RN: Because of our positive Covid test, we canceled staying with Paul and Carol near St Paul MN and booked a room in a Best Western Hotel nearby. However, they were very gracious in inviting us to their house for lunch outside in the garden. Paul took me under his wing when I was an undergrad grunt in the Wessells’ lab at Stanford and he was a grad student. He taught me how to make primary neuronal cell cultures (from dorsal root ganglia) and he taught me how to do time-lapse photography of neurons growing out their axons in culture. He is such a pleasant and kind soul! This year, he is celebrating 50 years since he got his PhD… OMG! That means I knew him more than 50 years ago!! He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota and the last time I saw him was at the 2004 Norm Fest, a reunion of Wessells’ trainees at Stanford that we helped organize. It was really nice to catch up!

Paul gave me some prints of photos he had taken at the Norm Fest. This is what I looked like in 2004!

Carol and Paul have a beautiful garden with waterfalls in their backyard. Also included: an eclectic collection of little statues!

Also goldfish, water lilies etc…

We end our day by traveling to Eau Claire WI and have dinner at the Good Wives Restaurant, which is owned by two women who are married to each other, one being the chef who just got voted best chef in the city.

Felix is feelin’ good!