The trip there consisted of a 10 hour drive there squished in my car, minimal stops for gas and potty breaks. Once there, we spent the night at my dear friend's grandma"s place. She opened up her home to us four crazy people. Gave us a beer and prepared frozen lasagna dinner, and made us a delicious breakfast the next morning. We then proceeded on with our trip to the capitol of North Dakota where we remained for the rest of our weekend. Randi's close and crazy friend, Jeni, generously allowed us to crash at her place for two nights regardless of the fact that she was moving that very weekend. We spent those night in Bismarck experiencing a real North Dakota cowboy bar The Lonesome Dove. We all learned our two step like rockstars, drank cheap beer, and danced the night away to a live country band. The following night we celebrated Jeni's birthday at the bowling alley bar with drinks, karaoke, and laughs. We made sure to take a nice drive along the river and grab some grub at the Dakota Farms restaurant in Washburn, ND.We then spent some time with Randi's dear family, who made dinner for us, twice, a very delicious soup that expanded in your stomach after consuming it and a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday afternoon. We spent the remainder of our trip at their home, relaxing, playing games, napping, and laughing. Monday morning we got up, and prepared to start the drive home. You would think that would have been the end of the excitement of our trip, but it wasn't. When you are squished in a car for 10 hours, you gotta find some entertainment. We also thought, how cool would it be to stop in one of the random hillbilly towns in South Dakota and grab a drink at the local bar....so we did that, in Buffalo, SD. Go ahead, look it up, google Buffalo, SD. See the kind of place we stopped at for a good hour or so. I of course did not have anything, since I was DD, but everyone else sure did. The following two hours was pure entertainment in the car. I have the videos to prove it.
So I learned something, well maybe a few things, while on this trip. While I have always LOVED to travel and visit places and see new things, North Dakota was never on my list to visit. Why? Well, various reasons, one being you really don't hear too much about it...the idea that nothing is up there, just frozen land, which is somewhat true, in the winter. Not many big cities, and it is frozen, in the winter. But I learned some things in taking this trip. In the past my trips have been to places like NYC, Seattle, Chicago, Las Vegas, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, and I have lived in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, and they are all wonderful places to visit or live in, with lots to see and do and experience; but I learned on this trip that even places like North Dakota can be exciting and fun. It's all in the way you approach it. We met and spent time with wonderful people there who were very warm and welcoming and hospitable. We did things I have never done before, such as going to a true cowboy bar (North Dakota style), take pictures next to a giant Holstein cow, eat Fleischkeigle (sp?) and drink purple cows, buy hunting hats as our souvenirs, and play Aggravation. I have never done any of those things, and every one of them was so much fun. It was the company, the people we met and were with. We had fun. We decided we were going to have fun, regardless of where we were at. I learned that North Dakota is actually quite beautiful. Simple, but beautiful. It taught me to broaden my horizons, to see and do more than I had ever planned or thought. To live fully.
I guess I want to challenge everyone to broaden their horizons, in more ways than one. Don't be afraid to explore new places (even the roads less traveled), ideas, goals, people, and challenges. Don't be stuck. I am pretty sure you won't regret it. Seriously, there is so much out there. Peace.
