Corvin has been involved in his school’s triathlon club for two years now. He loves the challenge and the competition. He decided that he wanted to do an Iron Man. Unfortunately there were a few things going against him for competing his own Iron Man. First the entry starts at $900 for the cheapest one. Second, you have to go to where they are hosting the event. Being a college student, he didn’t have the money. He is also working so he has limited time.
However, being a college student, it means that he is good at problem solving on a budget. The plan was for him to do his own personal Iron Man. He would make his own swim, bike, run path. In order to do this, he would need support. I offered my services to help with this. Most important was the swim part. It has the most risk. This meant that I would paddle a boat near him the whole time to ensure that if he got under duress, he could get help and not drown.
Unfortunately, things don’t always go to plan. Corvin had a rock climbing accident almost a month earlier. While he wasn’t seriously injured, he couldn’t run for almost two weeks. This threw off all of his training. He listened to his body and decided to postpone this event. I had already scheduled time off work along with Corvin, so we decided to just have time together for a few days.
When I arrived, I started with a giant hug for my boy. It was fantastic to see him again. I brought my stuff into his room and just laughed. The desk pictured below was purchased by my dad for my college apartment in 1998. So it was used when I got it and now its Corvin’s college desk.
We make lots of jokes about eating hot dogs. Corvin had to show me the top of the door in his freezer, loaded end to end with hot dogs. Then he got a package out and we of course had to each eat one. He knows that once the other 2 roommates get there in a week, he’ll have to do a better job sharing the space. But a sale is a sale…
We went out the evening of my second day there to rock climb at Grandad Bluff. This is one of their favorite ways to spend an afternoon/evening. We got out there and casually set up for climbing. Corvin and his roommate Austin climbed the route first. They paid what I felt was good attention to their safety as they went. It made me feel better to see them work together when considering Corvin doing this often.
Between safety checks and climbing, there is also time for Madison to rest.
And Austin is looking for bananas.
See the video below with some of the climbing and other random events from my time in town.
I should mention at this point that Corvin has been dating a young lady, Madison for a few months now. She seems to make Corvin happy and I’ve been hoping to meet her. This visit, I was able to meet her and see how she and Corvin interact. Here is a good photo of Madison.
Beyond climbing, I took Corvin shopping. I wanted to purchase him groceries to keep him stocked up. I guess its a parent thing where you get joy making sure your kids have all they need. I also got him a spare fridge as space was getting tight in the big shared fridge. Corvin liked it due to being marked with NFL on it.
Corvin’s rental house is HOT! It doesn’t have air conditioning and they are going through a heat wave. I think the coolest it has been on the thermostat was 78 when I got there. The day before I left, it was 93 inside the house! That explains why the day Corvin had to work the afternoon, I went for a drive to cool off! I went to Winona, MN for the evening. Why, cause I wanted to drive by Wenonah Canoes. What can I say, I love boats.
As I drove into town, I saw a large overlook and had to go check it out. I was impressed with the town and look forward to visiting. But it was super hot, so I didn’t stay at the overlook too long.
The town was beautiful! I walked for a bit, then found a pizza place. I find it strange having food by myself when eating out. The pineapple cider I had took the edge off and was delicious. I eventually made the 45 minute drive back to Corvin’s place. He wasn’t quite home from work yet. When I got there, I knocked on the door. I could see Emily, Corvin’s roommate and didn’t want her freaking out over a middle aged man coming into her place. Luckily, I was remembered from a trip earlier in the year.
Last stop on this trip before making my way home was the Minnesota State Fair. They wanted to take me there and I was interested. We thought we could just drive up and park, but this was not to be. It turns out there is literally nothing to do in Minnesota except go to the state fair. We had to drive about 30 minutes away. There, we got in a park and ride. Actually, I wish I knew about this sooner as the bus was easy and fast to get into the fair.
Madison and Corvin getting photos together.
This sign seems accurate.
It was a fantastic couple of days with Corvin. Meeting and seeing him interact with Madison reminds me of my early days with Danelle (no pressure though). And thanks to Corvin for putting up with me for a few days!
Hogan Haake