Minnesota Eh?

I had a great time in the Minneanapolis airport on my way to Rochester. It may seem strange to hear that, but it was such a unique airport experience. From the PGA virtual driving range, the standing desks with treadmills that charged your electronic devices to the short film movie theater it was different than any other airport I had been to. 

My left-over oven roasted pizza from my date night with Molly tasted particularly delicious. 

Despite the preconceived notion, no one talks with "eh"'s...I barely picked up on any stereotypical accents in Minnesota, probably because Rochester is a melting pot of brilliant minds coming together to further medicine. 

I was thrilled to be  offered an interview at the Mayo clinic, but not so thrilled that it is in Minnesota and I would be traveling there in December. But, I stepped off the plane to mid-40's and overcast and over the course of my time there the sun came out and it was beautiful!

I got to reminisce about some old good times while staying with Liz and her (new) hubby Bryce. She was in Kristi's class in high school, and because Kristi and I are so close in age, she was a built-in friend of mine too. She just finished her Emergency Medicine residency at Mayo and has now stayed on as faculty. This added to my comfort with the area because if a fellow Montana native from my same K-12 could find enough good in the area to stick around after residency, chances are that I could as well (convincing Tom of that might be the hold up :). 

It was great to explore a medical campus that started from a pair of brothers (the Mayo brothers) that built a clinic built on a fantastic model--the patient comes first. They created a clinic after a tornado swept through the area and devastated it. Although, I also learned that one of the Mayo brothers' wife owned a clothing shop. She had moved all over the country with him, opening and closing her clothing store along the way. When they got to Rochester, she was sick of her travels and put her foot down, she was NOT going to move again. And with that, the ivory tower of the Mayo clinic was born in Rochester, MN. 

They had several historical suites and museums on the campus, and a nerd for medical history I loved it! 

I learned that the Mayo brothers were really into boating. They had river boats as well as ships that they sailed on the pacific. I had to grin when I saw this exhibit explaining how one of their favorite routes was from San Diego to Tacoma! :)

And it turns out Chihullly artwork is more pervasive than I thought!

And, despite the nice weather while I was there, it is often below zero with tons of snow. So, they have an elaborate subway system. It's not your classic subway because there is no train or tram, but it's a long series of interconnecting hallways with shops, eateries and hotels

Check out these historic brass doors. They weigh 2000 pounds each and have only been closed on three occasions: when the Mayo brothers died, when Kennedy was shot, and on 9/11.  

The sunrise from my hotel room was fabulous 

The sun was so reassuring after my arrival the prior evening to a room without a comforter. I had to call down to the front desk to ask for one, and the attendant said something to the effect of "are you sure you really want one?". I know it was warm out, but I'm not about to be able to fall asleep with just sheets!

With that, I was off to Seattle again for the start of my first clinical rotation since the end of October. I was hungry for my flight home and purchased a breakfast sandwich for dinner. Little did I know it would be the most tiny breakfast sandwich I've ever encountered...either that or I have huge hands!

 I joined the nuclear medicine team at UW. This is where radiologists read more dynamic radiological studies like PET scans, lymph node mapping before someone goes to the OR for a tumor removal, cardiac stress tests, or renograms. Here's my typical view (and trust me, it's as tough as you might think to sit in the dark all day!)

I was only able to join for 1.5 days before I was off on the road all over again! This time, just a quick trip down-and-back to Palo Alto, California for an interview at Stanford. It's definitely a cute little neighborhood college town, again made more attractive by Christmas lights like so many places have been on the trail. 

My first stop when I arrived was a popular coffee shop called Philz. I wasn't in need of a tea, but rather internet access to catch the UW volleyball team in the second round of the tournament. 

The game wasn't quite over by the time I had to head to the dinner, but our friends Candace and Craig that have joined us at all the volleyball games the past 4 years kept me updated with text messages while I was at the dinner. After the interview I had a few hours to enjoy myself before I had to get back to the airport with my rental car --which, this time, was BLUE! :). I happened upon the cutest little German Christmas market. Since I've never been able to go to one in Germany, this was a nice substitute

It it weren't for the crazy lines I would have walked off with the streuselkuchen mit Apfel (an Streussel cake with apple). Alas, I left empty handed and arrived back in Seattle where I got to have a little over 24 hours before going back to work!

Now that I've been "at work" for three days, it's about time I leave again wouldn't you say? Ha! Well, I am. I'm off to Portland for my last interview of the season. I couldn't be more excited about the end so I can focus on Christmas and relaxation! woohoo!