Road Trip Recap: Day 2

Slept well. We are liking the Days Inn hotels. Had breakfast at the hotel in Brandon, MB before heading back out on the road. The continental breakfasts have changed! This one served hot eggs, bacon, and pancakes along with breads, bagels, cereals, boiled eggs, and of course coffee. We sure appreciated it. The morning is sunny and warm so we pack the car back up and head down the street for some Starbucks, a Staples (had to stop and print my travel insurance and plane ticket for the border) and a bank for Mary. The goal today is to drive from Brandon to Sioux City, SD. We make a stop in Winnipeg to visit my sista G and her family. It was SO good to see them, sit and talk, laugh, and drink tea. Mary kept us entertained with her tall tale stories and Gail and I laughed about all the Fortney quirks and our family history. I was amazed to learn that the other chains of Fortneys in our clan use our great gandfather as a teaching tool on drinking alcohol. Apparently, other Fortney families have their children test alcohol and see how they will react before pursuing it further because of Alex. Was he an uncle or grandfather? I might have the relation wrong but you get the idea. I won't even get into the possible 30 sibling story! My nieces have grown into charming, kind, beautiful ladies. Thanks for a great and long overdue visit! After we left their house, Mary and I spent 2 hours driving through the city trying to find our way out in the dark. Mary was determined to stick to her maps until I finally convinced her to pull over at a gas station so we could ask for directions. Gone are the days of gas station staff having to know their whereabouts in the city they work in...so luckily a kind woman named Shasta talked Mary off the ledge and gave us directions to get out of town. Everyone we met in MB was so helpful and friendly! By this time, the plan to hit Sioux City was a bust and we changed the goal to Fargo, ND. We made it to the border and stuck to Mary's protocol of stopping early (Duty Free shop) and sprucing ourselves up for the border crossing. We are the odd couple in a good way...Mary and her strict plans and rituals and me flying by the seat of my pants and going with the flow. The border guy cared more about telling me that there is no such thing as immigration lawyers (thanks to my H1B visa still in my passport) and that I should just show up at the border with a letter and not waste my money. I didn't argue with him even though he is talking about the TN visa and not mine. Mary is the one coming into the country to work and somehow he targeted me instead. He was nice, it was more like the boy bugging the girl in school kind of thing. The rest of the drive was easygoing until we got further into North Dakota. It was snowing and feeling a little icy so we opted to stop a little early in Grand forks, ND instead of Fargo (about another 2 hours away). This time we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express (and got the 2nd last room in town) which was also a really nice hotel. We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday and headed to Target...just because. We didn't really buy anything though. Most of the drive was done at night so we were at Target around 10:00 pm and just ready to chill out and sleep in the hotel. Chatted in the hotel, made a tentative route change plan, and discussed the fact that Mary has to wear Khakis for her new job and how nasty they are. A new worry for her for the rest of the trip. We laughed and joked like we had been a ll day and eventually drifted off to sleep. I can't remember what we changed the goal destination to for tomorrow...I think the far edge of South Dakota or Nebraska? I better look at a map before blogging more so I get this right.