The Nook Is Worth The Wait

-Good Sunday morning everyone … welcome to our blog.

We are Steve (35) and Warren (62) a gay male couple from Minnesota.

-Out in the back yard this morning we have 54 degrees under cloudy skies.  It rained and thundered last night, and was just plain miserable outside – when we got home.

We left sunny skies and 75 degrees in Minneapolis and returned to 54 degrees with clouds and by the time we got all unpacked – it was raining.

-Today’s northland weather forecast for our back yard is: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Areas of fog. Highs 60 to 65. East winds 10 to 15 mph.

Color weather radar shows large areas of rain in the western half of Minnesota … extending into North Dakota – and a very large area of snow in western portion North Dakota at this hour, extending all the way back into Montana.  Yikes … snow is on the way!

-Steve and I left for Minneapolis on Friday afternoon about 12:45 p.m., when I met him in Duluth, where he left his car and rode with me.  We got into Minneapolis around 3:15 p.m., and arrived at our hotel to unpack and then head out from there.

Steve had booked us into the Double Tree Hotel in downtown Minneapolis – a place that we have stayed before.  We had never tried Priceline.com before to book a room – but to Steve and my surprise – we got a very nice room for only $55.00 for the night.  Normally a room of that type would cost about $159.00 per night, and we ended up paying on $55.00.  Great deal!

-By 6:30 p.m. we were off to the Uptown Theater to see Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild.  Now, we’ve never been to this theater before … and it’s old – like 1940’s or 1950’s vintage.  I mean old … so old that as Steve and I were walking inside the theater … we saw a small “mouse” … yes, that’s right – “mouse” run up under the candy display counter.  Yuck!!!

By the time the movie had started at 7:15 p.m. there were – to our surprise, only about 16 guys in the theater – including us.

As far as the movie goes … well, it was not that great!  Here’s my thoughts…

The Good: The humor is so so.  Not great, not bad.  Just middle of the road.

The Bad: There were some instances where the roughly 16 of us in the theater were silent as the level of crudeness went through the roof as father and son vomit repeatedly all over each other and giant genital crabs make their way into the story … in my thinking too many times.

That’s it … I went, I saw – and I wasn’t really to impressed.

As sequels go, this one was not as good as the first movie. I’d personally rate it at a C+.

-This is GLBT history month, and each day so far this month we have been telling you about gay history, so here is today’s look back:

October  12

October 12, 1774 – Adolph Jans van Oldeberkoop of Frisia Netherlands, a fifty year old customs officer, was convicted of seduction to sodomy and banished for two years.

October 12, 1971 – The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs recommended the repeal of a law prohibiting homosexuals from working in or frequenting bars.

October 12, 1979 – The National Coalition of Black Gays sponsored a conference in Washington DC, The First Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference.

October 12, 1998 – Twenty-one year old Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming college student, died of injuries inflicted during a gay bashing.

-The Minneapolis Eagle was our next and last stop for the evening.  The balance of our evening from about 9:00 p.m. to around 12:40 a.m. was spent in “The Bolt” bar, which is one of three bars at the Eagle.  It’s pretty much a video bar … Steve had three Captain Morgan’s with coke and I had three bottles of beer.  Not bad over 3 hours and 40 minutes.

Neither Steve nor I are big drinkers of alcohol – but we do like to go out and just enjoy an evening on occasion … and the Minneapolis Eagle is a great place to just go and “man watch”.  At least I know Steve loves it … and by the time his third drink (which was nicely flavored) was one third gone … he was talking away and we were having a nice time.  We really had a great time at the bar … and I think Steve saw more “eye candy” then he’d seen for a while.  There was one guy in his late 30’s with a bear cap on, partial beard and dressed in black that Steve thought was particularly “HOT”.  Steve kept trying to tell me the young, slightly short, crew cut bartender was someone that I should think was “HOT”.  Although, as I told Steve I thought he was a nice looking guy … I wouldn’t particularly say he was “HOT”.

We looked at several men … and Steve’s eye glistened at the sight of a couple of them … LOL, the guy with the black cap, as I said was one and the blond guy with the crew cut was another. 

All in all, Friday night at the Minneapolis Eagle was fun – we had a  good time, had some good conversation, and as usual – I learned some things about Steve’s past life that I didn’t know – which was good.

We were in bed by 1:30 a.m., and having sex by 1:40 a.m. which was hot on the nice big soft hotel bed.  To our “surprise” we were both awakened sometime between 2:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. by some “idiot” pounding on our hotel door.  Neither Steve nor I acknowledged that anyone was at the door – but nonetheless the person (male or female) just kept knocking and knocking and knocking.

I told Steve when we got home last night … I would have been funny if I would have had a metal “fry pan” in my hand – and quickly opened the hotel room door and slammed the dumb idiot right smack on the head – then quickly closed the door.

-Saturday morning we were up about 8:30 a.m. right after having “morning sex”, then we showered and packed up our suit cases and headed to Cheapo Records on Lake Street, near the Uptown Theater where we saw the movie.

This place is one of Steve’s favorite stops, when ever we are in Minneapolis.  I just dropped him off at the front door, and drove around the rear parking lot and sat there … for one hour and 20 minutes … reading Lavender Magazine.

It was 10:00 a.m. when we arrived and 11:20 p.m. when Steve finally returned to the car … so I just read the magazine and relaxed with the car windows wide open and a nice warm gentle breeze blowing in.  It was a beautiful morning … and I was in no hurry, so I just waited as Steve enjoyed his time in the store.

By 11:30 a.m., we were off to St. Paul, Minnesota via University Avenue to find “The Nook“.

-We arrived at our destination about 11:55 a.m. and left me tell you this … if you are looking for a burger experience Casper & Runyon’s Nook in Saint Paul, Minnesota is the place to go. In our opinion, The Nook has the best burger in Minnesota.  The Nook is located at 492 Hamline Avenue South in
St Paul, MN 55116.

Steve and I went there on Saturday … Our personal favorite is the Nookie Burger which is a super thick burger with slices of cheese, lettuce and a special sauce.

I also recommend trying the french fries and the onion rings.

This is a combo we wouldn’t trade for dinner any where, any day.

This small cafe and tavern is located at 429 Hamline Avenue near the corner Hamline and Randolph right across the street from Cretin Derham Hall. As the Nook is pretty small be prepared to grab a beer at the bar and wait for a table. Steve and I waited about 20 minutes – but the wait was well worth it.

While you’re waiting, take a minute to check out all the photos and memorabilia of Cretin stars Joe Mauer, Paul Molitor, Matt Birk and many others.

Honestly – you Minnesota Bears and others…if you’re looking for great food and laid-back casual atmosphere The Nook in St Paul is the place to try out – if you haven’t already done so.

If The Nook is good enough for the Food Channel – it’s good enough for us.

Our Rating: A+  (You can also check out their My Space page.)

-Steve and I were back home by about 4:30 p.m., both tired but having had a great weekend away.  Steve washed a load of laundry and I unpacked and then the two of us just “crashed on the bed” for the evening.  We watched a little television – but by 9:30 p.m. or so, it was lights out.

-Today it is “haircuts” and bedding day.  We’ll give each other haircuts and wash the bedding on the bed – then around noon time, (unless plans change) we’ll watch NFL football for the afternoon.

Just a good day to chill out and relax.

-A while back, I just saw an interesting little poll in the Instinct Magazine page…

Do you believe in open relationships?

No – It only complicates things

56.3%

Yes – As long as we’re both on board

43.8%

Wow – that surprises me that there are that many men in favor of an open relationship. I can’t speak for Steve – although we have never tried an “open relationship” but I think he would think the same as myself – that an open relationship would only complicate our relationship and put a strain on it.

I’m just not in favor of “sharing him” with “anyone” “ever”!

-Well guys today as i said a few moments ago, we are going to cut each other’s hair and after we shower and so forth – probably do a few things around the house – and if it is not raining we will get out for our hike / walk and get some exercise…before NFL football.

Have a nice Sunday – if the weather is nice in your part of the world – get outside and enjoy it – that’s what we plan on doing today.

We will both see you back here tomorrow morning – until then – be kind.

-Until next time