Mom countdown - Day 33 - Grand Adventure - Part 1

I can't get my photos posted here (they're amazing), so until I can figure it out, I'll just have to start the "Grand Adventure" without the pics. Bill and I started out on Thursday and headed to Jamestown on I94. We visited the big buffalo, bought a mood ring (Bill's always calm) and fed a baby buffalo. Then we headed north to New Rockford, and the North American Bison Cooperative. There was a deliveryman at the offices, so Bill stood there the whole time holding the door for him. Bill's amazing that way - he holds doors for everyone, everywhere he goes. Nobody told him to do it, it's just kind instinct and I love that about him. We bought steaks and hotdogs and headed to Fessenden. We were too early for Rosa's Pizza, so stopped by the public pool and Billy had a little dip. He met a boy his age and they had races off the diving boards. What is it about children that lets them make instant friends? Nobody asks what political party you belong to, or what church you attend, or how much money you make - no, kids just see each other and say, "let's have a splashing contest." Why can't we do that more?

Rosa's pizza was really good - the crust was amazing. We played "war" with the pink playing cards and sipped on our water, but we still had a ways to go. We headed back into the car and headed south to Garrison. I'd been on Highway 83 before on the way to Minot, but never turning off to Lake Sakakawea, and that was the purpose of this whole trip - go on different roads, see the sights, have a grand adventure. We stayed at the Garrison Motel, played Galaga in the arcade room, watched the grand premiere of "High School Musical 2" (I'm thinking I liked the first one better), and fell asleep to a strange phenomenon - NO NOISE. I'm so used to us living next to the interstate, the drone of trucks and cars a constant presence. But I like NO NOISE.

We ate breakfast at the local cafe (I had an omelet, Bill had pancakes), then drove down the street to take pictures in front of Wally, the country's biggest walleye. It was an exciting moment. To think I'd grown up just a few miles south of here and had never seen Wally? Life is curious sometimes, but this trip was changing all of the known and predictable roads I've traveled, allowing us to stretch our horizons a little bit, take some chances, be bold. After all, do we want to get to the end of our lives and say, "Gosh, I wish I'd..." then fill in the ellipses? I don't want to do that. I want to live a full life. There's a saying somewhere about reaching the end of your life, all worn out and panting. That's my goal, just like Andrew Weil says, "Live long and die fast." So this is the part where we're living a long life. Dying fast can come in 40 or 50 years, I'm thinking.

We can't get ahold of Mom because there were probably no towers around, but she called Steve to make sure we were okay. We ended our day having put over 260 miles on Sir Lambert, our Highlander. We were tired, but happy. We had deli sandwiches from our cooler, ginger chews and heart shaped spelt gingersnaps, Aquafina and funny stories. How could it get much better? We were soon to find out ...