This morning, I woke up early to meet with Will and Jeff for breakfast. They were both part of the crew who did all the filming in San Francisco. It was very nice to catch up! They met me in my hotel lobby, and together we walked to breakfast. On our six-block stroll, we came across this statue of Mary Tyler Moore. Not gonna lie...I knew her name, but I didn't know anything about her. Cool statue though.
We went to a place called Hell's Kitchen, which I had seen online as one of the best places to eat in Minneapolis. It reminded me of Auersbach Keller in Leipzig, Germany, which I had visited last November. I had a Bison Benedict, which was deeeeeeeelicious. I wish I could have another right now...
After we had breakfast and chatted about schools, politics, and life in general, we walked back to the hotel, where my mom was already waiting downstairs. Our limo driver had also arrived already, and today we got an actual limo (a mini one). Picture's for you, Natalie! :)
Mom got a nice picture of me, Will, and Jeff too. So thankful to know such great people.
Our limo took us to one of Medtronic's campuses/facilities, and on our way, we passed Target Field, which is a great looking ballpark. I will have to return some day to catch a game.
At the facility, we got a tour of where they manufacture many of the parts for their medical technology products. I was extremely surprised to learn that many of the parts had to be made by hand. Crazy!
After our tour, we were driven over to another facility, where the neuromodulation offices are. We met with various groups and teams, including folks from government affairs, DBS, and introthecal baclofen therapy. It was all very fascinating, and we had a great time. Then with our bit of free time in the afternoon, Mom and I went to visit the Mall of America briefly. The limo we had this time was a lot bigger than the others—basically, it was a regularly-sized limo. Crazy!
I had visited the Mall of America when I came to Minnesota the first time. So I'm glad my mom could see it too. It's huge!
Back then, the amusement park in the middle of the mall was Camp Snoopy, but now it's Nickelodeon-themed.
Ever seen a mall with roller coasters in it?
It seemed emptier than I remembered though...
I did find the log chute that my dad and I had gone on when I was in 4th grade. Still cool. :)
I don't remember if this was there then. I didn't like baseball then, but this is pretty cool.
If you couldn't read the sign in the picture above, it basically said Harmon Killebrew once hit a 520-foot home run. It shattered two seats, and those seats were never sold again. They hang up on the wall now.
I tried to capture right when some people were on their way down.
We walked around a bit more and came across this group singing Christmas songs. They were also singing church songs, so it was interesting to have this feeling of being in church while at the home. They were singing really slowly...haha.
We headed back to the hotel then, and I spent my afternoon catching up on work. The sunset was nice too.
The Target Center really isn't very good looking.
At six, we met with a group of Medtronic folks for a nice stroll to dinner. We got to watch the Holidazzle Parade, which was pretty neat. Lots of lights.
Dinner was incredible. Nice setting and atmosphere with live music. The food was excellent, and the company even better.
Tomorrow morning, we'll head back to the Neuromodulation facility where I'll be sharing my story with about 300 people in an auditorium. Should be fun. After that, we'll have a short tour of the Customer Experience Center and then have lunch there. Then it'll be back to the hotel for our bags and off to the airport.
It's been a great trip, and I am so glad I could come with my mom. Pretty neat.
Until next time,
Sam
1 comment:
KKKHHHHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!
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