Park Rapids and Fargo Marathon

A few weekends ago, we went with Papa and Granna to Park Rapids. They were going for the whole week (time share), but we just went to hang out for the weekend. Park Rapids is a lakes region community a few miles east of Fargo/Moorhead. They have a quaint little historic downtown area, where we had milkshakes at the local soda fountain. It was Sadie's first chocolate shake, and as you can see, she thought it was fantastic.

We spent an afternoon in Itasca State Park. Itasca is home to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Behind us in the picture below is Lake Itasca, from which the mighty Mississippi begins its flow toward the Gulf of Mexico.

No trip to the lakes would be complete without a stop at Zorbaz. A pizza and Mexican place, Zorbaz has a few locations throughout the region. We stopped at Zhateau Zorbaz for some fried pickles and macho nachos. The sign outside this one makes it look as though it's a bit upscale, but anyone who has ever eaten at Zorbaz can assure you it's anything but.

The next weekend was the Fargo Marathon. On Thursday night, Wyatt and I ran the one mile kids run. One mile is a long way for a newly-turned six year old. He got a shirt and a medal for participating, and overall did a good job. Unlike many of his peers, he did a pretty good job pacing himself. There were a lot of six years olds who took off like jackrabbits for the first two hundred yards, only to crash and burn after the first half mile or so.
On Friday night was the 5K, which was pretty fun, too. I ran (jogged) that one alone. Kelli was going to do it with me, but the race filled up before we got her registered. Maybe next year.

Saturday was the marathon. By no means did I set any land speed records, but it sure was fun. More like a 26.2 mile fun run than a competition, I ate brownies and other treats along the way, stopped to visit with folks, and even carried Callie with me for a short jaunt. It made for a good time.