Road Trip Day III: Chicago to Fargo, ND
From the skyline of NYC to the prairie lands of Fargo, ND and back again, this is my travel guide on driving half way across the United States.
Exhausted from the excitement, heat, and exercise we got in Chicago, we had a great night’s sleep and woke early in the morning for day three of our road trip, Chicago to a place neither Lynette nor I had been to before, Fargo, North Dakota.
Road Trip Day III: Chicago to Fargo, North Dakota
WHERE WE STOPPED ALONG THE WAY
Altoona, Wisconsin
We wanted to get to Fargo as quickly as possible in order arrive by the time we designated to pick up my three sons for summer break. Picking the midway point between Chicago and Fargo, we stopped in Altoona Wisconsin for coffee and warm breakfast wraps. The landscape of Wisconsin was lush and green. Pulling up to Five Lakes Coffee we took in the beautiful natural landscape. Five Lakes Coffee itself had a lot of character with motivational sayings painted to wood signs and hung from the walls, and shelves of Five Lakes Coffee merchandise. The baristas were friendly. The weather had turned just a bit cooler and rainy so we deviated from our cold brews and ordered hot Americanos. The coffee was good and the breakfast wraps held our appetite until we arrived at our next destination, Fargo.
Fargo, North Dakota
As we approached Fargo, we realized we were about 30 minutes ahead of schedule. We had read that Fargo has some nice local breweries and decided to place an order for pickup to bring back to NYC with us. The logos and names of the brews were catchy. I had to get “Loki is my Homeboy” lactose double IPA in honor of my sister’s family cat, Loki, who had recently passed away. Ordering online was easy and when we pulled up our order was brought out directly to our car. The brewery itself is housed in a former train station and it has a great vibe with a large outdoor deck to enjoy small bites and beers.
After a happy reunion with my sons we dropped our bags in the hotel room and our party of 5 headed out to grab some dinner. I was surprised that Fargo packed a lot of charm on the main street and i took note of different restaurants, coffee shops, and specialty shops that if we had more time would be worth exploring. We had read some great reviews about Blackbird Woodfire Pizza and wanted to grab take out from there but they were closed. We went to plan B which was Conde Nast Traveler recommended Vinyl Taco. Lynette ordered burritos, tacos, chips and guacamole to feed our small army. We brought our goods back to the hotel to dine. Everything was tasty with a lot of cheese. Interestingly, capers made their way onto the fish tacos. Not my jam, but Lynette said it was fun to try something different.
We spent the rest of the evening toasting with my sons favorite drink, Martinelli’s sparkling cider, and preparing for an early start for day 4, Fargo back to Chicago! A little more on Fargo and our drive back into the Windy City, next time!
Have you traveled to any small town you never thought you would see? What did you think? Sound off in the comments below.