There is a small laundry that was an unexpected and much appreciated amenity here at Lebanon Hills. After the loads of clothes were done and the van thoroughly cleaned, we set off for a hike to Jensen Lake which is in the east side of the regional park and connects to the trails around our campground. Parts of this trail had raised boardwalks and the west end of the lake was covered with lily pads and duck weed. This would be an excellent place for canoes and kayaks.

And, now the real reason we are here near Minneapolis – Ed Sheeran!!! “I thought we were avoiding major cities,” grumped Tony as we weaved our way through construction and traffic yesterday. I reminded him that this was a concert I really, really wanted to experience, and the expensive tickets and traffic would all be worth it. We took a Lyft ride to US Bank Stadium where a record-breaking crowd awaited an awesome evening. Our driver had Ed Sheeran music cued up for us as a really nice touch.

The stage was round with a clear divide between it and the standing ticketed crowd. The stage opens to let people and equipment come and go; at seven feet it’s high enough for crews to work under and low enough for the standing audience to see. Ed starts with a freshly-tuned guitar for each song that is exchanged from below. A few songs in his 2-hour+ set had band members accompanying him; they were on the “arrow” shapes at the base of the six red poles holding everything together. For most of the concert it was just Ed and his guitar and his loop pedals; he had several on the stage all connected so he could move around freely. The “halo” screen that can be moved up and down over the stage weighs 24-tons all by itself. This whole production takes 83 trucks to move it, and has an amazing behind-the-scenes development and works story. Needless to say, I was so impressed and happy to experience it all!

We made it back to our campsite around 12:30 am. Our second Lyft ride was more than twice the price of the first one due to the high demand at that time. We monitored the cats while we were gone, and they seemed to have an—oh, you were gone?—attitude:)