I’ve snuck in a couple runs while here, mostly just to maintain some fitness before a more-intense couple of weeks that will end with a 15km road race in early September. For simplicity’s sake, my runs here in Moorhead have started at my in-laws’ house and consisted of tours of eastern Moorhead. About all I can say of the area as a place to run is that it’s flat and that you don’t have to worry about missing a turn.
“Vacations” are few and far between for this family because the girls emphatically dislike the idea of sleeping in cars, and thus never do it. Well, not never, but in, let’s say, 100 hours of more-or-less long-distance driving, they’ve slept maybe four hours, combined. (This week, I had a well-meaning someone at work advise me earnestly that we needed to be sure to drive at a constant speed. As if.)
So Shannon and I started the drive up to Nonna and Boppa’s house expecting no sleep in the backseat. We weren’t disappointed (un-disappointed?) in that respect, but I for one was happy that the two non-sleepers did fantastically well anyhow. All three driving breaks were thoroughly enjoyed, there were no meltdowns (or accidents) while rolling, and the two girls even entertained themselves and each other for a while. (After that, the fifth family member, the white MacBook, stepped in with some Barney videos.)
The view to the left of the passenger seat:
The view to the right of the passenger seat:
We broke a family tradition by not stopping for lunch at the Sauk Center McDonald’s (motto: “It’s cold here nine months of the year, and we have the only indoor playground between St. Cloud and Moorhead”). Instead, we dined al fresco at a highway rest area (motto: “Your tax dollars are at work cleaning whichever rest room you need to use most”). The girls enjoyed this quite a bit. Picnics go over quite well with the knee-high set.
The fare was excellent – thanks to Shannon’s planning and faultless execution – and we followed the noshing with a walk around the rest area, during which Vivi noticed this leaf. She pointed at it, then looked up at me and exactly duplicated the facial expression.
Lunch: $0. Entertainment: $0. My two year old: Priceless.