Installment 1 of 3

So... We're in Wisconsin. Which means...Kristen no writey about Minnesota yet. Hmm. I've compiled a list, and feel we will all be here until tomorrow morning. But, hey. Let's not think of this as long and drawn out. Let's think of this as a marathon, where we can all celebrate when we've reached the end/ and or passed out. On your marks...get set... GO!

whoo. Ok. I can do this.

In Fargo, we stayed with Anne and Ed. We got to their place, and there was a note on the door. "Warm Showers people: Call --- --- -----". We called, got directions to Ruby Tuesday's where they were eating, and arrived. They had two coupons for 'buy one get one free' on dinner. I like coupons, and we ate out for David's birthday (cringe! I know! I know! I told you we were behind!). Anne + Ed had just gotten in that morning from London, but opened their home to us (giant fluffy bed, shower, ice cream!). Ed pretends he's curmudgeonly (as Anne says, 'He can find the hole in a donut'), but we know the truth... he's a chemist/prof who loves to take photos and share his experiences with guests. He was a big ol' teddy bear underneath it all. Anne and Ed's home is decorated with art from his students and his photography. Anne was extraordinarily cheerful and bright from the second we met her. She was an internal medicine doctor, and went to school at Rush! Right down the street from UIC! A few years ago, she did the Southern Tier with Woman's Tours, which was fun to hear about. Anne tried to send us off with everything but the kitchen sink, which would be hard to load on our bikes so we settled for some energy bars, fruit, nuts, cheese, and breakfast. :)

The morning we left Fargo, a guy caught up and rode with us the first 11 miles of the day...he is an airline pilot (United?), but works at the bike shop we went to in Fargo for fun. Kinda sounds like the beginning of a joke. Cool guy.

Rode to Kyle and Mandy Rich's in Erhard, MN... headwinds. Mandy and her sister-in-law, Kelly greeted us, but Kyle and his brother, Cody, did not. They were out getting a new puppy for Kyle + Mandy's boys. Unbelievably cute. As I watched the boys 'discover' Kyle out in the front lawn holding the puppy, I relived my seventh birthday, when my dad gave me my first kitten. Dad, that's one of my favorite memories. That night we grilled out (yummm!), the dog slept in the boys' room (while they curled up around it on the floor), the dog peed in the boys room, and we all crashed not long after.

Mandy had to work the next day, so after making pancakes (dinosaur, mickey mouse, and jet skis made to order!) Kelly + I went on a run. When we got back, we gathered her boys (Kalen and Carson), the Rich's boys (Jaxson and Kale), and the puppy and went to Heilberger Lake, down the rode from the Rich's. David, Cody, and Kyle went fishing in the lake right outside the Rich's. Let me just say... Heilberger is not a very warm lake, so I 'heiled' it from the shore. Someone's got to keep the puppy company, right? Kelly drove up to the house to use the bathroom at the precise moment when Kalen and Carson discovered they had leeches on/between their toes. If anything creeps me out, it's parasites...especially leeches. Kalen picked most of them off but one giant one on his big toe. When I picked it off, his toe started bleeding all over the place. This is when Carson discovered the growing leech between his toes. I went to pick it off when it audibly popped blood all over the place. Gross? Oh yeah. Needless to say, the dudes were over the whole lake experience by the time Kelly came back from the house, and so was I.

David was the only guy who didn't catch a fish (although Cody + Kyle tried to hand off their poles when the time seemed right). I learned the actual meaning for the word 'trolling'... as in, throwing out a number of lines and dragging them through the water. Not, as my family says, a girl who is prowling around, desperate to snag the first guy who bites. Proper usage: "Wow. Put on another outfit. You look like your about to go trolling." Yes, I see. There isn't much difference between the two, is there?

That night we went to Zorbaz on the lake, which made me think of Dancing Zorbas from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In fact, it was a pizzeria with a pull-up dock and patio... and the best Super-Nachos and Mexican pizza eva. When we managed to waddle out to the car (three large pizzas, super nachos, and cheesy bread had been ordered), the census was taken on # of pieces eaten. Mandy: 1 + super nachos. Kyle: 5. Me:2 + super nachos. DAVID: 12. Yes, twelve pieces of pizza. "What? I sandwiched them!" Somewhere in there, we found room for Granny's Pantry homemade ice cream before we bid the in-laws adieu.

I'm not even close to done. Oh. no.

Ok, seriously, this is pathetic. I have to call it a night though. More tomorrow. THAT is a promise.