Since I’ve moved to Fargo, it has been my mission to slowly but surely get my skeptical family out for a visit. I wrote before about how my mom took a trip to the midwest and even stopped off at the Minnesota State Fair, but no other brave souls have dared venture to the Heartland. As the snow melted and record temperatures krept across much of North Dakota and Minnesota, my dad informed me that it was time. He and my step-mom were headed to Fargo.
As I prepared for their arrival, I began brainstorming how I could fit all that is glorious about the area into the single weekend visit. As soon as their plane touched down, we were off full steam ahead. I soon created the epitome of a Fargo/Moorhead itinerary. (I feel it only appropriate to link to all the places we visited, so I apologize in advance for the excessive use of hyperlinks).
Day 1: Up early for breakfast at Boppa’s Bagels before I headed off to class. During my break it was time for a quick tour around campus and a visit to my office. After my evening class it was time for funky pizza at Rhombus Guys and a delicious local brew from the Fargo Brewing Company to wash it all down.
Day 2: A quick coffee at the Downtown Atomic and then off to the Hjemkomst Center for a bit of local history. After wiping away tears from the video about the Hjemkomst Ship and taking a tour of a replica of a Norwegian church, it was time for lunch. (Yes, we ate a lot during this weekend). I decided to take them to one of my favorite lunch places, Betrosa’s. After a few hours of teaching we met up again at my place for a glass of wine and then dinner with friends at Doolittle’s. We then collapsed from full bellies and rested until the next day of festivities began.
Day 3: First stop, the FM Visitor’s Bureau. I mean, obviously they had to see the woodchipper. As we snapped some photos and flipped through brochures, my dad exclaimed, “Oh hey, you’re in this one.” Sure enough, on one of the first few pages of the Visitor’s Bureau brochure was an advertisement for the woodchipper with yours truly and her good-sport fiancé posing beside it. About a year ago we had stopped in to check out the woodchipper ourselves and had our photos snapped. A feeling of pride welled up in me as I (unbeknownst to me) was helping to publicize Fargo even more than I had imagined. As Blake grabbed a stack of brochures to autograph and send off to his family, we headed out the door towards Casselton. Next stop: Maple River Winery for some North Dakota wine tasting. Now I have to be honest, my parents were a bit skeptical about tasting North Dakota wine. Being from the Pacific Northwest and living in an area that is surrounded by wineries, they are no stranger to wine. However, they were pleasantly surprised as they began sampling a wide variety of fruit wines (18 different varieties to be exact). I mean its not every day you get to sample apple jalapeno, dandelion and rhubarb wine all in one sitting. They even shipped a few bottles back to Washington. Soon it was dinner time and since it was a beautiful day on Saturday, we decided to stroll on down to Juano’s in Downtown Fargo.
When people ask me about Fargo, I always say it is pleasantly surprising. This idea was not lost on my parents. While neither of them knew what to expect, they were “pleasantly surprised” and definitely were sad to leave. While Fargo may not be the typical vacation destination, I always tell people that if you can just get here, I promise you won’t be disappointed. Now that the weather is warm, no time is better to make a trip to Fargo. I mean, I’ve already worked out an itinerary for you.
