Wiscornson. Wiscowsin. Wisconstruction.

We took a vacation.

Two days in Minneapolis had us enjoying the long forgotten pleasures of urban life. Activities included eating proper food (Emi got to eat Japanese, finally!), going to a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field (featuring a 2-hit no-walk shutout from Andrew Albers), drinking beers not produced by Budweiser, and visiting every bike shop in town trying to get Matt's tire situation sorted.

He had purchased as spare at Wal Mart, which should give an idea as to where the story is headed. The spare was needed at the exact moment the gunshot-like boom bulleted out from his blown tire. Unfortunately, Wal Mart tire sizes operate independently of conventional, normal world tire sizes. The "26 inch" was so big it would not seat into the rim at all.

But, as the lightbulb above our heads suggested, it would go over top of the blown tire. Double tires? It got him 50 miles. Innovation at its finest!

In Minneapolis we were hosted by Steve and Louise, a great couple who were kind enough to open their beautiful 100 year old house on the south part of town for not one but two nights. Words cannot do justice their hospitality. We'd have love to have stayed a week, but we had to keep moving forward.

Minneapolis was where we would have to part ways with Matt as well, after three weeks together. He was on his way south to Chicago and on to Pennsylvania, while we were headed across Wisconsin to Manitowoc, port of the only coal powered ship remaining in the US, which would ferry us across to Michigan.

Exiting the twin cities proved a challenge. Crossing the Mississippi into St Paul involved carrying our bikes up and down stairs to a bridge, and climbing and descending some of the steepest hills we'd encountered. Throw in getting a bit lost on winding suburban roads and the first day out of the city wound up being a lot of going nowhere.

We made it across the Wisconsin border and gave up just outside of Hudson, at Willow River.

The following days were much more productive. Short steep hills, quiet country roads varying from shredded to brand new to closed, endless cornfields, and Holstein cows everywhere. The camping has been some of the best on the trip. One night we met Bob and Jennie, along with their family, and the offered us a great dinner of ham and vegetables. Another night we found ourselves camping 50 feet from the shore of Partridge Lake at Blue Top Resort, where the owner Debbie, an experienced cycle tourist, let us camp free.

Currently we are enjoying yet another camp stove pasta dinner, this one in Reedsville, which is a small town just 17 miles from our 2pm ferry. Our last night in Wisconsin. Tomorrow night brings a new state, a new time zone, and one step closer to home.