Sorry to be absent so long from the blog, but I was truly
having an adventure. If you have never taken a running road trip with fellow
runners, it is something that you must put on your bucket list. I have long
been a fan of road trips in general. It may have something to do with my mom
moving me by car from Pennsylvania to California at a very young age. Whatever
the reason, I will use any excuse to work one in, and they never, ever
disappoint.
We started off from Lansing last Thursday morning full of
anticipation. As I mentioned in the previous post, four of us (Janet, Leslie,
Linda, and myself) were going from Lansing, Michigan to Spearfish, South Dakota
for the Leading Ladies Marathon. We had opted to go in my Nissan Cube
(hereafter referred to as Katie), which had the virtues of being good on gas
and equipped with a working air conditioner. Unfortunately it was short on
space, so each of us was limited to one Playmakers duffel bag, one sleeping
bag, and one pillow (with a custom pillow case made especially for each one of us by Linda). Even so, closing the back door was a process involving
much smooshing, and there was no way that I was going to be using my rear view
mirror for anything except checking my make-up.
In anticipation of the event, Linda had dyed some very
pretty pink stripes into her hair, I had purchased tiaras for the group, and
Leslie had gotten us bling befitting leading ladies. I also had purchased some
window paint so that we would sure to be noticed if we were spotted by other
leading ladies on the way up. After a few pictures we were on the road for day
one, Lansing to Albert Lea, MN.
From left to right: Linda, Me, Janet, and Leslie |
The first day was relatively uneventful. We missed our
chance to visit Iowa's largest frying pan, due more to slow reflexes on my part
than anything else. We pulled in to the Albert Lea KOA, and Janet had her first
experience of camping, as we "roughed it" in our little Kamping
Kabin.
Janet outside our cozy Kamping Kabin in Albert Lea |
Day two dawned and again we were ready to hit the road.
Spirits were high as we pulled off for our first gas stop in Blue Earth,
MN. Being a little bored by this time,
we were easily amused by the Sinclair gas station with the little green
dinosaurs. Apparently these dinosaurs are extinct in Michigan, and my Michigan
passengers were excited to get to see one in its native habitat. Little did we
know, that little green dinosaurs were not the only thing waiting for us in
Blue Earth.
We went inside the store to pay for gas and do the
obligatory pit stop. It turned out to have a small antique shop off the side of
the gas station. Since I love old junk, Linda and I went over to take a look at
what they had. Besides a really cool Miss Beasely doll and a Boston vinyl
album, they had a really pretty blue bead necklace, probably from the 1950s,
that Linda bought for me. (She is awesome!!). She struck up a conversation with
the cashier and soon came back to the car with a huge grin on her face.
"Drive to the end of the street," she said. "Don't ask why. Just
trust me that this will be good!"
I drove a ways down the little road to the end of the
street, and we all squealed in delight as we saw him at the same time. Blue
Earth, MN is the home of the Jolly Green Giant. Yes, the Green Giant of canned corn and
peas fame. There he stood, in the park, waiting to greet visitors to
Blue Earth.
That is when we learned a little known fact about the Green
Giant: he is a runner!! We know this because he was still wearing his
race shirt from the Relay for Life that he had done the previous weekend.
Apparently, though, we had caught him on his way to the showers because he was
not wearing his running shorts, just the little leaves that he wears for
everyday.
Green Giant sporting his Relay for Life race shirt |
We climbed the stairs for the photo op that he had planned
for. While we waited for the gift shop guy to figure out the camera, we had
time to answer that question that is on everyone's mind when they see the Green
Giant on their vegetable can: What does
he wear under that green leaf skirt? Well, the answer is nothing!! Thankfully
he shares the same anatomical features as the ever-popular Ken doll, so all
scandals were avoided.
Here is where it gets better. As we were getting ready to leave, a guy comes up. He introduces himself as Norm Hall, the news director for the local radio station, KBEW. Apparently they do interviews with tourists who are passing through town. He interviewed us for a spot on his radio show. He was generous enough to send us a copy. I put it together with some pictures from days one and two of the trip:
You would think that was enough excitement for the day, but
things were just beginning. The billboards every quarter mile on the highway
advertising the Corn Palace caught our attention. It was billed as a "must
see," so we hopped off the freeway to check it out. I have to tell, you
that it was a bit of a letdown as far as I was concerned, but that may just
have been in comparison to the Green Giant encounter.
Mt. Rushmore was truly an awesome sight. I had wanted to see
Mt. Rushmore since I first heard about it when I was about 10 years old. I am a big Founding Fathers fan, and Jefferson
is my second favorite Founding Father.
(The fact that I had not only a "favorite founding father" but a
second favorite tells you a bit about what a dork I was as a child.) It was absolutely as amazing to see in person
as I thought it would be. Trail runner that I am, I spent half the time trying
to determine if there were any trails I could find on the side of the mountain
to get closer, but I am sure that there are multiple restrictions on just that
type of thing...
Okay, so this is a picture of me. If you want to see Mt. Rushmore up close, buy a postcard. |
As day two of our trip concluded, we did a sunset drive down
the back road from Mt. Rushmore to Spearfish, through Deadwood, that looked
like a really interesting place to stop but which will have to wait for next
year's race. It is truly beautiful country and it whetted our appetite for what
was to come.
We pulled into the Spearfish KOA satisfied that our running
road trip was everything we had hoped it would be to that point.
Check back in a day or so for Leading Ladies Road Trip Part 2
soon to follow!
Ho, ho, ho.......Green Giant! What a blast!!!! I guess I don't know how many marathons I've completed either. This wasn't my 4th, it was the 5th and last......or so I say today!
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