were escorted into the open-air dining room and seated near the bar.

Our server Lacey was wonderful. We started with fancy tropical drinks: Colleen had a Mama’s Margarita, while I had a Pink Hibiscus (hibiscus, elderflower liqueur, lime, cranberry and Maui PAU vodka). We shared an appetizer of seared island venison with honey lime sauce, which was extremely tender for venison. We both had autumn salads, with Waipoli greens, Kula persimmons, spiced pecans, goat cheese and Tahitian vanilla vinaigrette dressing. For the fish main course, I choose “kanpachi from ocean waters off Hawaii Island,” while Colleen had “onaga caught bottom fishing off Keanae by Joe Hobson.” We both loved that they customized the menu daily with who caught the fish (and where). I was super-excited to order the Polynesian Black Pearl for dessert: lilikoi (passion fruit) chocolate mousse in a pastry seashell (with a beautiful plate presentation – pics after the jump).

When we looked at the menu before we went, I didn’t think the prices were crazy-high. Afterwards, we found out it just all adds up, turning in to the most we’ve probably ever spent on lunch. That’s also part of the trick – there is no discount for having lunch over dinner. We heard one of the servers say they average about 1,000 covers a day, so I think they can price however they want. I’m glad we went, though, and would highly recommend it at least once in your life. Mahalo, Mama.

Thank you, Kaanapali Beach Hotel

Lifeguard @ D.T. Fleming Beach Park

CK @ Mama’s Fish House Beach

Only one on the island

Chicken and pancakes @ Roy’s

It was a year ago today when a blood vessel in my head decided it had enough, resulting in a ruptured aneurysm and subarachnoid hemorrhaging on the train platform outside U.S. Bank Stadium. It was a humbling experience to see the outpouring of love and support from my family and friends throughout my recovery and I will be forever thankful to the good Samaritan in the pickup truck, the first responders that treated me on the platform and the entire staff at Hennepin Healthcare for extending my time on this little planet we call home.

Health-wise, things are almost back to normal. I’m still wearing glasses with a 3M Prism lens on the left side to correct the remaining double vision. The strength of the lens has dropped from +30 to +8 during the past 11 months and the hope is still that I eventually won’t need them at all. I can read most screens without glasses, but the “bilateral 6th nerve palsy” and resulting diplopia at further distances is really the only major remaining issue from October 8, 2018. I’ve been off all of the additional medications from my time in the ICU for a while now and have returned to most physical activities with no issues. In fact, my bike mileage in 2019 sits at 1,058 miles and I’ve played 21 rounds of golf (both of which are a little more challenging with glasses).

I won’t lie, walking past that spot nearly every day is unsettling. It can feel frustrating to not be 100% yet with my vision. And all that weight I lost in the hospital came back with a vengeance. But I am so thankful for having access to high-quality healthcare that didn’t bankrupt our family. This full year of bonus time had some amazing memories: an extra special Thanksgiving with family, the NCAA Final Four, MK’s graduation, Las Vegas with SK, lake visits to Vermilion and Superior, Rib Fest, Summer X Games, another epic State Fair, a quick day trip to Los Angeles, the Saints championship season, more Vikings football and lots of concerts and restaurants. Life at fifty has been good.

So where to from here? I’ll be seeing my eye doctor again soon and I need to get back to my “regular” doctor to start all of the normal old guy things that need to be tested and monitored. Colleen and I head to Maui later this month to check off the second milestone birthday trip that was postponed due to the incident. Hopefully we’ll get the third and final trip scheduled for January. This week I’ll find out about the 2020 London Marathon ballot, which would immediately kick-start a return to running. Quick trip next week to Milwaukee to visit the Buck’s new arena. After the Vikings-Eagles game this weekend, the football season will already be half over. And you know what Steve Miller said about flying eagles…

P.S. Steak with the fam

Drowned rat

Thanks, MK

SK with Chrysanthemum in Mears Park

Felicity came home from the fair in a cocoon

Go, MK, go! Proud of you…

Nice to see Lynn and Dad

Come on, Hootie

Mississippi National with the boys

Surprise visit from the SK (and my closet needs a cleaning)

Go Squad (XGMN19)

Well, not really a Lyft driver

Swapped out uncles…

Lunes likes her waffles

MK + Gordy = true love ❤️

It’s been a while since I’ve written a full concert post here, but the Lonely Island show at the Armory last night definitely merits a longer report. We really didn’t know what to expect, as many of the original SNL video shorts that made their songs famous have big name guest stars and elaborate staging. When opener Neal Brennan (co-creator of Chappelle’s Show) did a straight stand-up routine on basically an empty stage, we were even more confused as to what the rest of the night would hold in store. After a short wait between sets, surprise guest number one, Seth Meyers, introduced the main act and off we went…

Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone tore through all of their hits, singing in front of a giant video screen that was brilliantly programmed all evening. The night included many costume changes, but only one other major surprise guest star – the real Jose Canseco during Jose and Mark (from the 2019 Netflix special The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience). We were taking side bets on who else might show up: Justin Timberlake has family ties to Minnesota, while Maya Rudolph clearly loves Prince and Minneapolis. No go on anybody else – JT was portrayed as a marionette, while they just played the whole IHOP parking lot video on the big screen. I didn’t want any spoilers by looking up reviews of previous stops on this tour (Minneapolis was the last stop), but apparently T-Pain showed up at Summerfest in Milwaukee for I’m On A Boat and Chris Parnell performed Lazy Sunday at two of the New York shows.

Groups like Lonely Island and Tenacious D are tickets that I’m surprised are so popular, as I’d hazard that 75% of the general population has no idea who they are. Not sure that the Armory show was officially sold out, but the place was packed and we had a long line for the GA floor when we arrived half an hour before doors opened. The four of us ended up with a decent spot far stage left and (most) people were well behaved all night. I personally didn’t get to look at the merch table all that much, but I heard they had a wide variety of creative, fairly priced items for purchase. Setlist and a few pics after the jump.

Setlist:

• We’re on Stage
• Ground Rules
• Jizz In My Pants
• Yolo
• Diaper Money
• Semicolon
• Boombox
• The Creep
• FREE T SHIRTS
• Ras Trent
• Like a Boss
• Threw It on the Ground
• We Like Sportz
• Shy Ronnie
• I’m So Humble
• Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)
• Jorma’s Diary
• Jose and Mark (with Jose Canseco)
• Uniform On
• Joe Montana Rap
• IHOP Parking Lot
• Lazy Sunday
• Laser Cats Through Cinema History
• Dick in a Box / Motherlover / 3-Way (The Golden Rule)
• We Fell Off a Horse
• I Just Had Sex
• —
• Encore
• —
• Incredible Thoughts
• Donkey Roll
• Jack Sparrow
• I’m on a Boat

That hit the spot (as usual)

…before I returned to the Delta Club, anyways 😉

One purple and one red – thanks, SK

Hadn’t seen a lot of these

Spokane visit or Stranger Things audition?

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/twincities/obituary.aspx?n=gregory-alan-smith&pid=192923075

Still haven’t figured out this whole grieving thing

Beatles Cirque – probably last saw this a dozen years ago

In the “new” location @ Bellagio

Caesar’s Palace and the Palms

That would be an easy conversion

It’s so cold here

Trying WN again with SK

Twins season ticket holder trip was successful

Field study to the BWCA for MK

Presentation completed with flying colors – on to graduation!

Mom at Disneyland

Lunes has been a bad boi lately

MK @ Saint Paul College intro program

…but not working

Quick trip over to Keg and Case

Luna was none too happy about that visit, either

Growing up, there were two things we never talked about: politics and religion. I’ll leave the latter for another day, but the former is something that I’ve really come to dislike as I’ve grown older. I mean, politics are everywhere, of course, whether it be at work, in the news or at a family gathering. But as far as traditional Republicans versus Democrats, right versus left and conservative versus liberal, I’ve had just about all I can take. I’ve never been a fan of political parties – why can’t all elections be like those for mayor, school board or judge? I don’t need to see an “R” or “D” behind your name – tell me your qualifications, what your positions are and how you came to those conclusions. Party platforms are an intellectual cop-out, in my opinion.

We all form our key values as we mature and I find it interesting how these can change over time (and how they are shaped by our individual experiences and environments). I’ve always held the Golden Rule in high esteem and try to follow the “Thumper Rule” online (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all”). Some of my other favorites?

• Love and kindness
• Knowledge, expertise and dedication
• Fairness and equality
• Civility and respect

Closely related to these values are other things important to me: family and friends, culture, education, science, history, nature, fitness, sportsmanship, fine food, live music, good writing, silence. I used to think that I hated rules (especially those seemingly arbitrary ones created by “the man”), but really I just hate dumb rules (i.e. – this).

Not our favorite place in Europe, but still tragic news from a historic city

Calm amongst the chaos

Really needed that burger today

Squeezing in a few more…

Timberwolves vs. Golden State @ Target Center

Parking really is free

Nine ball is still my fave

We lived there a long, long time ago

Zantigo Woodbury (with MK)

That would’ve been a true Grand Casino Story, no?

…and Sir Elton

Now that Monster Jam is over, it’s full on Final Four

SK on her way to NYC

• My mom (and her dad and brother)
• 20/20 vision
• Prince, Petty and Bowie
• Running (and My People)
• Marathon-level fitness
• Mountain skiing
• Warm weather
• Disneyland (and World)
• Happy Hour (with no happy)

Keeping a positive outlook and all, but this is still truth…

He was an original Kilimanjaro Safari guide at DAK

I’ve never seen such a small clown serving

MK at her first ticket draft

Thanks, Jim and Darla!