Opening weekend...
We were girding ourselves for Fargo's weather, but didn't expect to be tested in July. The mercury hit 101 degrees here on Saturday, which is a record depending on who you talk to. Much as I would like to report that these so-called tough North Dakotans melted in the heat, they actually seemed to stand up to it pretty well, and without the complaining that you hear out East.
To be fair, it was kind of a dry heat, and it felt much better when you went to stand in the shade. In D.C., the shade offers no respite.
It was a busy weekend. On Thursday, I took Joey and Ellie to the street fair that stretched along for about 8 blocks on Broadway:
The center of Broadway was filled with dozens of booths from local and regional artists. Along the sides were standard county fair types of food. We passed on the deep-fried Twinkies. The Knights of Columbus, supposedly using a secret recipe "from the Vatican," served up a quite tasty hamburger. We also managed to find some ice cream, and some kettle corn to take back to Jen and Katie:
On Friday, we unpacked, and the reunion activities began. We drove through all the gorgeous North Fargo neighborhoods we don't live in to get to Adele and Mike's gracious home, which is just off the river. (It was explained to us that although their house is actually pretty high, and was never flooded in the recent big floods, the Fargo area is so flat that rising water is like "pouring a glass of water on a pool table" -- it'll spread everywhere.)
On Saturday, we headed out about 50 miles east to go to the lake house of the judge and his wife, on Lake Melissa. It is a beautiful cottage, and the kids enjoyed boat rides and splashing around the dock. Jen and I were concerned on the way out that perhaps we should stop for food -- would they be feeding us there? We realized how stupid a question that was the moment we arrived. I think it will remain a stupid question all year long -- I'm not sure anyone ever gets together with more than two other people without serving something.
Saturday night was a banquet for the judge and his clerks, at the alumni center at North Dakota State University. It was a lovely facility, and the dinner was tasty. The slices of prime rib that we were served were so large that several people laughed involuntarily when they arrived at the table. Delicious they were, and leftovers there weren't. Later, each clerk stood up and told a story about his or her year working for the judge. It was a very nice event.
Sunday morning, we had brunch and tours at the courthouse. The kids enjoyed seeing my new office, on the third floor of the quite spiffy Quentin Burdick federal courthouse. Sunday night, we went to the home of the judge's secretary and her family, and had some delicious deer sausage her husband had made. I volunteered to help him make it when the season is right -- apparently, it's quite a production. Just like making legislation, but with more spices.
The wind whipped through here last night, making a lot of noise amd making us worried that our deck furniture would blow away. Fortunately, it blew in some cooler weather -- it's a temperate 80 here today.
Now it's Monday, and Jen has headed off with the kids to Minneapolis to buy curtains and a few tables, and I'm putting off studying for the bar. We leave Thursday for Danny's wedding -- almost all studying has to be done between now and then.
To be fair, it was kind of a dry heat, and it felt much better when you went to stand in the shade. In D.C., the shade offers no respite.
It was a busy weekend. On Thursday, I took Joey and Ellie to the street fair that stretched along for about 8 blocks on Broadway:
The center of Broadway was filled with dozens of booths from local and regional artists. Along the sides were standard county fair types of food. We passed on the deep-fried Twinkies. The Knights of Columbus, supposedly using a secret recipe "from the Vatican," served up a quite tasty hamburger. We also managed to find some ice cream, and some kettle corn to take back to Jen and Katie:
On Friday, we unpacked, and the reunion activities began. We drove through all the gorgeous North Fargo neighborhoods we don't live in to get to Adele and Mike's gracious home, which is just off the river. (It was explained to us that although their house is actually pretty high, and was never flooded in the recent big floods, the Fargo area is so flat that rising water is like "pouring a glass of water on a pool table" -- it'll spread everywhere.)On Saturday, we headed out about 50 miles east to go to the lake house of the judge and his wife, on Lake Melissa. It is a beautiful cottage, and the kids enjoyed boat rides and splashing around the dock. Jen and I were concerned on the way out that perhaps we should stop for food -- would they be feeding us there? We realized how stupid a question that was the moment we arrived. I think it will remain a stupid question all year long -- I'm not sure anyone ever gets together with more than two other people without serving something.
Saturday night was a banquet for the judge and his clerks, at the alumni center at North Dakota State University. It was a lovely facility, and the dinner was tasty. The slices of prime rib that we were served were so large that several people laughed involuntarily when they arrived at the table. Delicious they were, and leftovers there weren't. Later, each clerk stood up and told a story about his or her year working for the judge. It was a very nice event.
Sunday morning, we had brunch and tours at the courthouse. The kids enjoyed seeing my new office, on the third floor of the quite spiffy Quentin Burdick federal courthouse. Sunday night, we went to the home of the judge's secretary and her family, and had some delicious deer sausage her husband had made. I volunteered to help him make it when the season is right -- apparently, it's quite a production. Just like making legislation, but with more spices.
The wind whipped through here last night, making a lot of noise amd making us worried that our deck furniture would blow away. Fortunately, it blew in some cooler weather -- it's a temperate 80 here today.
Now it's Monday, and Jen has headed off with the kids to Minneapolis to buy curtains and a few tables, and I'm putting off studying for the bar. We leave Thursday for Danny's wedding -- almost all studying has to be done between now and then.
posted by Tom at 12:22 PM
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