Last weekend, we took the bus downtown for the first time since seeing the New Pornographers (among others) at "Rock the Garden" back in June. Our destination was again the Walker Art Center, but this time we wanted to play their green-themed mini golf courses. It's only open for another week and a half, but if you happen to be in the area I highly recommend checking it out. Each hole has a unique concept that's somehow related to the environment.
One is constructed completely of found objects. Its centerpiece is an old bike that you pedal to launch your ball off the tee into a pinball machine whose flippers are controlled by the bike's hand brakes. Your skill at this rudimentary game determines how close to the hole your ball is for the second shot. Another hole is crafted 100% from copper. The idea being that once the exhibit has run its course the hole can be melted back into slag and turned into something else... 100% recyclable. It turns out that golf balls roll kind of strangely on copper.
We also spent a couple hours wandering through the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. If we'd been thinking straight, we would have packed a picnic lunch to enjoy in the greenspace near the giant cherry. I'd never actually been to see it in person before; I didn't know it was a fountain. There's another neat exhibit in the garden that's also only open for another week and a half. It's a showcase of different technologies (often simple ones) that help to improve the standard of living in the world's poorer places -- a truly eye-opening and inspiring collection of ideas.
Oh, and because I know you were wondering... I managed to eke out a one stroke victory over Meaghan on each of the 7-hole mini golf courses.
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