My visit to Grand Forks, North Dakota - June 2015

                 I recently returned from a delightful trip to Grand Forks, ND and need to document the extra special events around my birthday.  

                The date is June 7 and I am on my way to Fargo, ND. The flight is uneventful, having a 10 a.m. departure time, so much more pleasant than those 6 a.m. starts;  no drama or interesting people to converse with and I am happy to be greeted by my two lovely friends, Nialani and Ruth.  Fargo is a charming, pleasant and small airport which I would  recommended to anyone.  Robert, Ruth’s husband retrieves the car and we are away. It is still daylight so I can see the countryside. We pass long flat terrain comprising of mainly farmland. All four of us are happy to be together again.  

Nialani, me & Ruth

                 We arrive at Ruth’s house and I am given a quick tour, pointing out the selection of  bedrooms I might like, but she says, “You are not staying here tonight,  I am taking you over to my mother’s house because both Nialani and I are teaching in the morning and my mother will look after you.”So we bundle in the car again and drive to Isabel’s house. Isabel gives me a big hug; we had met at the Judy in the Hollywood 2013 function, and deposited me in a very nice bedroom with the promise of egg and bacon in the morning. The next morning I look around the room and notice several men’s watches on a dish on dressing table and go outside, and say accusingly, “You have given me your bedroom!”  “Oh, he is all right, he is downstairs,” she replies, as if ‘she’ herself  is of no concern.  We chat for a couple of hours and suddenly I said, “what about that bacon and eggs, you promised me.” Isabel, being of Norwegian descent and a farmer’s wife reminds me so much of my cousin’s wife in Devon, also a farmer’s wife. I wonder if all farmers’ wives are like this, friendly, hospitable and full of information about the family, friends and neighbors.

With Isabel & Robert

The “working girls” come home and we decide to have a potluck meal at home at Isabel’s house that evening with everyone contributing something. Nialani wants to show me the town and so we set of for a tour of Grand Forks. We pass gracious tree lined streets; the whole place seems to be one beautiful suburb. We reach the 4^th, 2^nd Streets and are downtown.  Many of the large elegant houses belong to members of the medical profession now. We drive past the elegant University of North Dakota buildings. Nialani had completed her Masters in Speech Therapy there and her husband, Bobby, is finishing his Ph.D. in Micro Biology. Suddenly Nialani says mischiefly,    “Would you like to cross State lines and go into Minnesota?” I’m always up for any adventure and so we drove across the bridge between the two States. “My Goodness,” I exclaim, “ It is really quite different.”  It appears much more relaxed and colorful. There had once been a speakeasy there, now a restaurant called Whitey’s. In comparison, North Dakota seems was more sedate and  conservative. Nialani said she had to take me to a particularly exciting store called Widman’s where all they sell is chocolates,

Nialabi in Widman's

I bought some chocolate covered crisps towards desert.

Bobby and choc.covered crisps

I had first met Nialani when she was about fourteen years old, in my son, Adrian’s, band room at Dixon High School. We shared a love of jazz, particularly the girl jazz singers, Nialani sang, as did Ruth, and when she and Bobby moved to Grand Forks, I introduced them, thinking they had the jazz in common also their work with handicapped children.

Nialani became a part of my son’s family babysitting the boys and we became good friends, but I really did not know Bobby well, just seeing him in passing. One thing I learned is that he is a good cook, what an asset in a husband!  

After our tour, we went to their home

and met their cat, named Mixie, part Siamese and very chatty cat drinking out of a people’s glass, quite elegant.
Bobby comes home and barbecues chicken and hamburgers. We pack the car up and go over to Isabel’s house and I finally get to meet the head of the family, Carrol, who is actually older than I am, which is saying something, and still runs a business selling and delivering grain and is gone by 6 a.m. driving his Volvo semi-truck 16 wheeler. Their son is working their farm now.

Nialani, Ruth, Isabel with
Roberts & Carrol

Isabel and I are having so much fun chatting about life and about families that we tell Ruth that I will stay with her until after we return from Grand Rapids.  

Tuesday

Ruth has arranged for me to do a book signing at the University of North Dakota bookstore and we three spent a lovely afternoon chatting to people who stops by, including Bobby and two of his colleagues.  One man tells me a long saga about his fight with city hall about the use of a road in front of his house and wants me to ghost write his story.

Bobby,Nialani,me,Isabel,Angie,Ruth,Robert&Barry

In the evening, Bobby and Nialani invited everyone to dinner at the Toasted Frog, what a marvelous name! We get to meet Ruth & Robert’s dear friends, Barry Bjorgaard, a cardiologist and his wife, Angie.

Wednesday 

 Robert drives Ruth and I into Grand Rapids to the Judy Garland Museum (see Grand Rapids  blog) and I learn so much about his early life and philosophy of bringing up their three children

Friday

 After John Fricke’s presentation, Bobby, Nialani, Ruth and I drive back to Grand Forks stopping on the way for a meal at an Italian Restaurant, Tutte Benne  in Bemidji, where the waiter charmed us with a five minute explanation of one dish.

I am supposed to be writing a review on Trip Adviser, but don’t hold your breath! 
As soon as we arrive at Ruth’s house, I have a quick tour of her beautifully decorated house and am deposited in the guest bedroom.It is a very comfortable home with cushions everywhere including the kitchen nook.  Ruth’s house and garden are a reflection of her personality and beauty.  The walls and every surface adorned with many photographs taken of her family.and why she has not been written up in Homes & Gardens magazine, is beyond me. Her soul equally fine and beautiful; she teaches handicapped children at the local school and in the afternoons, she runs around helping families in need through the Easter Seals programs. I am quite in awe of her contributions to society.

Saturday I go with Bobby and Nialani to street fair, ArtFest  in town. We enjoy all the stalls and I am excited to find a stall run by Peru-Ecuadorians, and I buy some head bands for my granddaughter. The stall owner tells us his band will be playing very shortly and so we buy some snacks for lunch, go over to watch, and spend a delightful hour enjoying their music.

Bobby points out the flood lines where the Red River of the North has overflowed in previous years.  This river runs north up into Canada and empties into Lake Winnipeg where it joins the Nelson River and ultimately flows into the Hudson Bay passing through Grand Forks and Fargo. He is a very knowledgeable young man, bright, funny and attentive – I decide to add him to my collection of “honorable nephews”.

We go back to their house and while Bobby prepares a salad, while I show Nialani how to play Clash of Clans. Bobby calls out to us, “Don’t teach her any more computer games!” However, a few minutes later he comes over and becomes just as enthralled as we are.  

Time to return to Ruth’s house where I know she has arranged a surprise birthday party for me!  (As if the events in Grand Rapids weren’t exciting enough! ) The first event is a ride for Isabel and me in a 1934 Buick. This car runs well, lovingly restored by Tom Zimney and his wife Claudette. Just Imagine this car is 2 years younger, I am, and still going well, perhaps there is hope for me.

We go out and sit in the beautiful garden.  

Ruth had prepared a magnificent dinner and kindly invited many of her friends to meet me.

And then came the cake!  I believe Bobby sent a digital photo of my book cover to the bakery and they made this beautiful cake using the cover of my book, Always for Judy.

 I am overwhelmed by all the attention and kindness I received this day. I am lucky to have such wonderful friends.  Of course I didn’t want to cut into Judy’s face and would have taken the cake home uneaten if possible.  Hopefully Ruth and her family finished it off and enjoyed it.

Thank you Bobby and Nialani for the beautiful necklace, I will treasure it and the watch with turquoise bracelet from Ruth, Robert, Isabel and Carrol, very thoughtful. This was the most spectacular birthday party I had ever had.

Nialani, Isabel, Ruth & Robert
Bobby & me

Sunday arrives and it is time to ride to Fargo ago.  The whole crew comes and I begin to feel like a celebrity, rather like Sinatra surrounded by ‘his people’.  In Grand Rapids Ruth, Nialani and Bobby were with me constantly helping me and by the time we got to the airport I really began to LIKE it. It really didn’t take long to get used to being spoiled.  Robert decided he was my security man.

So sad to leave these wonderful  people.