A sign God loves us and wants us to be happy

You may think that these pictures are ones Kris and i took yesterday at the Canterbury fireworks, celebrating the upcoming fourth of July. Well yes, technically, Canterbury had these fireworks yesterday, but they were not for the holiday. They were for the advent of this beauty in MN. *Insert sound of angels singing and babies laughing*

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, Sonic has come to MN. For you, this may not mean much. This can be for one of many reasons:

• You don't live here, so you don't know how much Minnesotans have had to suffer, with no Sonic restaurants in the state, yet oddly frequent commercials. It was rough. i craved Sonic, yet would have had to drive two states away in order to eat it. Shameful.


• You don't like fast food. In which case, you are still welcome here, but you are an anomaly to me, and i will probably pray for you. (More than i do now.)


• You don't like Sonic. Now that's just plain silly, and i am praying for you!

Kris called me from work yesterday and said "I'm taking you out for a surprise for lunch." So we drove to St. Paul. It was a long drive (1/2 hour) but so worth it! i was furiously looking around, trying to locate the place he had very suspensefully taken me to, and then i saw the beautiful Sonic logo. Kris and i have been talking for years about how we wish there was a Sonic in MN for us to at least try, since the commercials were so compelling, and people like my friend Daphne would blog about it. 

The Sonic sign gleamed golden and red in the sun. 

We had to drive to an abandoned charity (sad, huh?) down the street to get in line, so someone could put a Sonic sign on our window so we could enter the Sonic parking lot. This was a 40 minute wait. Evidently, even though the Sonic is a month old already, people are still flocking to it in record numbers at 2:30 in the afternoon.

We were worried that it would be a disappointment, after all the hype we had already attributed to it, but let me tell you: It was a thing of beauty. i had the chili cheese dog with fries and a cherry limeade. Kris had the spicy island burger with mozzarella sticks and a strawberry limeade. David had popcorn chicken. For dessert, we all shared the cheesecake bites and a chocolate malt. i will dream about that chili cheese dog. It was incredible! And there was real fruit in our limeades! And it was all reasonably priced!

Yes. It was the fattiest, biggest meal i've eaten in a long time. It was ridiculously far away to drive for fast food. But i will look back and remember it as a monument of our time. Kris and i had to go 23 years without eating at Sonic. i'm just glad my son has gotten to experience Sonic at the tender age of 16 months. Someday we'll be saying, "Back when we were kids, there was no Sonic here." His eyes will widen with terror. 

We will not be driving all that way again to go to Sonic. That was a one-time deal. But do you know why? They are opening a Sonic in Savage. 10 minutes away.   

We will soon be able to go try all the different flavour combinations of flavoured sodas. i'll have tried the chili cheese tots. i will no longer be wondering if the breakfast is as wonderful as i've heard. i will know.

i very much enjoyed my food.

David was chowing on his cheesecake bite.

Sleep in Sonic-induced coma heavenly peace, David.

The only drawback with Sonic? No indoor seating. i get that it's cute and 50's that it's drivethrough and drivein only, but i just wonder how that will fare for 1. the employees during the winter, and 2. the drivers during the winter with gas at $4/gallon. i have a feeling the drivein part of the restaurant will be a ghost town during the -20 windchills in January. 

Nonetheless: Sonic is here! i am replete with satisfaction.