Minnesota 1

"people go to Wisconsin for vacation," she added, "there's a place called the Dells."  I smiled politely.  "Like 'Farmer in the Dell'?"  She tried to look genuinely enthused; or maybe she actually was.  I could never really tell.

"I see."

"No, I hear it's great!"

We laughed.

"Right..."


My shuttle driver was so friendly on my way over.  I got off the plane much sooner than I expected, so the shuttle dude very accomodatingly sent the earlier van over to get me!  On the van, I learned that the roads in Minnesota are rough because of the extreme weathers..  Weather where you can use a frozen banana as a nail in the winter, and where you can fry an egg on the pavement in the summer.  Where the leaves turn into vibrant hues of red and gold in the Fall and where "you Californians" might freeze, but "us Minnesotans" can wear just about anything.

An elderly couple also got on; they were about one hour time difference away, and were here to get the husband's hip checked out at the Mayo clinic.  My shuttle driver was so enthusiastic about that place, regaling in tales of how they saved his leg, how they saved another friend's brain... pretty intense, pretty detailed, pretty true.  I snoozed in and out of the ride; opening my eyes to see fields of corn, rows of pine trees, a tossed mixture of winter and autumn swathed in a gauze of cold fog and cloud.