A Busy Weekend


Watching a show and using their dog for a pillow was one way to spend the afternoon on Sunday

A Busy Weekend
By Allan Olson
It was a busy weekend for us. While we didn’t plan to do much, sometimes life throws curveballs that we can’t just swat away.
On Friday we received word that my wife’s uncle had suffered a massive heart attack and was air-lifted to Grand Forks – not a good way to start the weekend. We discussed some options, lined up a possible sitter for the weekend, and then decided not to leave.
On Saturday morning it was all planned – my wife and I were finally going to go on a real date, since she has let me know that some of the “work dates” that I’ve taken her on don’t count. The original plan was to go to an early movie, followed by a geocaching event at a Bemidji restaurant (where we would enjoy some appetizers), then go to another movie, and then have a very late dinner.
Those plans were altered before we even left the house since we couldn’t find two movies we both wanted to see. Our babysitter (the kids’ godmother and my wife’s childhood friend) and a friend of hers showed up just before 2 p.m., and we were out the door in 10 minutes or less. We went to a couple stores before heading to geocaching event with others who were going.
We attended the event with local geocachers from Cass Lake, Bemidji, Park Rapids, as well as from other places, including Fargo, North Dakota. We had lots of fun visiting and enjoying the company of other adults. We all took pleasure in laughing at some who went after a geocache there in the snow; since I had already found it and didn’t have my boots along, I wisely chose to not participate this time.
Enroute to the movie afterwards, my wife decided check in with her family in Grand Forks. The news wasn’t good, and she decided it was time to go to Grand Forks instead of a movie. Our babysitter said she would stay with the kids, and we hit the road, headed west.
We stopped by the hospital to check in with family after we arrived about 10:30 p.m. After visiting for a while, shortly after midnight I decided it was time for me to go to the hotel and finally get some rest. My wife messaged me for a ride to the hotel at about 5:00 a.m., and then I grabbed another hour or two of shut-eye.
Of course, since I was in another town, I took advantage of the opportunity to grab a geocache or two while I could. After getting up, I got a muffin to eat and went back to the room to get my winter jacket, hat and gloves, then headed off in search of a cache. I walked the 600+ feet to the geocache location; I searched around a couple of trees and found it nicely tied to a tree branch. I signed the log and headed back to the hotel. After we ate breakfast and checked out of the hotel, we headed back to the hospital. My wife stayed there with family; I had to leave by noon to get home to the kids.
I was proud that I got out of the big city of Grand Forks without getting lost or having to turn my GPS on, although I thought a couple times I wasn’t on the right street a couple times. To reward myself for leaving early and not getting lost, I decided I would stop to find another geocache on the way home. I stopped at Fisher and confirmed that we had already gotten the only cache there, so I was going to stop at another town to find its only geocache when my niece called and I decided it was more important to talk to her. I did stop in Crookston, but my first attempt was a bust. I looked high and low for the winter-friendly cache, but no luck. I decided to give it one more shot in that town and did find a cache in a pine tree in about a minute’s time.
Our plans for the remainder of the week include getting Mom back home –hopefully she will have a ride to Cass Lake on Wednesday. Other plans will depend largely on the condition of the family member. I’m hoping to attend another geocaching event Saturday in Bemidji; this one will be a potluck meal, and I will likely be bringing the kids.
Please be safe while fishing this season, and remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories. Also, please watch out for the buses that are transporting our children, and remember to drive safely. Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com

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