St. Paul Fadeaway

Not much is going on in St Paul, Minnesota right now. The city is preparing to host the Republican National Convention, but right now they are still just preparing. The convention kicks officially Monday morning, but with Hurricane Gustav whirling in the gulf and the debacle of Hurricane Katrina hanging over the Republican party, the convention may not start for several more days.

My role has been very limited so far. There have not been many productions in the city, so my time has been my own. Today I'm off to the Minnesota State Fair, and later I will go to the Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport to shoot McCain's arrival, and hopefully his visit to the Larry Craig Memorial Stall.

In the meantime I wanted to throw some of the pics up that I have so far.

The incredibly awesome Sponge Bob Square Pants roller coaster at the Mall of America. Lots of fun! And ridden for free thanks to the power of the press pass!




Another view of the Mall of America amusement park. I believe that is a Dora the Explora Ferris Wheel.





One of several large American flags that are painted into the hills along the highways that enter St. Paul. I'm not entirely sure if this is for the RNC or if it is a usual patriotic display.




The road into the Xcel Center looks like a DMZ. Those are some heavy duty 7' iron barricades. They surround the entire center, plus the peripheral areas. They form a 3 or 4 square block perimeter. Its a little creepy. That orange thing there reflected in my shot, is my pass though. As long as I have that the nice men with the automatic weapons just wave me by.


Lucy and Linus Van Pelt say hello. In honor of Peanuts creator and Minneapolis/St. Paul native Charles Schulz, the Twin Cities had a series of these guys made up and painted by local artists. Here we have snowboard Lucy, and Super Linus.

Simply Awesome.