After the Biotech conference yesterday, I had dinner and then spent about 45 minutes walking around downtown St. Paul. I like to do this in a city to get a feel for what it has to offer and how active its nightlife is--in addition to the fact that I was looking for a convenience store to buy some bottled water and orange juice for my hotel room. Aside for a few restaurants, the city seemed deserted on this Thursday evening around 9pm. It wasn't exactly "28 Days Later", but I did feel a little bit like the Omega Man walking past block after block of darkened storefronts. I found my way to Lowertown, a hip part of St. Paul. I had read about with residential lofts, but all I found were a couple bars with live music--nothing to help my juice&water quest. I guess no one gets the munchies in the evening here. As for my hotel, a Sheraton, it's shop closed at 6. Reminded me of a conference I attended in downtown Pittsburgh where you could hear the shutters closing and security gates slamming shut at 5:30 as the business workers rushed home to the burbs, the wind kicking up dust and blowing tumbleweeds behind them.
Empty City
