The journey, episode one
Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2004, 7:30 AM

So. North Dakota.

We left Wednesday morning, after dropping the dog at the kennel. And we drove. For hours. Through intermittent rain, and mostly gray skies. We talked, listened to XM, and I worked crosswords a bit, and even dozed a little.

All the way to Lake Elmo, MN, with only one brief stop for life's necessities. Finally, about two, we rolled to a stop at the Machine Shed for a quick lunch, and then back to the pavement, to put the Twins behind us before rush hour. And ran for the border. We got to Fargo around six, and drove around town a bit, taking it in. This was to be our night stop, so we had a little time to kill.

As we rolled through Minneapolis, and again when we were driving around Fargo, I felt an odd sense of familiarity. After years of reading Lileks, it was inevitable, I suppose.

I have a love for Minneapolis, and the warm feelings I get from being there are largely related to my own experience, but Fargo was new to me. Usually I'm ill-at-ease in a strange city, but thanks to Lileks, Fargo felt good and safe, familiar, and solid. Hornbachers, and RJ's Conoco with the Lileks Oil Co. truck sitting out back, gave me a feeling of comfort. Is that weird? Anyway, I got a kick out of putting the places, long-familiar to my mind's eye, into proper geographical context.

Then we headed over to the collection of hotels by the mall, and began to search for a room. Holiday Inn proved a bit snooty, expensive, and they were full anyway. Directly behind Holiday Inn, there was a Holiday Inn Express, strangely enough. No luck there for a room, either, but a charming and gracious desk staff who, on their own initative, called the nearby Fairmont to check room availability and actually reserved us a room there.

Nice room, good rate, free breakfast, and the sheer glory of a pool that opened at 6:00 am, closed at 11:00 pm, and was absolutely deserted. Not to mention a hot tub that was deep, full, hot, high-powered, and equally deserted. I swam and hot-tubbed, Spouse did the same, and then we ran to Hornbacher's for sandwich stuff to eat in the room. I swam again before bed, and then hit the sheets for a solid night's sleep. I got up early for another swim, and the hit the showers to get ready for another day on the road. After a carb-heavy lobby breakfast of cereal, toast, fruit, and my necessary coffee, we hit the road again, headed for Grand Forks, and Minot beyond.

The sun was shining, the XM was playing, and the road stretched invingly before us. The drive up to Grand Forks seemed surprisingly short as I gazed out my window at the fields of sugar beet, corn, wheat, and gorgeous golden sunflowers. We stopped there long enough to get gas, hit the facilities, and for me to smoke, and then settled back in the GP for the last leg of the trip. Minot, here we come!

Up Next, destination reached. Adventures in "The Magic City".