“It should be fun,” I told my friend as I hung up the phone.

Last Friday afternoon on a whim I decided to call up one our family’s close friends and invite her to come with me and my son up to Faribault.

My daughter, Sophie, who participates in Kids College through the Freeborn County Arts Initiative, had some artwork on display at the Paradise Center for the Arts.

This was Sophie’s first time to be in an art show, and I was proud of her work.

I had never been to the Paradise Center for the Arts but wasn’t too nervous about finding it.

My daughter had traveled up there with some others from Kids College earlier in the afternoon, and our family was to meet them there. The open house closed at 7 p.m.

I stopped by Pizza Ranch in Albert Lea to pick up our friend, Sara Aeikens, who had worked a short shift at the restaurant, and we headed out straight from there.

We filled the gas tank and then hopped onto Interstate 90 north of Northbridge Mall. I planned to switch from I-90 to Interstate 35 just a few minutes later.

Sara and I started talking and catching up on our lives with each other. We hadn’t seen each other for a few weeks, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, I passed a sign that stated we were approaching the first exit to Austin.

It hit me — we weren’t supposed to be traveling to Austin. I was so busy talking and catching up with our friend that I missed our exit to I-35.

For a moment — or should I say several moments — I panicked because I was afraid we weren’t going to make it to the show on time as we had to figure out how to get to Faribault from our newfound location.

We stopped at a gas station as recommended by Sara, and she ran in to get directions while I tried to pull up my phone and download a GPS app.

I have a new phone and had not downloaded a good app yet. I forgot how much I rely on that thing.

Thankfully, Sara somewhat knew the area, and we ended up in Faribault, only to find that a car show blocked the front entrance to the Paradise Center. We ended up parking in the back and walking around to the front, with a few minutes to spare.

Whew, at least we made it.

My daughter ran over to us, and seemed pleased we were there.

Sophie and the other girls participated in a cupcake-eating challenge before we left, and then we turned right back around and headed back home. While it was a short trip, I was glad to make it.

Thanks, Sara, for getting us there. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the app on my phone. I forgot how much I rely on that thing.

On a side note, I was impressed with the interior of several of the buildings downtown in Faribault. It got me thinking about potential of some of Albert Lea’s buildings.

 

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Tuesday.