In yesterday's entry I detailed our family's venture into new territory.
So, wrap up the medical stuff at Mayo. By this time it's the later part of Friday afternoon. We decide to blow our inexpensive, efficient hotel in Rochester and head to the Twin Cities.
But we're not in a hurry, after all. So instead of taking the divided but-not-quite-up-to-Interstate-standards U.S. Route 52 we instead chose the 2-lane and tranquil U.S. 63.
Past Zumbro Falls and into Lake City where we meet the fabled U.S. 61. And see the mighty Mississippi. Cross over into Wisconsin at the town of Red Wing (yes, where they make the shoes!).
After a short detour through the Cheese State we are back in Minnesota and not real far from St. Paul.
Hotel is nice but unremarkable. Dinner does not take place in some fancy restaurant but rather involves rotisserie chicken and potato salad from a nearby grocery store. No cheese curds for this family!
I do, however, get myself some Leinenkugel's beer. I feel there's no need to quaff Shiner Bock when I'm this far north.
The next day (Saturday) finds us enjoying a scrumptious breakfast buffet at hotel. Then we decide on a game plan. Head to Minnehaha Park and do some walking. A lot of walking. Did us good but no doubt this entire family is a bit out of shape. We did get to see Minnehaha Falls (after a significant period of walking) but after having been in vehicle and in and out of Mayo Clinic buildings for the past few days the sunshine and urban air did all of us some good.
So what's next? What other touristy thing do we want to see?
Why not go to the largest shopping mall in the United States?
More walking, only this is of the indoor variety. Catch a fast food lunch and attempt to find an open table in the food court. Visit the Apple Store (of course). Laugh at the lack of significant foot traffic at the Microsoft Store. See Geoana get her picture taken with a couple of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Notice vinyl records are making a comeback at Urban Outfitters. See people. Lots of people. Enough to make me long for the openness and sparsity of the Kansas prairie.
Enough mall for us. What is our next move?
Earlier in the day we kicked around the idea of taking in a Twins game. However we elect instead to start making our way south and just see where the road takes us with the concept of finding a hotel when we get tired.
After brief stops at Target (seems there's one on every corner in this area) and then further south at Cabela's in Owatonna we then head west on I-90.
Planned to stay overnight in Worthington but the hotel gods had other ideas.
Turns out that at this time of year, in this part of the country, on a Saturday night, there's hardly a hotel room to be had along the Interstate.
OK, time to regroup. It's now getting beyond 8 in the p.m. and we're all starting to feel the effects of fatigue. We decided to head southwest. Geogal gets on her iPhone and secures us a room at the Holiday Inn Express in Sioux City, Iowa. From what we were later told it was about the last room available in the immediate area.
The hotel gods were still looking out for us.
I like spontaneous but that evening was a bit much. Before Geogal snagged the room I had a contingency plan banging around in my brain: Stop for a brief bathroom and beverage break. I take out my contacts and put on the regular glasses, then we just go all night until we get home. Geogal and I split the driving and do every trick in the book to stay awake.
I still get an uneasy feeling down in my gut just writing about that.
The following day was more run-of-the-mill. Decided to zigzag home via Nebraska's two-lane highways. About midday the outside temperature began rising until it was nearly the century mark by the time we hit our own driveway.
Home for now. But the following Sunday we would be, in the words of Willie Nelson, on the road again.
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