Lacrosse, WI to Rochester, MN
Our trip to Rochester started early, which was actually pretty awesome, because we were able to avoid both the traffic and the heat. We crossed the Mississippi at sunrise, which was pretty awesome, and then entered Minnesota. Minnesota was very similar looking to Wisconsin, which I wasn't really expecting, and we made it into Rochester at around noon, which was pretty awesome. Rochester is a medium sized town based around the Mayo clinic, one of the most famous and prestigious medical centers in the US. We were lucky enough to be invited into the clinic for a tour, so we cleaned up and heading across the street from the conveniently located church which we were staying at, and arrived at the Mayo clinic. We met a doctor and were showed one of the research facilities and some pretty cool( and very expensive) computers and cameras which they were examining DNA with. After that, we saw the cancer research center, which has the largest collection of cancer information anywhere, and something like 1800 books and brochures about different types and cancer. It was pretty incredible, since I never even knew this kind of place existed.
After dinner, we headed to Rochester Fest, which we were lucky enough to be in town for, and had some enormous turkey legs and just relaxed for the night, which was fun, and much needed.
The next day was our rest day, so we got breakfast and had our first pannekoeken, which is just a dutch pancake made with egg, so it tasted like a mix between french toast and a normal pancake, but it was very good. Also, they sing "Pannekoeken, Pannekoeken" when they bring them out to you, so that made them taste even better. I also stopped at the Barnes and Noble and picked up some new books for the rest of the trip(Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, and Alice In Wonderland), so hopefully that will last me for the rest of the trip. After that we relaxed until dinner, when we went to a chinese buffet and ate way too much, came back and relaxed some more.
States traveled through:13(NY,NJ,PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, OH, IN, IL, WI, MN)
Distance today: 75 mi
Total Distance traveled: 1752 mi