Rapp Strategies Rundown – August
What we did, read, watched and thought about this month.
Todd R.: Finished Better Call Saul (awesome) and started The Americans (I know, I know … I am sooo late on this one). Also trumpeting the return of City On A Hill. Jumped on a new author, Don Winslow, and City on Fire was a pretty good read. Visited Dubuque, for the first time and was really impressed with its Riverwalk and the drive from there to Madison, WI, which is rolling. My bride wants me to mention her love for the Cherry Vodka Moscow Mules served at a family wedding in Door County, but maybe I’ve run out of space for that.
Rich: August has been a month of enjoying Minnesota’s summer, the best summer location in the nation. I’ve played my share of August golf and finalized plans to travel to Bandon Dunes, Oregon for a week-long golf trip with my friend, Joe Coyne, and my sons, Zach and David. This is a “Dream Golf” trip we’ve been planning for two years.
I’ve also been active in local and state elections supporting candidates who defend our elections and our democracy. The challenges are great, but I believe we can overcome them.
Finally, I finished a wonderful book about the Nez Pierce war of the late 1800s, Thunder in the Mountains. I am a fan of great books of history. This was one of my favorites.
Todd S.: The Stone family enjoyed a quick trip to Falmouth, Mass., where I was born. We got to enjoy some relaxing Cape Cod vibes, family time, good sea food and great beaches. A trip to Martha’s Vineyard was a highlight along with my sons getting haircuts in my father’s old barber chair. Stone’s Barbershop has been an institution in Falmouth since 1941.
Sarah: August has absolutely flown by. The first part of the month was spent prepping for our trip to Norway. We spent a week touring the western fjords and loved every minute of it. We started in Oslo, where we toured the Norske Folkemuseum (the stave church from the 1200s is a “don’t miss”), enjoyed the waterfront in Aker Brygge and had an incredible meal at Hos Thea. After that we drove to and stayed near Åndalsnes. Over several days we drove the bonkers Trollstigen, visited my ancestral farm village on Hornindalsvatnet, toured Geirangerfjorden, marveled at the beautiful flowers in Molde and drove the Atlantic Ocean Road. We wrapped up with a few days in Trondheim visiting family friends. The Nidaros Cathedral was a jaw-dropper, we strolled across the Old Town Bridge over the Nidelva River and through Bakklandet, and saw the Crown Jewels at the Archbishop’s Palace.
Beyond the fantastic trip, I listened to the Duchess of Sussex’s new podcast Archetypes – highly recommend – and many, many episodes of Everything Everywhere Daily.
Sean: Another summer that went by far too quickly. Free time this last month was spent finding any and all reason to escape to the cabin, which we were able to do all but one weekend. Saunas, lake jumps, beach volleyball, golf and family. Can’t ask for a better way to spend the waning days of summer.
I also continued the unfortunate process of training for the Twin Cities 10 mile, which I hope to tackle the first week of October (and which will be dramatically set back following one day of eating every MN State Fair food in sight). Received a nice boost of life with House of the Dragon finally premiering on HBO. Only two episodes in, but it hasn’t disappointed thus far! Sad to see summer go but couldn’t have asked for a better one!
Anna: It was a big month at the Shay house as we celebrated my husband’s graduation from flight school, including a tour of a Black Hawk helicopter and a heart-pumping ride on a Huey (aka the “work horse” of the army during the Vietnam War). Shortly after, we moved back to Minnesota into a new house, commencing the scramble of unpacking boxes and fixing things. In our spare time, Isaac and I have binged the ever-tragic but humorous Monk, enjoyed a day in Stillwater (including stops at St. Croix Crossing, Black Letter Books and Leo’s) and logged six miles of walking around the Minnesota State Fair. This year, food highlights included fried pickles and mini donuts (classics), tirokroketes and a pretzel pronto pup with white cheddar.
Cullen: My ultimate frisbee team made a deep playoff run to somehow pull out a top-10 finish in our league and I enjoyed several cabin trips to visit with out-of-state friends who were back home between years of graduate school. That didn’t leave me much time for reading or watching new releases, but I am anxiously the return of the NFL and college football so that I can put my new YouTube TV subscription to good use!
Kaylee: My motto for this month was to enjoy all that Minnesota summers have to offer. That primarily looked like afternoons spent reading alongside lakes and brewery visits. The outdoor seating area at Keg & Case Market quickly found a place in my heart. I also loved coming across the MSP Iranian Film Festival and watching a thoughtful, yet ironic film: A Man of Integrity. But by far the highlight of the month was hosting two close friends from Berlin. I unfortunately cannot say they were here solely to visit me, but we snuck in mini adventures to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and various restaurants.
Will: What a busy August! After winning four tickets to a St. Paul Saints game during a company golf outing, I took my girlfriend, my brother and his friend to the stadium. Minor league baseball is a spectacle like no other.
This month, I moved into an apartment with two friends from college. It has been nice to get settled into a routine. Aside from unpacking, I have been busy enjoying the sauna and walks around the neighborhood. We checked out La Doña Cervecería and Royal Foundry Craft Spirits, which both had good atmosphere and beverages.
I read Why I Write by George Orwell, and for how brief and interesting it is there’s no reason not to check it out. My roommates and I have been watching Untold on Netflix, with the Malice at the Palace episode being a favorite so far. However, my favorite sports documentary will always be 222-0. If you’re not familiar with the story behind the most lopsided score in the history of football, you owe it to yourself to check it out.
