8/24/10 – Minneapolis

Yoshi and I rise early to go walk around Oak Park and look at Frank Lloyd Wright houses. It’s cool to imagine the furious neighbors a century ago, complaining about the eyesore going up next to their houses.

Our objective is to get to Ames, Iowa, one of the shortest drives we’ve had on the entire tour. This means we actually get to hang out in Minneapolis. I use Chowhound to find a great breakfast place. There is a counter that runs the length of the room, and people are standing around waiting for a spot. It’s daunting for a moment, but we tough it out, and it’s so, so worth it–this breakfast is one of my favorite moments of the tour. The Replacements blare over the stereo, the chef is screaming at everyone in a familial way, the food is perfectly Americana. We linger for a while afterwards and have the waitress take our photo so we can remember this moment of total grungy bliss.

Before our long drive, we go hang out on the Macalester campus, Nick’s alma mater. The boys lay down in the sunny grass and I go for a walk. I end up in Whole Foods, having a long discussion with an employee about the vilification of kombucha. She blames Lindsay Lohan.