Thanks folks, for all the comments regarding Rochester MN and Mayo
Clinic. Having never been that far north before in the USA Midwest, I
had no clue what to expect in that neck of the woods, especially during
deep winter. The weather was unseasonably warm during the visit (28Jan
to about 04Feb), with most day-time temperatures above freezing. There
still was some snow on the ground upon arrival, only about a couple of
inches or so.

My parents' recent, quarterly visit (several doctors' appointments) to
Mayo Clinic and its environs required me to be their round-trip driver
(~460+ miles one-way); neither was able to drive. What a 'city!' My
experiences there were very interesting and roaming the 'underground'
and 'skywalks' was fun for the most part, though rather tiring (grin)
since I am unused to walking so much or so far.

Due to the health of my folks at the time, there really were no
opportunities to dine at restaurants; they had most meals delivered to
their motel room by me or delivery service. The motel included a (very
poor, IMO!) daily continental breakfast. Many of the eateries/bars
about and near the Mayo complex have "happy hour" with a few 1/2-priced
appetizers and entrees, and some even had "special" menus available to
accommodate Mayo patients' restricted diets, such as simply sauteed
salmon, white rice, and other simple options.

Thankfully, my elderly folks are doing much, much better now, and I am
grateful to be able to help them. They won't be around for much longer,
and every day definitely matters.

Sky

P.S. Yes, I visited the Trader Joe's and even purchased three of their
very nice, heavy canvas totes ($3.99/ea)

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Kitchen Rule #1 - Use the timer!
Kitchen Rule #2 - Cook's choice!
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On 1/27/2017 11:34 PM, Sky wrote:
> My folks will be in the Rochester MN (Mayo Clinic) area in the near
> future, and I hope someone can recommend eateries and the like, and
> perhaps other places and sites of interest that might be easy and fun,
> physically. If course, there's always a library and movie theaters but
> that's not a good option at the present time given health circumstances.
> It seems a Trader Joe's is in the area, so I'll be sure to mention it
> to them; er, not that TJ's is exactly an 'eatery,' but it does have food
> <vbg>. Since I've never been to "Minnysoda" before, I have no clues.
> TYIA