We are home once more after 23 days on the road! We had a wonderful trip -- good scenery, good experiences, and....best of all, good company. What fun to be together, experiencing new places, revisiting old memories, and laughing together throughout the day.
We left Kingman, AZ around ten o'clock this morning and arrived in Costa Mesa around 4:oo this afternoon. The day was filled with driving, stopping for diet cokes, and reminiscing about our trip. We made a list of "best ofs....". The list included:
Best Ice Cream Cone.....Mitchell, SD - where the ice cream was in homemade waffle cones.
Best Ice Cream Treat...Braums in Clinton, OK - brownie sundae that Elizabeth called a "little boat of goodness"
Best Rest Area....Chamberlain, SD - where the rest area included an interpretive experience about Lewis and Clark's expedition and a room with brochures from areas throughout SD
Best Museum....Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, IL
Best Historical Village....Prairie Homestead in SD
When we were young and travelling with our parents and we came home from vacation, Dad used to say, "I've been away, but I must say, 'Home looks good to me." We echo that sentiment.
Thanks to all who read and let us know they were following this blog. We appreciate your interest and enjoyed sharing our Triple A Road Trip with you.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
At Grand Canyon
Sing along:
At Grand Canyon at Grand Canyon
You can hike you can hike
Without getting tired without getting tired
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
This is a song Lorie learned when she visited the Grand Canyon with Randy twenty-three years ago. We sung about being safe at the Grand Canyon as we drove in today. It was very hot and there was an extreme temperature warning in effect. We were not planning on hiking or anything like that, but we had our water, sunscreen, and hats ready for our sightseeing.
We started our day with viewing the IMAX film that is sponsored by National Geographic. We had all seen it before, but Elizabeth was a young child when she saw it and did not remember it at all. It had been several years since Lorie and I had seen it and we both had forgotten a lot. It is very well done and an excellent introduction to the history of the canyon. It really struck me today, thinking about how the first people who saw it must have felt. Here they are, walking through a desert terrain with trees and suddenly, the Grand Canyon. I wonder if they thought they were at the end of the world?
After the IMAX film, we drove into the canyon. There is a free shuttle that takes you around the park to the different locations. It was very busy today, but people were remarkably kind and patient. It was amazing. We rode on the blue line to the Grand Canyon Village where the hotels and restaurants are. From there, we transferred to the red line that takes you along the South Rim, stopping at various locations. Because of the crowd, it took waiting through three buses to get on a red line bus. It was extremely hot (although the buses are air-conditioned), so we decided that I would get off at Powell's Point (where you can transfer to go back) and Lorie and Elizabeth would ride up to the next stop, get off there, and hike back to me - only 3/10ths of a mile. This would let Elizabeth get a little hike and let us all see some of the canyon. When Lorie and Elizabeth came back to me, we would all ride back to the Village and eat lunch.
Our plan worked out fine. We ate lunch at the restaurant at Bright Angel Lodge. Our lunch was excellent and the service was fantastic. We really enjoyed ourselves. By the time we left the canyon, we had been there over six hours - we had not thought we would stay that long, but we did and there were so many more things we could have done.
We drove up the road to Kingman for our last night. We are enjoying the hotel room and talking about the wonderful trip we have had.
Elizabeth just came back from trying to get a snack from the vending machine. As with everything else on this trip, she had an adventure. She put in her first dollar and did not receive anything. She put in her second dollar, pushed the button for a Hershey Bar and got a Twix Bar. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and got two Milky Way bars. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for an Almond Joy and got a Snickers. Finally, she tried one more time to get a Reese's and she got a package of Hostess donettes. She decided that she had enough snacks for all of us and there had to something there that everyone would like and she returned to the room, snacks in hand and story on her lips!
Henry texted Elizabeth this morning and said, "I miss you. I miss Mom. I miss Auntie. Come home now." Throughout the day, he texted "Will I see you in 24 hours now?" Yes, Henry, you will see us soon.
At Grand Canyon at Grand Canyon
You can hike you can hike
Without getting tired without getting tired
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
This is a song Lorie learned when she visited the Grand Canyon with Randy twenty-three years ago. We sung about being safe at the Grand Canyon as we drove in today. It was very hot and there was an extreme temperature warning in effect. We were not planning on hiking or anything like that, but we had our water, sunscreen, and hats ready for our sightseeing.
We started our day with viewing the IMAX film that is sponsored by National Geographic. We had all seen it before, but Elizabeth was a young child when she saw it and did not remember it at all. It had been several years since Lorie and I had seen it and we both had forgotten a lot. It is very well done and an excellent introduction to the history of the canyon. It really struck me today, thinking about how the first people who saw it must have felt. Here they are, walking through a desert terrain with trees and suddenly, the Grand Canyon. I wonder if they thought they were at the end of the world?
After the IMAX film, we drove into the canyon. There is a free shuttle that takes you around the park to the different locations. It was very busy today, but people were remarkably kind and patient. It was amazing. We rode on the blue line to the Grand Canyon Village where the hotels and restaurants are. From there, we transferred to the red line that takes you along the South Rim, stopping at various locations. Because of the crowd, it took waiting through three buses to get on a red line bus. It was extremely hot (although the buses are air-conditioned), so we decided that I would get off at Powell's Point (where you can transfer to go back) and Lorie and Elizabeth would ride up to the next stop, get off there, and hike back to me - only 3/10ths of a mile. This would let Elizabeth get a little hike and let us all see some of the canyon. When Lorie and Elizabeth came back to me, we would all ride back to the Village and eat lunch.
Our plan worked out fine. We ate lunch at the restaurant at Bright Angel Lodge. Our lunch was excellent and the service was fantastic. We really enjoyed ourselves. By the time we left the canyon, we had been there over six hours - we had not thought we would stay that long, but we did and there were so many more things we could have done.
We drove up the road to Kingman for our last night. We are enjoying the hotel room and talking about the wonderful trip we have had.
Elizabeth just came back from trying to get a snack from the vending machine. As with everything else on this trip, she had an adventure. She put in her first dollar and did not receive anything. She put in her second dollar, pushed the button for a Hershey Bar and got a Twix Bar. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and got two Milky Way bars. She put in another dollar, pushed the button for an Almond Joy and got a Snickers. Finally, she tried one more time to get a Reese's and she got a package of Hostess donettes. She decided that she had enough snacks for all of us and there had to something there that everyone would like and she returned to the room, snacks in hand and story on her lips!
Henry texted Elizabeth this morning and said, "I miss you. I miss Mom. I miss Auntie. Come home now." Throughout the day, he texted "Will I see you in 24 hours now?" Yes, Henry, you will see us soon.
Friday Fine
We spent today driving from Tucumcari, New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona. We know that we are mainly driving now - it is time to begin to think of home, but we are making notes of places we want to stop next time. This is just desert driving, but the desert is beautiful in many ways. As we drove, we drove through some of the old towns on Route 66. We also took turns taking naps in "the cave" (as we have called the back seat). Elizabeth is the usual passenger in the back seat, so we call her the "cave dweller". However, she is willing to share the cave when someone else wants to take a nap. And, she left her mother have the cave the whole time she was ill.
While we have shared responsibilities and places in the car, we mainly acted along these lines:
Christie - driver
Lorie - journalist
Elizabeth - cave dweller and reporter of text messages that came in throughout the day, mainly from Melissa or Grandma.
People may wonder about the "journalist" role for Lorie. Lorie keeps a notebook that is a running record of what is happening throughout the trip. It is both a record of events and a recording of thoughts and ideas she has at the time. She records the time and what is happening. She also keeps track of things we spot such as license plates, dead animals, trains, and anything else that we deem important enough to keep a list of. Whoever sits in the passenger seat in the front has to be the journalist. Elizabeth and I are both happy to let Lorie have this role as often as possible, although Elizabeth did become an excellent journalist while her mother was sick.
We reached Flagstaff around 6:30 and went to the hotel - or at least what we thought was our hotel. It turns out there are two Hampton hotels in Flagstaff and we had gone to the one on the east, but our reservation was for the west. We went six miles more down the road to that one and it was nicer, so we were very happy that we were "west"!
Grand Canyon is on our schedule for Saturday!
While we have shared responsibilities and places in the car, we mainly acted along these lines:
Christie - driver
Lorie - journalist
Elizabeth - cave dweller and reporter of text messages that came in throughout the day, mainly from Melissa or Grandma.
People may wonder about the "journalist" role for Lorie. Lorie keeps a notebook that is a running record of what is happening throughout the trip. It is both a record of events and a recording of thoughts and ideas she has at the time. She records the time and what is happening. She also keeps track of things we spot such as license plates, dead animals, trains, and anything else that we deem important enough to keep a list of. Whoever sits in the passenger seat in the front has to be the journalist. Elizabeth and I are both happy to let Lorie have this role as often as possible, although Elizabeth did become an excellent journalist while her mother was sick.
We reached Flagstaff around 6:30 and went to the hotel - or at least what we thought was our hotel. It turns out there are two Hampton hotels in Flagstaff and we had gone to the one on the east, but our reservation was for the west. We went six miles more down the road to that one and it was nicer, so we were very happy that we were "west"!
Grand Canyon is on our schedule for Saturday!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Today we followed Route 66 through Oklahoma, the Texas panhandle, and into New Mexico. We enjoyed seeing the remnants of some Route 66 motels and curios. We also had fun looking at the outside of motels that are still there. We enjoyed pointing out to Elizabeth some places we had stayed as children and talked about what made a motel "good" back then - it was all about the pool and did it have a diving board and slide?
We stopped at a Stuckey's and purchased a pecan log for old times sake. The one we stopped at was right before the Texas/New Mexico border. The woman there told us that the daughter of the original Stuckey's owner still owns seven of the Stuckey's there in Texas and New Mexico. We wanted to show Elizabeth the type of souvenirs we used to purchase. Stuckey's had a lot of those old type souvenirs, but they did not have those little ceder chests that had the name of the town printed on them. Lorie and I used to collect those.
Tonight we are in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We drove through the town on our way to find something for dinner. There were some interesting places: the Lizard Lounge and the Cowboy Place where you could have your own powwow, but we ended up at Subway. We enjoyed seeing the old signs, but most of the places are closed up or already gone with only the sign left. One of our favorite signs was for an old RV campground and it said, "Horses welcome". We liked that.
Lorie is much better today. She says she is finally beginning to feel like herself again. She stayed awake most of the day, so that is a good sign.
Our Triple A Trip is almost over-just a couple of more days. We are trying to squeeze a lot into them.
We stopped at a Stuckey's and purchased a pecan log for old times sake. The one we stopped at was right before the Texas/New Mexico border. The woman there told us that the daughter of the original Stuckey's owner still owns seven of the Stuckey's there in Texas and New Mexico. We wanted to show Elizabeth the type of souvenirs we used to purchase. Stuckey's had a lot of those old type souvenirs, but they did not have those little ceder chests that had the name of the town printed on them. Lorie and I used to collect those.
Tonight we are in Tucumcari, New Mexico. We drove through the town on our way to find something for dinner. There were some interesting places: the Lizard Lounge and the Cowboy Place where you could have your own powwow, but we ended up at Subway. We enjoyed seeing the old signs, but most of the places are closed up or already gone with only the sign left. One of our favorite signs was for an old RV campground and it said, "Horses welcome". We liked that.
Lorie is much better today. She says she is finally beginning to feel like herself again. She stayed awake most of the day, so that is a good sign.
Our Triple A Trip is almost over-just a couple of more days. We are trying to squeeze a lot into them.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
From Missouri to Oklahoma
Lorie is feeling a little better, so we were able to get back on the road. Elizabeth was happy that we got out of the land of "Misery" (Missouri). We had a slow morning, but were on the road by around ten.
We just mainly drove today, but we did make one stop that we all really enjoyed. In Carthage, Missouri, the Precious Moments Chapel and Gardens is open daily for visitors. The Precious Moments creator, Sam Butcher, has built a beautiful chapel and gardens with Precious Moments statues, paintings, and stained glass windows, all reflecting and telling of the glory of God. They call it a "ministry of art" with 9,000 square feet of artwork, 84 hand painted Biblical murals, and 30 verses and stories in stained glass. It was a little bit of a struggle for Lorie to walk through it all, but we took it slowly and just were really blessed by it. We had heard about it, but had no idea it would be so beautiful. Lorie used to collect Precious Moments figurines, so it was extra special for her to see some of the stories that went along with the some of the figures.
Elizabeth had been waiting all day today for a Big Mac, so that is what we had for lunch. Christie has been waiting the whole trip to eat at a Cracker Barrel, so that is where we ate dinner. Food is quite cheap these days because Lorie is not eating - she is only sharing bites of everyone else's meals.
Elizabeth has been struggling at every hotel with the showers and the faucets. Each night it is a challenge to help her understand how to work the various equipment. She would like to make it known that she had a 4.0 GPA, is a high school graduate and a commencement speaker and she can't help it if the hotel suppliers are intent on making getting a shower nearly impossible. Tonight she came out of the shower and announced that she had scalded her big toe. Her mother said, "I meant to tell you how it worked, but you were already in and you didn't ask."
So, as you can see, we are having an exciting time. And you thought all we were doing was traveling.
Elizabeth's Birthday Pictures
Elizabeth on the morning of her birthday. Lorie had found a piece of cake at a local store. We put the numerals "1" and "8" candles on it. We got matches from the hotel desk clerk, so we could light the candles and sing "Happy Birthday". We sang fast, just in case the candles might have made the smoke alarm go off.
You can see Elizabeth's American Girl dolls in the picture.
Elizabeth at Soldier Field on her birthday. Soldier Field is the home of the Chicago Bears. One of the things Elizabeth wanted to do on her birthday was go to Soldier Field.
Elizabeth and Lorie sitting on a bench on the side of Soldier Field.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
A Day in the Hospital
We spent the day at St. John's Hospital in Rolla, MO. This was obviously not on our original plan, but sometimes plans change. Lorie has continued to get weaker and weaker and feel worse and worse, so we knew we had to do something. We took her to a clinic this morning, but after seeing her and hearing her symptoms, they said we needed to go to the emergency at the hospital.
We could not have asked for the hospital to be nicer. They took us in right away and began to listen to Lorie and try to figure out what was wrong. The conclusion was that she probably has a very nasty bug and it just hasn't worked its way out yet, even though she has been ill since July 9. They gave her something to stop the vomiting and control the nausea and that has already helped her to feel better. They said to push liquids as much as possible, eat yogurt, and rest.
We are staying in Rolla again tonight. We were released from the emergency room at about 3:00. We went and got a room and put Lorie to bed. Then Elizabeth and I went to get her prescription filled. Those of you from small towns will appreciate the directions the hotel gave us to get to Wal-Mart: "Go down to the large cow and turn right. Drive to the first big intersection and turn right. Go down the road and you will see Wal-Mart." Guess what? The directions worked. Lorie's insurance also worked for which we are thanking God!
We are in the hotel tonight and hope that we can be on the road again tomorrow.
We could not have asked for the hospital to be nicer. They took us in right away and began to listen to Lorie and try to figure out what was wrong. The conclusion was that she probably has a very nasty bug and it just hasn't worked its way out yet, even though she has been ill since July 9. They gave her something to stop the vomiting and control the nausea and that has already helped her to feel better. They said to push liquids as much as possible, eat yogurt, and rest.
We are staying in Rolla again tonight. We were released from the emergency room at about 3:00. We went and got a room and put Lorie to bed. Then Elizabeth and I went to get her prescription filled. Those of you from small towns will appreciate the directions the hotel gave us to get to Wal-Mart: "Go down to the large cow and turn right. Drive to the first big intersection and turn right. Go down the road and you will see Wal-Mart." Guess what? The directions worked. Lorie's insurance also worked for which we are thanking God!
We are in the hotel tonight and hope that we can be on the road again tomorrow.
Lincoln in IL, Caves in MO
We started the morning with visiting the new Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The museum complex is so beautiful. There is a visitor center in the old Union Depot and then two beautiful buildings - one is the museum and the other is the library. The library houses both Lincoln's papers and the papers of the Illinois state historical society.
Lorie was still not feeling well, so we only visited the museum. However, it was unbelievable and, if we could only do one thing, that was a good choice. They have integrated technology in such a way that it really supports the telling of the Lincoln story. One of my favorite things was the presentation of the 1860 campaign in today's terms -like it was being reported on a news show. Tim Russart (?), the news commentator who passed away in 2008, was the commentator. It was well-done. If you have the opportunity to visit this museum, be sure to take it. There were so many more things we could have done in Springfield, but we had to move on. I said we gave it just a lick and a promise.
Lorie slept in the back as we continued down the road. We crossed the border into MO and saw the St. Louis arch. Elizabeth was snapping pictures like mad and hopes that she got a good one.
As we were driving down the road, we kept seeing signs for the Merramac Cave. We decided that we needed to stop. It was late in the afternoon (around 4:30 PM) and Lorie was not feeling well, so we chose to not take a tour - we just looked around. It was so much fun. You go into the mouth of the cave when you go to the gift shop and visitor center. There is a display of rocks and some history of the cave. The cave was used by Jesse James as a hideout. It was used in the 1930s as a ballroom. The map of the cave shows many routes and rooms. The cave tour is 90 minutes and one mile in length. There is also ziplining, canoeing, and riverboat cruises on the lake. There is a area for camping and a motel. Lorie thought it would be a fun place to bring Randy and her family to in the future.
We continued down the road and saw a sign for the "World's Largest Rocking Chair". We are trying to take pictures of as many "giants" on Route 66 as we can, so we turned off and saw the rocking chair. It was large! We chatted with the girl at the little store for a while.
We stopped for the night in Rolla.
Lorie was still not feeling well, so we only visited the museum. However, it was unbelievable and, if we could only do one thing, that was a good choice. They have integrated technology in such a way that it really supports the telling of the Lincoln story. One of my favorite things was the presentation of the 1860 campaign in today's terms -like it was being reported on a news show. Tim Russart (?), the news commentator who passed away in 2008, was the commentator. It was well-done. If you have the opportunity to visit this museum, be sure to take it. There were so many more things we could have done in Springfield, but we had to move on. I said we gave it just a lick and a promise.
Lorie slept in the back as we continued down the road. We crossed the border into MO and saw the St. Louis arch. Elizabeth was snapping pictures like mad and hopes that she got a good one.
As we were driving down the road, we kept seeing signs for the Merramac Cave. We decided that we needed to stop. It was late in the afternoon (around 4:30 PM) and Lorie was not feeling well, so we chose to not take a tour - we just looked around. It was so much fun. You go into the mouth of the cave when you go to the gift shop and visitor center. There is a display of rocks and some history of the cave. The cave was used by Jesse James as a hideout. It was used in the 1930s as a ballroom. The map of the cave shows many routes and rooms. The cave tour is 90 minutes and one mile in length. There is also ziplining, canoeing, and riverboat cruises on the lake. There is a area for camping and a motel. Lorie thought it would be a fun place to bring Randy and her family to in the future.
We continued down the road and saw a sign for the "World's Largest Rocking Chair". We are trying to take pictures of as many "giants" on Route 66 as we can, so we turned off and saw the rocking chair. It was large! We chatted with the girl at the little store for a while.
We stopped for the night in Rolla.
On the road again...to Springfield, IL
We had planned on sleeping in and leaving Chicago. However, we were all awake and up, so we ended up leaving around nine o'clock. We had a nice drive through the city on the way to the interstate. Because it was Sunday morning, the streets were really calm. We saw a street that had just been "blown up" for the Transformers movie and a costume rack for the movie. Elizabeth really enjoyed seeing that....and bragging to her brothers that she had seen it. While Elizabeth is not a Transformers fan, she is interested in and likes seeing/hearing about how any movie is made.
Our drive was good and we enjoyed the all the green trees as we were driving. We drove to Springfield, Illinois, where we planned on seeing some of the Lincoln sites. Lorie was still feeling ill, so she lay in the back seat and slept until we got to Springfield. When we arrived there, Lorie said that she felt like she could go see a couple of things. We went right to the Lincoln visitor center and saw an overview film of Lincoln's life. We then had tickets for the tour of Lincoln's Springfield home. This is the only home that Lincoln ever owned. It was fascinating to see it and listen to all the history that had taken place there. The four blocks surrounding the home are owned by the government and are a National Park. They are in the process of restoring the homes to the way they looked when Lincoln lived there. We walked down the block and read the plaques about the people who used to live there during Lincoln's time.
Next, we visited the Lincoln gravesite. It is very impressive. I had seen it before, but Lorie and Elizabeth had not. Lorie was still not feeling well, so we did not spend much time there.
We went to our hotel and enjoyed resting for the evening.
Our drive was good and we enjoyed the all the green trees as we were driving. We drove to Springfield, Illinois, where we planned on seeing some of the Lincoln sites. Lorie was still feeling ill, so she lay in the back seat and slept until we got to Springfield. When we arrived there, Lorie said that she felt like she could go see a couple of things. We went right to the Lincoln visitor center and saw an overview film of Lincoln's life. We then had tickets for the tour of Lincoln's Springfield home. This is the only home that Lincoln ever owned. It was fascinating to see it and listen to all the history that had taken place there. The four blocks surrounding the home are owned by the government and are a National Park. They are in the process of restoring the homes to the way they looked when Lincoln lived there. We walked down the block and read the plaques about the people who used to live there during Lincoln's time.
Next, we visited the Lincoln gravesite. It is very impressive. I had seen it before, but Lorie and Elizabeth had not. Lorie was still not feeling well, so we did not spend much time there.
We went to our hotel and enjoyed resting for the evening.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
It's Not Little Caesar's Pizza
Tonight, for dinner, we are having a Chicago Vegetable Pizza. Elizabeth said, "It tastes strong. It's not Little Caesar's Pizza." First of all, one of the ingredients was broccoli, which we had them leave off. However, we left on the black olives, green olives, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, and cheese. The items were loaded on the pizza. It was very thick and spilling over. It filled us up and we have left-overs.
We have had an interesting time in Chicago. There is so much to see. We knew we would want more time here and we do! We haven't done a lot here because Elizabeth is still tired from being ill and Lorie became ill last night. In fact, Lorie has just spent all day sleeping in the hotel room.
Yesterday, we celebrated Elizabeth's 18th birthday with a trip to Soldier Field where the Bears play and a visit to the flagship American Girl Place on the Magnificent Mile. We took the subway to Soldier Field. We had to walk about six blocks from the subway stop to the field. We started out by going in the wrong direction, but figured it out pretty quickly. Soldier Field is at the end of the Museum Complex where Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Natural History are. It was beautiful there and we really enjoyed seeing the outside of the buildings. When we got to Soldier Field, we went into the Bears shop. Elizabeth had hoped to purchase a jacket, but there was nothing there that she wanted. Lorie purchased a t-shirt for Elizabeth for her birthday that said the Bears were the "Monsters of the Midway". We walked around the outside of the stadium. It looks like a Greek coliseum from the outside. It is a beautiful building.
We walked back to the Museum of Natural History and purchased tickets for the Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Company - a bus that goes around the city with a tour, fifteen stops and on/off privileges. We rode the bus to the stop nearest our hotel room and enjoyed the tour along the way. We ate lunch at McDonald's, then went to walk on the Magnificent Mile. Following along with our usual method, we started out the wrong way. We probably ended up walking about an extra mile before we arrived at the Magnificent Mile, but we saw some great buildings and had a good time.
Our destination on the Magnificent Mile was the American Girl Place, the flagship store of the American Girl dolls. Everyone had told us that this store was the best of all and Elizabeth was very excited to visit it on her birthday. However, we were disappointed in it. The clerks were not as attentive or as focused on customer service as in the previous two stores. In both of the other stores, we had had personal shoppers. There were people that greeted you as you walked in and every employee acknowledged you. In the Chicago store, no one acknowledged us at all. The employees talked to you if you talked to them first, but otherwise, they talked with each other. Between the three stores, Mall of America was our favorite in terms of customer service and Los Angeles was our favorite in terms of store display.
After visiting the American Girl Place, we walked back on Magnificent Mile, enjoying stopping in stores along the way. There were so many people in this area that you were just carried along by the crowd as you walked. It is the first place that has been this crowded.
When we got back to our hotel room, we watched a movie and relaxed. Elizabeth felt that she had a good birthday.
Lorie became ill during the night, so we just all slept in this morning. Our original plan had been to get up early and keep exploring the city, but Lorie was in no shape for that and Elizabeth was still trying to catch up on her sleep from being sick.
Elizabeth and I ended up going out at around eleven. We rode the bus around the entire city tour and learned a lot. The new Transformers movie was being filmed in Chicago today and we saw several of the sets and two of the transformers. We missed the street being blown up, but we saw the evidence of it. Also, we heard that people had been "jumping" off Sears tower for the movie, but did not see it.
We feel like we just had a little taste of what is here to see and have a list for the future.
When we returned to the hotel room, we all took naps. Lorie is feeling a little better and we all had some pizza, as you saw at the beginning of this post. We have been watching TV for the first time this vacation, but neither Lorie nor Elizabeth feels like doing anything else. We hope everyone is feeling better soon. Elizabeth said that she had an appetite for the first time today, so that is good news.
Tomorrow we begin our trip home following Route 66.
We have had an interesting time in Chicago. There is so much to see. We knew we would want more time here and we do! We haven't done a lot here because Elizabeth is still tired from being ill and Lorie became ill last night. In fact, Lorie has just spent all day sleeping in the hotel room.
Yesterday, we celebrated Elizabeth's 18th birthday with a trip to Soldier Field where the Bears play and a visit to the flagship American Girl Place on the Magnificent Mile. We took the subway to Soldier Field. We had to walk about six blocks from the subway stop to the field. We started out by going in the wrong direction, but figured it out pretty quickly. Soldier Field is at the end of the Museum Complex where Shedd Aquarium and the Museum of Natural History are. It was beautiful there and we really enjoyed seeing the outside of the buildings. When we got to Soldier Field, we went into the Bears shop. Elizabeth had hoped to purchase a jacket, but there was nothing there that she wanted. Lorie purchased a t-shirt for Elizabeth for her birthday that said the Bears were the "Monsters of the Midway". We walked around the outside of the stadium. It looks like a Greek coliseum from the outside. It is a beautiful building.
We walked back to the Museum of Natural History and purchased tickets for the Chicago Trolley and Double Decker Company - a bus that goes around the city with a tour, fifteen stops and on/off privileges. We rode the bus to the stop nearest our hotel room and enjoyed the tour along the way. We ate lunch at McDonald's, then went to walk on the Magnificent Mile. Following along with our usual method, we started out the wrong way. We probably ended up walking about an extra mile before we arrived at the Magnificent Mile, but we saw some great buildings and had a good time.
Our destination on the Magnificent Mile was the American Girl Place, the flagship store of the American Girl dolls. Everyone had told us that this store was the best of all and Elizabeth was very excited to visit it on her birthday. However, we were disappointed in it. The clerks were not as attentive or as focused on customer service as in the previous two stores. In both of the other stores, we had had personal shoppers. There were people that greeted you as you walked in and every employee acknowledged you. In the Chicago store, no one acknowledged us at all. The employees talked to you if you talked to them first, but otherwise, they talked with each other. Between the three stores, Mall of America was our favorite in terms of customer service and Los Angeles was our favorite in terms of store display.
After visiting the American Girl Place, we walked back on Magnificent Mile, enjoying stopping in stores along the way. There were so many people in this area that you were just carried along by the crowd as you walked. It is the first place that has been this crowded.
When we got back to our hotel room, we watched a movie and relaxed. Elizabeth felt that she had a good birthday.
Lorie became ill during the night, so we just all slept in this morning. Our original plan had been to get up early and keep exploring the city, but Lorie was in no shape for that and Elizabeth was still trying to catch up on her sleep from being sick.
Elizabeth and I ended up going out at around eleven. We rode the bus around the entire city tour and learned a lot. The new Transformers movie was being filmed in Chicago today and we saw several of the sets and two of the transformers. We missed the street being blown up, but we saw the evidence of it. Also, we heard that people had been "jumping" off Sears tower for the movie, but did not see it.
We feel like we just had a little taste of what is here to see and have a list for the future.
When we returned to the hotel room, we all took naps. Lorie is feeling a little better and we all had some pizza, as you saw at the beginning of this post. We have been watching TV for the first time this vacation, but neither Lorie nor Elizabeth feels like doing anything else. We hope everyone is feeling better soon. Elizabeth said that she had an appetite for the first time today, so that is good news.
Tomorrow we begin our trip home following Route 66.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tummy Ache, Toll Booths, and Traffic
Elizabeth's stomach was still giving her some trouble so we had a lazy morning in our hotel in Madison. We let Elizabeth sleep in until around 9:30 or so and then we all just relaxed and did not leave until almost noon.
When we finally got on the road, we had a lovely drive for most of the way. As we crossed into Illinois, we began to notice fewer trees and more farmland. There were definitely more cars on the road than we have had in several days and the number grew as we drew nearer Chicago.
Interstate 90 turned into a toll road and we found ourselves rummaging for change and one dollar bills. We got on a wrong road one time and had to pay double toll there - once as we exited and then again after we turned around. The last 30 miles of our drive took us 36 minutes because of the traffic - it was just stop and go. However, we arrived safely and found our hotel without any problems.
Elizabeth just wanted to rest, but Lorie and I went out walking for a little while and began to scope out our surroundings. The city, at least the part we were in tonight, reminded us a lot of San Diego. We did observe that the drivers seem to drive even worse than in New York City. We saw some crazy things on the road this evening and are very glad that our car is parked until we leave on Sunday. We are going to walk and take public transportation.
Tomorrow is Elizabeth's 18th birthday. She wants to go to Soldier Field and the American Girl Place in the Old Water Tower. We are looking forward to a wonderful day.
When we finally got on the road, we had a lovely drive for most of the way. As we crossed into Illinois, we began to notice fewer trees and more farmland. There were definitely more cars on the road than we have had in several days and the number grew as we drew nearer Chicago.
Interstate 90 turned into a toll road and we found ourselves rummaging for change and one dollar bills. We got on a wrong road one time and had to pay double toll there - once as we exited and then again after we turned around. The last 30 miles of our drive took us 36 minutes because of the traffic - it was just stop and go. However, we arrived safely and found our hotel without any problems.
Elizabeth just wanted to rest, but Lorie and I went out walking for a little while and began to scope out our surroundings. The city, at least the part we were in tonight, reminded us a lot of San Diego. We did observe that the drivers seem to drive even worse than in New York City. We saw some crazy things on the road this evening and are very glad that our car is parked until we leave on Sunday. We are going to walk and take public transportation.
Tomorrow is Elizabeth's 18th birthday. She wants to go to Soldier Field and the American Girl Place in the Old Water Tower. We are looking forward to a wonderful day.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Blast from the Past - a few days ago
These pictures are from Bridal Veil Falls, which we visited on the third day of our trip as we drove through Utah. These pictures are for Mom and Dad and we hope you enjoy seeing the falls on your upcoming trip!
Laura Ingalls Wilder Birthplace
Here is Lorie at the Laura Ingalls Wilder museum in Pepin, Wisconsin. They have a pioneer girl that you can put your face through. We all did it, but the other pictures are on Elizabeth's camera and I don't have her camera right now.
These pictures were taken in the doorway of the reconstructed "little house in the woods". We wanted to show how low the ceiling and doors were. Christie can walk through with no problem. Lorie is fine, also. However, Elizabeth's head touches the door frame!
These pictures were taken in the doorway of the reconstructed "little house in the woods". We wanted to show how low the ceiling and doors were. Christie can walk through with no problem. Lorie is fine, also. However, Elizabeth's head touches the door frame!
Here is the reconstructed log cabin seven miles from Pepin. It sits on three acres of land that are part of the original acres owned by Pa Ingalls. The owners donated the land to the city for the creation of a little park to honor Laura Ingalls Wilder. The log cabin is there, along with a picnic area and restrooms. The cabin is basically empty, except for a picnic table and a board talking about the history of Pepin and the Ingalls family.
Lunch at Bogus Creek Cafe in Stockholm, Wisconsin
Elizabeth and Lorie outside of the Bogus Creek Cafe and Bakery.
These are the "half sandwiches". You'll have to read the post to get the whole story.
They brought us a great basket of bread and spreads to eat. There was a nut bread with a strawberry spread and an orange onion bread with a dill spread. In this picture, Elizabeth is holding both her piece of onion bread and my piece, but, as I snapped the picture, I said I was going to say that she liked the bread so much, she had two pieces at once. She said, "what!" and made the face you see below. For the record, Elizabeth and I liked the onion bread/dill spread best and Lorie liked the nut bread/strawberry spread best.
These are the "half sandwiches". You'll have to read the post to get the whole story.
They brought us a great basket of bread and spreads to eat. There was a nut bread with a strawberry spread and an orange onion bread with a dill spread. In this picture, Elizabeth is holding both her piece of onion bread and my piece, but, as I snapped the picture, I said I was going to say that she liked the bread so much, she had two pieces at once. She said, "what!" and made the face you see below. For the record, Elizabeth and I liked the onion bread/dill spread best and Lorie liked the nut bread/strawberry spread best.
On Pepin River
Lorie and Elizabeth by the Pepin River at a wayside station on route 35 in Wisconsin. There are several wayside stations as you drive down route 35. There were two picnic areas here and a chemical toilet. The picnic areas also had areas for cooking. We were wishing we had something with us to have a picnic because it was a beautiful setting.
Over the River and Through the Woods in Wisconsin We Go!
It really is over the river and through the woods as you travel through Wisconsin. We decided to go to Pepin, birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, so we traveled down a little state highway, past the Mississippi River, the Pepin River, the Black River, and others. Some of the rivers we crossed multiple times. We also traveled through the woods - it often seemed it was just us, the river, and the woods. It was beautiful and green and we enjoyed our driving time today.
As we prepared to leave the hotel this morning, we realized that we had purchased some things that we needed to find a place for. Lorie said she visualized Dad and how he always packs so carefully and makes everything fit, and, lo and behold, she was able to find a place for everything and make it fit very well. Elizabeth said that she channeled her inner Bub.
While we were driving along, we stopped at several scenic outlooks and historical markers. It was interesting to learn something about Wisconsin because we really did not know much about it.
Since we were traveling down a back road, there were not very many stopping places in terms of food. We went through several small towns with just a handful of people -- between 114 and 421, depending on the town. We had thought that we would eat in Pepin but the trip was taking longer than we thought and Lorie was getting hungry. As we drove through Stockholm, we said a sign that said "Stockholm Pie Company". We turned around and drove back there, thinking that sounded like a good place to eat. It turns out that they are closed on Wednesday. This little town of Stockholm is right on the river (like all the towns we passed), but for some reason it was more tourist orientated. There were several small stores and little eating places. However, they were all closed on Wednesday, except for the Bogus Creek Cafe. So, guess where we ate?
The Bogus Creek is so named because about 100 years ago, a man was making counterfeit money. When the sheriff came to arrest him, he threw all his money-making equipment in the creek - thus, the name, Bogus Creek.
We sat outside with the mosquitoes, but there was a cool breeze. We each ordered a sandwich. They had full or half sandwiches. We ordered half - expecting that it would be a true half sandwich - in other words, a sandwich cut in half. When the sandwiches arrived, they were more like open-faced sandwiches. A piece of bread and the sandwich makings on top, but no top piece of bread. We were wondering if you ordered the whole sandwich, if you would get the top piece of bread and that would be the only difference. However, we didn't ask. There were several people there (probably because it was the only place in town that was open) and our waitress was very busy.
After eating, we continued down the road to Pepin. We drove out the seven miles away from Pepin and saw the reconstructed log house that represents the log house Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in. Then we went back to town and went through the museum. It was interesting. We were happy to have had the chance to see it.
We then had about a three hour drive to Madison where we are staying tonight. We enjoyed the drive along the Wisconsin River and past several more towns.
We are staying at the Cambria Suites tonight. It is very nice. One of our criteria for choosing this hotel was the fact that it had a coin laundry for guests. We have needed to do laundry for the past three nights, but have not had access to machines. In Fargo, North Dakota, they said they had guest laundry. When we inquired about it at the front desk, the clerk told us that there was no laundry for the guests, but that she would do it for us. We thought that sounded a little weird, so we declined. Then, we thought for sure the Ramada, next to Mall of America, would have guest laundry, but it did not. So, as we chose a hotel for tonight, we looked for location and for the guest amenities to include a coin laundry. We just talked with the young man at the front desk and told him about the clerk offering to do our laundry in Fargo. He said he had offered to do people's laundry before; he said, "That is just what we do." I guess I have to say I am impressed with the customer service we have experienced at our lodging places. :)
For some reason, spell check is not working tonight, so if there are spelling errors in this post, I apologize. Hope you all are well!
As we prepared to leave the hotel this morning, we realized that we had purchased some things that we needed to find a place for. Lorie said she visualized Dad and how he always packs so carefully and makes everything fit, and, lo and behold, she was able to find a place for everything and make it fit very well. Elizabeth said that she channeled her inner Bub.
While we were driving along, we stopped at several scenic outlooks and historical markers. It was interesting to learn something about Wisconsin because we really did not know much about it.
Since we were traveling down a back road, there were not very many stopping places in terms of food. We went through several small towns with just a handful of people -- between 114 and 421, depending on the town. We had thought that we would eat in Pepin but the trip was taking longer than we thought and Lorie was getting hungry. As we drove through Stockholm, we said a sign that said "Stockholm Pie Company". We turned around and drove back there, thinking that sounded like a good place to eat. It turns out that they are closed on Wednesday. This little town of Stockholm is right on the river (like all the towns we passed), but for some reason it was more tourist orientated. There were several small stores and little eating places. However, they were all closed on Wednesday, except for the Bogus Creek Cafe. So, guess where we ate?
The Bogus Creek is so named because about 100 years ago, a man was making counterfeit money. When the sheriff came to arrest him, he threw all his money-making equipment in the creek - thus, the name, Bogus Creek.
We sat outside with the mosquitoes, but there was a cool breeze. We each ordered a sandwich. They had full or half sandwiches. We ordered half - expecting that it would be a true half sandwich - in other words, a sandwich cut in half. When the sandwiches arrived, they were more like open-faced sandwiches. A piece of bread and the sandwich makings on top, but no top piece of bread. We were wondering if you ordered the whole sandwich, if you would get the top piece of bread and that would be the only difference. However, we didn't ask. There were several people there (probably because it was the only place in town that was open) and our waitress was very busy.
After eating, we continued down the road to Pepin. We drove out the seven miles away from Pepin and saw the reconstructed log house that represents the log house Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in. Then we went back to town and went through the museum. It was interesting. We were happy to have had the chance to see it.
We then had about a three hour drive to Madison where we are staying tonight. We enjoyed the drive along the Wisconsin River and past several more towns.
We are staying at the Cambria Suites tonight. It is very nice. One of our criteria for choosing this hotel was the fact that it had a coin laundry for guests. We have needed to do laundry for the past three nights, but have not had access to machines. In Fargo, North Dakota, they said they had guest laundry. When we inquired about it at the front desk, the clerk told us that there was no laundry for the guests, but that she would do it for us. We thought that sounded a little weird, so we declined. Then, we thought for sure the Ramada, next to Mall of America, would have guest laundry, but it did not. So, as we chose a hotel for tonight, we looked for location and for the guest amenities to include a coin laundry. We just talked with the young man at the front desk and told him about the clerk offering to do our laundry in Fargo. He said he had offered to do people's laundry before; he said, "That is just what we do." I guess I have to say I am impressed with the customer service we have experienced at our lodging places. :)
For some reason, spell check is not working tonight, so if there are spelling errors in this post, I apologize. Hope you all are well!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Shopping at the Mall
We were so happy that we were going to be in the same room for two days in a row. This is the first time this vacation that we have not had to pack up and move out. We enjoyed a great breakfast in the hotel dining room.
We are staying at a Ramada that is right across the street from the Mall of America. However, you can tell that this hotel was not originally a Ramada. It was formerly the Thunderbird Lodge. The cross street is Thunderbird Drive. The shower has a Thunderbird design on one of the tiles. The outside doors have a Thunderbird logo etched into them. The hotel dining room has an Indian type oven in the middle of it. But, the best thing, is the names of the rooms. There is the Arapaho Suite, the Choctaw Suite, the Comanche Suite, the Chippewa Room, the Cherokee Room, the Navajo Room, the Pawnee Room, and, best of the all, the Peace Pipe Gift Shop with doors made to look like bows with arrows in them. We are having fun enjoying our surroundings.
We went over the mall around 11:00 am, thinking that we would stay for a couple of hours and then go back to the room for some relaxation and maybe a nap. The next thing we knew it was after 6:00 pm!
What did we do all that time?
We shopped level two.
We had a diet coke break at Subway.
Christie purchased a piece of artwork - it is a bronze sculpture of a small boy in a tree, lying back, reading a book. It will go well with her other pieces of "people reading".
Christie and Lorie had their hair cut and styled at the salon in the mall.
Elizabeth purchased an American Girl doll, Emma Lee Grace (Emily)
We had tea at the American Girl doll bistro - this was such a fun experience.
We shopped level one.
We had a diet coke break at Cinnabon (this one included a snack of Cinnabons!)
Christie and Elizabeth both wanted to purchase something at Barnes and Noble because both of them had gift certificates and they thought it would be fun to get something from there while at Mall of America, but neither of them could find anything, so they are waiting. Maybe they will find a Barnes and Noble further down the road.
It was a fun, full day. We did a little planning tonight for the rest of our trip. Tomorrow we will be in Wisconsin. We still aren't sure which way we are going. If we take one route, we can visit another Laura Ingalls Wilder site - the location of the little house in the big woods. If we go the other way, we can visit a replica of an 1890s logging camp. We decided we will decide in the morning.
We hope you all are doing well!
We are staying at a Ramada that is right across the street from the Mall of America. However, you can tell that this hotel was not originally a Ramada. It was formerly the Thunderbird Lodge. The cross street is Thunderbird Drive. The shower has a Thunderbird design on one of the tiles. The outside doors have a Thunderbird logo etched into them. The hotel dining room has an Indian type oven in the middle of it. But, the best thing, is the names of the rooms. There is the Arapaho Suite, the Choctaw Suite, the Comanche Suite, the Chippewa Room, the Cherokee Room, the Navajo Room, the Pawnee Room, and, best of the all, the Peace Pipe Gift Shop with doors made to look like bows with arrows in them. We are having fun enjoying our surroundings.
We went over the mall around 11:00 am, thinking that we would stay for a couple of hours and then go back to the room for some relaxation and maybe a nap. The next thing we knew it was after 6:00 pm!
What did we do all that time?
We shopped level two.
We had a diet coke break at Subway.
Christie purchased a piece of artwork - it is a bronze sculpture of a small boy in a tree, lying back, reading a book. It will go well with her other pieces of "people reading".
Christie and Lorie had their hair cut and styled at the salon in the mall.
Elizabeth purchased an American Girl doll, Emma Lee Grace (Emily)
We had tea at the American Girl doll bistro - this was such a fun experience.
We shopped level one.
We had a diet coke break at Cinnabon (this one included a snack of Cinnabons!)
Christie and Elizabeth both wanted to purchase something at Barnes and Noble because both of them had gift certificates and they thought it would be fun to get something from there while at Mall of America, but neither of them could find anything, so they are waiting. Maybe they will find a Barnes and Noble further down the road.
It was a fun, full day. We did a little planning tonight for the rest of our trip. Tomorrow we will be in Wisconsin. We still aren't sure which way we are going. If we take one route, we can visit another Laura Ingalls Wilder site - the location of the little house in the big woods. If we go the other way, we can visit a replica of an 1890s logging camp. We decided we will decide in the morning.
We hope you all are doing well!
Meet Me at the Mall - July 5, 2010
We set our alarm for the first time this vacation because we wanted to be on the road by 8:00 - we were actually pulling out of the hotel parking lot at 7:45 am. (Are you impressed, Uncle Wes?) Because we were all tired, Elizabeth's backseat "cave" became a sleeping place. Each of us slept for about a third of the drive. It worked, because we were all wide awake and ready to go when we arrived at the Mall of America at around 1:00 pm.
We parked and walked in and were immediately bombarded by the sights and sounds of the mall. Elizabeth said it was like South Coast Plaza on steroids. We had called our friend, Gary, who lives about an hour from the Mall, when we were thirty miles from our destination. We called him now and told him where we had parked. He said he would meet us in about 20 minutes. We went to the American Girl Doll store (our reason for visiting the Mall of America) and began to look around. Gary met us there and we all decided to go eat some lunch.
The Mall of America has more shops, places to eat, little kiosks, etc. than a person would think possible. Over the next few hours, we ate lunch and walked and talked around two floors of the mall. We took a break and went and checked into our hotel room and talked some more. We really enjoyed seeing Gary. It is funny - we have gone several years without seeing each other and this year, we have seen each other twice - earlier this year when Gary was visiting his mother in California and now. We were so sorry that Gary's wife was not home, but she was with their daughter in Idaho. We went back to the mall for dinner at Famous Dave's. Gary had eaten there before and he recommended the family meal. It was served on a trash can lid and had some of everything they serve. It was so tasty and an unbelievable amount of food. Luckily, Gary has a sixteen-year-old son at home who will eat the leftovers!
It was a wonderful day of visiting with an old friend and enjoying being together.
On top of that, we were in a new state that none of us had been in before, we saw some beautiful lakes, and we enjoyed a short walk in the woods at one of the rest areas. Life is good!
We parked and walked in and were immediately bombarded by the sights and sounds of the mall. Elizabeth said it was like South Coast Plaza on steroids. We had called our friend, Gary, who lives about an hour from the Mall, when we were thirty miles from our destination. We called him now and told him where we had parked. He said he would meet us in about 20 minutes. We went to the American Girl Doll store (our reason for visiting the Mall of America) and began to look around. Gary met us there and we all decided to go eat some lunch.
The Mall of America has more shops, places to eat, little kiosks, etc. than a person would think possible. Over the next few hours, we ate lunch and walked and talked around two floors of the mall. We took a break and went and checked into our hotel room and talked some more. We really enjoyed seeing Gary. It is funny - we have gone several years without seeing each other and this year, we have seen each other twice - earlier this year when Gary was visiting his mother in California and now. We were so sorry that Gary's wife was not home, but she was with their daughter in Idaho. We went back to the mall for dinner at Famous Dave's. Gary had eaten there before and he recommended the family meal. It was served on a trash can lid and had some of everything they serve. It was so tasty and an unbelievable amount of food. Luckily, Gary has a sixteen-year-old son at home who will eat the leftovers!
It was a wonderful day of visiting with an old friend and enjoying being together.
On top of that, we were in a new state that none of us had been in before, we saw some beautiful lakes, and we enjoyed a short walk in the woods at one of the rest areas. Life is good!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
See Stairs, Will Climb...again and again and again
Hello all!
This is Elizabeth, I'm writing the first part of the blog today because Auntie offered and how can I refuse?
Well after reading a lot of these blog posts I've noticed that a good chunk of them say I'm sick, which I was but now I am WORLDS BETTER! It's amazing, I had a touch of food poisoning yesterday and it was no fun at all but today I'm back on my feet (literally) and having a ball.
"North Dakota Noise" is the CD I made for us to listen to in the car as we drove to ND. We listened to it (it's just a bunch of songs that I like), then we listened to Billy Joel and Trace Adkins for most of the way here. I enjoy singing "Honky Tonk Badonky Donk" with Auntie and Mom; it's fun and it helps to kill the time.
After Leaving Watertown we came here to ND and went to BONANZA town! Now... if you're like me and watch too much TV then you probably thought of that old TV show "Bonanza" with Hoss and Little Joe but this town is not that AT ALL. It reminded me of the 1880 town we just visited with a little hint of Pioneer Village (form Nebraska) I was able to take LOTS of photos there today; it's a reconstruction of a town during the North Dakota Homesteading Era (yes, I just asked Auntie to describe that, I had no words for it)
We had Root beer floats there and we were able to learn a lot about North Dakota.
However, we were not thinking before we went there and none of us sunblocked or wore hats so we took in tons of sun which made us feel worn out and done for the day.
We went "home" (hotel home) to a Hampton Inn (where we always are) and Auntie took a nap but I just HAD to get my photos developed. So my mom drove me to Walmart where we developed the photos and shopped a little.
We just finished eating at Oliver Garden (it was FANTASTIC) and now we're back at the hotel and I am writing this to you!
But I'm done now and I'm passing the keyboard to Auntie. Bye Ya'll!
Not too much to add to what Elizabeth has already said, but I did want to include a couple of more comments.
First of all, if you noticed Elizabeth's title, you may be wondering what the title means. The reason for the title is that in every single home or business we visited, we were allowed to climb the stairs into the second story. Lorie and I kept marveling over this, because in the majority of historic homes we have visited over the years, you are never allowed to climb the steep, narrow, creaking staircases. We really enjoyed ourselves. Elizabeth was not quite as enchanted with the idea of climbing the stairs every time -- she found the creaking and the dusty upstairs areas a little disconcerting. However, she climbed with us and took pictures. It is great to have our own "official" photographer.
My second comment is that we happened the visit Bonanzaville on the Fourth of July weekend and they were having a special Bluegrass and Old Time Gospel Music Festival. They had a different bluegrass band every hour, an old fashioned ice cream social, watermelon seed spitting contests, and "tractor pulls" for the children where the children pulled red wagons. They also had people in costume around the town to explain the different homes and businesses and some patriotic actors. One actor was so hot that he had the blue "breeches" of his Benjamin Franklin patriotic outfit rolled up to above his knees. It looked pretty funny.
We are going to try to get to bed early tonight because we want to get on the road earlier tomorrow morning. We are going to see our friend who lives in Minnesota and, since he has tomorrow off, we would like to be able to spend a good part of the day with him. He lives about an hour from Mall of America, which is our next destination. We are going to meet him there. We have about a five hour drive to get there.
Hope you all are doing well. We miss everyone!
This is Elizabeth, I'm writing the first part of the blog today because Auntie offered and how can I refuse?
Well after reading a lot of these blog posts I've noticed that a good chunk of them say I'm sick, which I was but now I am WORLDS BETTER! It's amazing, I had a touch of food poisoning yesterday and it was no fun at all but today I'm back on my feet (literally) and having a ball.
"North Dakota Noise" is the CD I made for us to listen to in the car as we drove to ND. We listened to it (it's just a bunch of songs that I like), then we listened to Billy Joel and Trace Adkins for most of the way here. I enjoy singing "Honky Tonk Badonky Donk" with Auntie and Mom; it's fun and it helps to kill the time.
After Leaving Watertown we came here to ND and went to BONANZA town! Now... if you're like me and watch too much TV then you probably thought of that old TV show "Bonanza" with Hoss and Little Joe but this town is not that AT ALL. It reminded me of the 1880 town we just visited with a little hint of Pioneer Village (form Nebraska) I was able to take LOTS of photos there today; it's a reconstruction of a town during the North Dakota Homesteading Era (yes, I just asked Auntie to describe that, I had no words for it)
We had Root beer floats there and we were able to learn a lot about North Dakota.
However, we were not thinking before we went there and none of us sunblocked or wore hats so we took in tons of sun which made us feel worn out and done for the day.
We went "home" (hotel home) to a Hampton Inn (where we always are) and Auntie took a nap but I just HAD to get my photos developed. So my mom drove me to Walmart where we developed the photos and shopped a little.
We just finished eating at Oliver Garden (it was FANTASTIC) and now we're back at the hotel and I am writing this to you!
But I'm done now and I'm passing the keyboard to Auntie. Bye Ya'll!
Not too much to add to what Elizabeth has already said, but I did want to include a couple of more comments.
First of all, if you noticed Elizabeth's title, you may be wondering what the title means. The reason for the title is that in every single home or business we visited, we were allowed to climb the stairs into the second story. Lorie and I kept marveling over this, because in the majority of historic homes we have visited over the years, you are never allowed to climb the steep, narrow, creaking staircases. We really enjoyed ourselves. Elizabeth was not quite as enchanted with the idea of climbing the stairs every time -- she found the creaking and the dusty upstairs areas a little disconcerting. However, she climbed with us and took pictures. It is great to have our own "official" photographer.
My second comment is that we happened the visit Bonanzaville on the Fourth of July weekend and they were having a special Bluegrass and Old Time Gospel Music Festival. They had a different bluegrass band every hour, an old fashioned ice cream social, watermelon seed spitting contests, and "tractor pulls" for the children where the children pulled red wagons. They also had people in costume around the town to explain the different homes and businesses and some patriotic actors. One actor was so hot that he had the blue "breeches" of his Benjamin Franklin patriotic outfit rolled up to above his knees. It looked pretty funny.
We are going to try to get to bed early tonight because we want to get on the road earlier tomorrow morning. We are going to see our friend who lives in Minnesota and, since he has tomorrow off, we would like to be able to spend a good part of the day with him. He lives about an hour from Mall of America, which is our next destination. We are going to meet him there. We have about a five hour drive to get there.
Hope you all are doing well. We miss everyone!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Where in the World Are You?
If we haven't been in touch with you, we apologize. For most of our drive across South Dakota, we have had little to zero cell phone reception with our Cingular phones. Sometimes we will see a bar and we think, "Great. We can call now," and, that quickly, it disappears. And, our internet connections at our hotels have not been the best. So, there are several new posts here to catch up and we will keep trying to stay in touch. But, if we are not in touch, remember that we are having a great time and we love all of you!
Wilder Geeks Unite!
Well, we are not really Laura Ingalls Wilder Geeks, but we did enjoy our afternoon in De Smet, South Dakota. Once we knew we were going to drive across South Dakota, Lorie and I said, "Let's go see the Laura Ingalls Wilder site." Elizabeth did not really know who Laura Ingalls Wilder was, but she was game for going.
Elizabeth had a really rough night, so we let her sleep in this morning. We got on the road around 10:30 and drive for about two hours to De Smet, the location of By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. We did not realize how much there was to see about Laura in De Smet. It was unbelievable. We really could have used a full day. There are also sites connected to Harvey Dunn, a watercolor artist who was born on a South Dakota homestead near De Smet in 1884. He paints scenes based on his early childhood experiences.
We began our visit at Loftus General Store. This store is mentioned in the books and it has been in operation for over 140 years. We then went to Depot Museum and the school that Harvey Dunn attended. After that, we began the Laura Ingalls Wilder tour. It started at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Headquarters. They have moved the surveyors' cabin, the Brewster school, and the first school in De Smet that Laura and Carrie attended, to their location. We had a tour of those three buildings and then everyone went in their own cars and followed the tour director about 2 miles to Ma and Pa Ingalls home in De Smet where they lived after they moved off the prairie into town. It was a very nice home - not the way one usually pictures them living. After Pa sold the farm, they moved into town and he built them a three room house. He then continued adding on to it as he had time and money. They ended up with a home with a living room, dining room, large kitchen, two downstairs bedrooms and three upstairs bedrooms. Ma actually rented out rooms after Pa died to help support Mary and her.
Following the official tour, there was a map of different sites you could drive or walk by in town, drive out to the cemetery and see the family graves, and drive to Silver Lake, the site of Pa's homestead and the site of Laura and Almanzo's homestead. Some of the cottonwood trees Pa planted are still standing and some of the trees Almanzo planted on his timber claim are still standing.
Elizabeth was feeling very badly today. She slept in the car most of the day. We kept parking under trees and leaving all the windows open. She did walk through the surveyors' house and the two schools with us, but that was all.
After the official tour, we went to Subway before doing any driving. Elizabeth said that she felt much better after eating and she did perk up. She said she was afraid to say she was feeling better though. Lorie and I both understood - food poisoning gives you that feeling that it might come back.
We drove out to the cemetery and saw Pa's grave, Ma's grave, Carrie's grave, Mary's grave, and the grave of Laura and Almanzo's baby son. If you walked around the cemetery, you could see several other graves from people in her books.
We drove by Silver Lake, Pa's claim, and by the spot where you would leave the road for Laura and Almanzo's claim. We really enjoyed ourselves. Elizabeth said she wants to read the Little House books now.
We are spending the night tonight in Watertown. Tomorrow we are driving to Fargo, North Dakota. If we get there early enough, we are going to try to see Bonanza, another prairie town replica. If we don't see that, we are just going to relax and enjoy the evening. We hope we can see some fireworks from our hotel room.
Happy Fourth of July to everyone!
Elizabeth had a really rough night, so we let her sleep in this morning. We got on the road around 10:30 and drive for about two hours to De Smet, the location of By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, These Happy Golden Years, and The First Four Years. We did not realize how much there was to see about Laura in De Smet. It was unbelievable. We really could have used a full day. There are also sites connected to Harvey Dunn, a watercolor artist who was born on a South Dakota homestead near De Smet in 1884. He paints scenes based on his early childhood experiences.
We began our visit at Loftus General Store. This store is mentioned in the books and it has been in operation for over 140 years. We then went to Depot Museum and the school that Harvey Dunn attended. After that, we began the Laura Ingalls Wilder tour. It started at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society Headquarters. They have moved the surveyors' cabin, the Brewster school, and the first school in De Smet that Laura and Carrie attended, to their location. We had a tour of those three buildings and then everyone went in their own cars and followed the tour director about 2 miles to Ma and Pa Ingalls home in De Smet where they lived after they moved off the prairie into town. It was a very nice home - not the way one usually pictures them living. After Pa sold the farm, they moved into town and he built them a three room house. He then continued adding on to it as he had time and money. They ended up with a home with a living room, dining room, large kitchen, two downstairs bedrooms and three upstairs bedrooms. Ma actually rented out rooms after Pa died to help support Mary and her.
Following the official tour, there was a map of different sites you could drive or walk by in town, drive out to the cemetery and see the family graves, and drive to Silver Lake, the site of Pa's homestead and the site of Laura and Almanzo's homestead. Some of the cottonwood trees Pa planted are still standing and some of the trees Almanzo planted on his timber claim are still standing.
Elizabeth was feeling very badly today. She slept in the car most of the day. We kept parking under trees and leaving all the windows open. She did walk through the surveyors' house and the two schools with us, but that was all.
After the official tour, we went to Subway before doing any driving. Elizabeth said that she felt much better after eating and she did perk up. She said she was afraid to say she was feeling better though. Lorie and I both understood - food poisoning gives you that feeling that it might come back.
We drove out to the cemetery and saw Pa's grave, Ma's grave, Carrie's grave, Mary's grave, and the grave of Laura and Almanzo's baby son. If you walked around the cemetery, you could see several other graves from people in her books.
We drove by Silver Lake, Pa's claim, and by the spot where you would leave the road for Laura and Almanzo's claim. We really enjoyed ourselves. Elizabeth said she wants to read the Little House books now.
We are spending the night tonight in Watertown. Tomorrow we are driving to Fargo, North Dakota. If we get there early enough, we are going to try to see Bonanza, another prairie town replica. If we don't see that, we are just going to relax and enjoy the evening. We hope we can see some fireworks from our hotel room.
Happy Fourth of July to everyone!
South Dakota Skies - July 2, 2010
"South Dakota Skies" is the title of the CD Elizabeth put together for us to listen to as we drove through South Dakota. It is a mix of all types of artists and music. We are enjoying it, but would enjoy it even more if Elizabeth felt better. She is fighting a sore throat and ear ache. We think that the air conditioning may be a contributing factor.
We started the morning by backtracking twenty miles to 1880s town. We saw it last night, but it was too late to stop. 1880s town was created in the 1960s by a man who wanted to recreate what a South Dakota town really looked like in 1880. He purchased buildings and items from all over South Dakota and moved them to this site. It was very interesting. The buildings were set up like a town street and everything you think would be there was there - homes, newspaper office, banks, post office, hotel, 2 saloons, a church, train depot, over 20 buildings in all. You could also take a wagon ride out on the prairie to a homesteaders' shanty, you could walk out to the windmill and field of Texas longhorns. There was also a round, fourteen-sided barn that had costumes and props from the movie, Dancing with Wolves, that was filmed in South Dakota.
We ate in a restored dining car that was decorated to look like a 1950s diner. The food was excellent.
One highlight of our visit was the stage show at the saloon. It was good in itself, but what made it really fun was at the end when the performers brought up three children to perform with them. One little boy had so much personality that he made us laugh until we cried. And, the two performers milked him for all he was worth. It was great.
We continued down the road to Mitchell. After we crossed the Missouri River, we stopped at Lewis and Clark interpretive center. It was interesting to learn more about their journey. We got to walk on a replica of their keel boat and see the types of things they took with them. There was a replica of how their camp would have looked and lots of information about the Indian tribes they met with. There also was a section about all the animals and wildlife they learned about as they traveled.
When we got to Mitchell, we checked into our hotel and then went to see the Corn Palace that Mitchell is famous for. Of course, before we went into the building, we had to stop and have some ice cream. The flavor of the day was Milky Way Sundae and the ice cream is served in homemade waffle cones or bowls. It was good. Because it was so warm, you had to eat quickly or you would have ended up having ice cream soup.
At Corn Palace, we watched a short movie about the history of it and then had a tour. It was interesting to hear about how the theme for each year is developed and how the murals are made. We enjoyed learning about it.
For dinner, we went to Ruby Tuesdays. We were so excited to see a full salad bar. We have not been in a place with a salad bar since we left California. We really enjoyed it. And, for those of you who are wondering, we did not have dessert! (Since we'd already had ice cream and all......)
When we returned to the hotel room, we were all so tired, that we just went right to bed. In the night, Elizabeth got ill. We think she had a touch of food poisoning---her stomach had not been feeling well since lunch time. She had a pretty miserable night.
We started the morning by backtracking twenty miles to 1880s town. We saw it last night, but it was too late to stop. 1880s town was created in the 1960s by a man who wanted to recreate what a South Dakota town really looked like in 1880. He purchased buildings and items from all over South Dakota and moved them to this site. It was very interesting. The buildings were set up like a town street and everything you think would be there was there - homes, newspaper office, banks, post office, hotel, 2 saloons, a church, train depot, over 20 buildings in all. You could also take a wagon ride out on the prairie to a homesteaders' shanty, you could walk out to the windmill and field of Texas longhorns. There was also a round, fourteen-sided barn that had costumes and props from the movie, Dancing with Wolves, that was filmed in South Dakota.
We ate in a restored dining car that was decorated to look like a 1950s diner. The food was excellent.
One highlight of our visit was the stage show at the saloon. It was good in itself, but what made it really fun was at the end when the performers brought up three children to perform with them. One little boy had so much personality that he made us laugh until we cried. And, the two performers milked him for all he was worth. It was great.
We continued down the road to Mitchell. After we crossed the Missouri River, we stopped at Lewis and Clark interpretive center. It was interesting to learn more about their journey. We got to walk on a replica of their keel boat and see the types of things they took with them. There was a replica of how their camp would have looked and lots of information about the Indian tribes they met with. There also was a section about all the animals and wildlife they learned about as they traveled.
When we got to Mitchell, we checked into our hotel and then went to see the Corn Palace that Mitchell is famous for. Of course, before we went into the building, we had to stop and have some ice cream. The flavor of the day was Milky Way Sundae and the ice cream is served in homemade waffle cones or bowls. It was good. Because it was so warm, you had to eat quickly or you would have ended up having ice cream soup.
At Corn Palace, we watched a short movie about the history of it and then had a tour. It was interesting to hear about how the theme for each year is developed and how the murals are made. We enjoyed learning about it.
For dinner, we went to Ruby Tuesdays. We were so excited to see a full salad bar. We have not been in a place with a salad bar since we left California. We really enjoyed it. And, for those of you who are wondering, we did not have dessert! (Since we'd already had ice cream and all......)
When we returned to the hotel room, we were all so tired, that we just went right to bed. In the night, Elizabeth got ill. We think she had a touch of food poisoning---her stomach had not been feeling well since lunch time. She had a pretty miserable night.
Lions, Tigers, and Bears....Oh, My! July 1, 2010
Actually, it was bears, jackolopes, and praire dogs...oh, my!
One of our goals on this trip was to see animals for Lorie. Well, we have seen many animals as we have been driving, however, Lorie says that the dead ones don't count. "Roadkill is not a zoo," she stated. So, today we intentionally visited a place for animals.
We visited Bear Country, USA, outside of Rapid City, SD. For those of you who were in Orange County in the 1970s, think Lion Country Safari. Bear Country was started in 1972. It is a three mile drive through eight different areas. The areas are: elk, reindeer, timber wolves, artic wolves, mountian lions, bison, big horn sheep, and bears. You drive through in your car at a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (we actually moved much slower). It is unbeleivable. We had three elk cross right in front of us. We saw timber wolves staring from the grass. One bison was up close where we could see it very well. It was a white bison - I had never seen a white bison before. There was four other bison down the hill. One was a baby. One of the others was rolling in the dirt - it was great to see that!
The highlight of the experience though was the bear section. There were over twenty bears - both black bears and grizzlies, just wandering around. We saw one swimming and get out of the pond and shake himself dry. We saw others walking around, sleeping on branches, scratching backs against trees, walking across the road in front of our cars - it was just fantastic. We had so much fun. We wished we could have driven through again.
After the drive, we walked through Babyland, where some of the baby animals are kept so they can grow before being put into the areas. We also ate lunch at the Grizzly Cafe.
We then continued down the road. We had decided to stay in Murdo because it was a good halfway point. We weren't quite sure what we were going to do in South Dakota, so staying at Murdo gave us a choice between contining east or changing direction and going north.
We stopped at Wall Drug because it is the thing to do when you are in Wall. We especially enjoyed the "backyard" with its huge "creatures". Lorie had her picture taken on a fourteen foot tall jackolope, hugging two different six foot rabbits, and posing in front of a huge t-rex that roared and gnashed its teeth. We convinced Elizabeth to have her picture taken with a six-foot white rabbit that we named "Harvey". She went along with us, but she let us know that she thought we were weird. I believe her actual word was "deranged". :)
We said when we began this trip that we were going to stop at anything that looked interesting and we have been doing that. It is has been so much fun. Today we saw "Praire Homestead" on our map and we saw signs for it. We decided that sounded good, so we stopped. It was about three miles off the interstate. When we pulled up, we were the only people there. It looked like an old general store building from the front and there were all kinds of old farm implements out front. As we walked up on the porch, there was a figure in a rocking chair and it began "speaking" to us. It about scared Elizabeth out of her pants. The figure looked like the figures in the Knotts' Berry Farm ghost town. It was a supposed to be a version of the man who had homesteaded on this property. We continued inside and purchased tickets that let us walk through the homestead. It was so much fun.
First of all, the area was heavily populated with prairie dogs. We purchased a bag of peanuts for fifty cents so we could feed them. They acted just as they do on nature movies. They would pop up, look around, and squeak. When we tossed the peanuts, they ran, grabbed the peanut, sat up, shelled it, and then nibbled the peanut. It was hilarous to watch.
We then continued up the hill to the little house that was their homestead. You could just walk right in, and look at and touch anything you wanted to. We were saying, "Never in California." Near the house was the root cellar. You could climb down the steps and go into it. The dirt overhead was falling in and it was unbelieveable that we were allowed to go into it. We saw the outhouse and other outbuildings, including the barn where there are still chickens, goats, and geese. (and, of course, more praire dogs) I said this before, but I will say it again: We had so much fun.
When we got into Murdo, we checked into our hotel. We went to a local restaurant - a sign at the entrance said "Seat yourself. Choose any empty table or booth and please be patient." We think sometimes they must get tour buses in. The food was okay, but the highlight was dessert. We each had our own tonight - Lorie and I had brownie sundaes and Elizabeth had strawberry shortcake.
After dinner, we drove around looking for an ATM machine. Neither of the two banks in town had an outside ATM machine. We figured that the gas station truck stop on the edge of town would have one and decided to check when we purchased gas the next morning.
The last thing we did before returning the hotel room was go to the car wash and wash the car. It was filthy and we wanted to get some of the dirt off. Lorie and I used the power sprayer and soaper and Elizabeth laughed and took pictures. She says it was a great comedy show. I was happy the car was clean.
I was hoping to post about this day when we returned to the hotel, but, while we did have high speed internet, it wasn't really working, and I was too tired to play with it. So, dear readers, you are getting this post a couple of days late.
One of our goals on this trip was to see animals for Lorie. Well, we have seen many animals as we have been driving, however, Lorie says that the dead ones don't count. "Roadkill is not a zoo," she stated. So, today we intentionally visited a place for animals.
We visited Bear Country, USA, outside of Rapid City, SD. For those of you who were in Orange County in the 1970s, think Lion Country Safari. Bear Country was started in 1972. It is a three mile drive through eight different areas. The areas are: elk, reindeer, timber wolves, artic wolves, mountian lions, bison, big horn sheep, and bears. You drive through in your car at a maximum speed of 10 miles per hour (we actually moved much slower). It is unbeleivable. We had three elk cross right in front of us. We saw timber wolves staring from the grass. One bison was up close where we could see it very well. It was a white bison - I had never seen a white bison before. There was four other bison down the hill. One was a baby. One of the others was rolling in the dirt - it was great to see that!
The highlight of the experience though was the bear section. There were over twenty bears - both black bears and grizzlies, just wandering around. We saw one swimming and get out of the pond and shake himself dry. We saw others walking around, sleeping on branches, scratching backs against trees, walking across the road in front of our cars - it was just fantastic. We had so much fun. We wished we could have driven through again.
After the drive, we walked through Babyland, where some of the baby animals are kept so they can grow before being put into the areas. We also ate lunch at the Grizzly Cafe.
We then continued down the road. We had decided to stay in Murdo because it was a good halfway point. We weren't quite sure what we were going to do in South Dakota, so staying at Murdo gave us a choice between contining east or changing direction and going north.
We stopped at Wall Drug because it is the thing to do when you are in Wall. We especially enjoyed the "backyard" with its huge "creatures". Lorie had her picture taken on a fourteen foot tall jackolope, hugging two different six foot rabbits, and posing in front of a huge t-rex that roared and gnashed its teeth. We convinced Elizabeth to have her picture taken with a six-foot white rabbit that we named "Harvey". She went along with us, but she let us know that she thought we were weird. I believe her actual word was "deranged". :)
We said when we began this trip that we were going to stop at anything that looked interesting and we have been doing that. It is has been so much fun. Today we saw "Praire Homestead" on our map and we saw signs for it. We decided that sounded good, so we stopped. It was about three miles off the interstate. When we pulled up, we were the only people there. It looked like an old general store building from the front and there were all kinds of old farm implements out front. As we walked up on the porch, there was a figure in a rocking chair and it began "speaking" to us. It about scared Elizabeth out of her pants. The figure looked like the figures in the Knotts' Berry Farm ghost town. It was a supposed to be a version of the man who had homesteaded on this property. We continued inside and purchased tickets that let us walk through the homestead. It was so much fun.
First of all, the area was heavily populated with prairie dogs. We purchased a bag of peanuts for fifty cents so we could feed them. They acted just as they do on nature movies. They would pop up, look around, and squeak. When we tossed the peanuts, they ran, grabbed the peanut, sat up, shelled it, and then nibbled the peanut. It was hilarous to watch.
We then continued up the hill to the little house that was their homestead. You could just walk right in, and look at and touch anything you wanted to. We were saying, "Never in California." Near the house was the root cellar. You could climb down the steps and go into it. The dirt overhead was falling in and it was unbelieveable that we were allowed to go into it. We saw the outhouse and other outbuildings, including the barn where there are still chickens, goats, and geese. (and, of course, more praire dogs) I said this before, but I will say it again: We had so much fun.
When we got into Murdo, we checked into our hotel. We went to a local restaurant - a sign at the entrance said "Seat yourself. Choose any empty table or booth and please be patient." We think sometimes they must get tour buses in. The food was okay, but the highlight was dessert. We each had our own tonight - Lorie and I had brownie sundaes and Elizabeth had strawberry shortcake.
After dinner, we drove around looking for an ATM machine. Neither of the two banks in town had an outside ATM machine. We figured that the gas station truck stop on the edge of town would have one and decided to check when we purchased gas the next morning.
The last thing we did before returning the hotel room was go to the car wash and wash the car. It was filthy and we wanted to get some of the dirt off. Lorie and I used the power sprayer and soaper and Elizabeth laughed and took pictures. She says it was a great comedy show. I was happy the car was clean.
I was hoping to post about this day when we returned to the hotel, but, while we did have high speed internet, it wasn't really working, and I was too tired to play with it. So, dear readers, you are getting this post a couple of days late.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Relaxation, Rest, and Rushmore
Today was a quiet day - little driving and lots of talking.
Across the street from our hotel is the Flintstones' Bedrock Campground. The buildings look like they are from the cartoon and there is a little park full of Flintstone things to play on. We went to the Bedrock City gift shop and looked around and then to the Snack Shop for.....you guessed it...Diet Coke. While at the Snack Shop, we talked with the people running it. They are RVers and have been for the past 12 years. They travel around to different RV parks and work at some of them. They are working the snack shop this year for the season (May-second week in September). Then, they will be off again. They wintered last year in Texas, but don't know where they are going to be this year. It was very interesting to talk with them.
We then went and walked through downtown Custer. We went in several little shops and talked to many interesting people. There is a great used bookstore in Custer called Second Hand Roost. We all agreed we could have stayed there for a long time.
We went to a a Rustic Pine Store. The woman running the store told us that her husband makes everything they are selling. We talked about the beauty of the pieces and how they create them.
We ate lunch at the Purple Pie Place. We each had the Purple Pie Special: sandwich, side, and piece of pie. We decided that is what Dad would have ordered if he were here with us. We talked with the owner. His home is in San Clemente, CA. He brought this place last year and they are living up here during the season, running the pie shop, and then in San Clemente during the winter. He said they brought the place with the furniture, recipes, and all and this winter he is going to create an online site and sell the recipes there.
After lunch, we decided we were tired. (Probably from all that talking.) Also, Elizabeth is fighting a cold. We went back to the hotel and all took naps. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.
About three o'clock we drove up to Mt. Rushmore. We enjoyed walking through the museum and around the grounds, but our favorite thing was the evening lighting ceremony. It is unbelievable to see those faces on the mountain. Even though she has seen it before, Lorie is still in awe that those faces could be carved out of stone. It is awe inspiring and it does make you think about our country.
To complete our day of talking to people, we talked to a woman in the bookstore who is there for the summer. She and her husband spent their first six years after retirement traveling around the United States, looking for the perfect place to live. They found the perfect place in Colorado, but could not afford it, so they ended up in Prescott, Arizona. However, it is too hot in the summertime, so they go other places in the summer. This year, they are at Mount Rushmore working for the season.
The last people we met this evening were an older couple from England. They are here for a square dance convention in Kentucky. I didn't even know that people in England square danced. They said they love it and have been involved since 2002. They are now on an extended tour of the United States and will end up in Las Vegas before going home.
We ended our day, sitting out behind the hotel by the waterfall watching the fire pit. It was beautiful and calm. It is amazing to see the stars in the sky. We could see the Big Dipper just like it was a picture.
Now, it is Thursday and we are getting ready to leave the hotel. Elizabeth said, "It is hard to find a hotel you like so much and then have to leave it."
Across the street from our hotel is the Flintstones' Bedrock Campground. The buildings look like they are from the cartoon and there is a little park full of Flintstone things to play on. We went to the Bedrock City gift shop and looked around and then to the Snack Shop for.....you guessed it...Diet Coke. While at the Snack Shop, we talked with the people running it. They are RVers and have been for the past 12 years. They travel around to different RV parks and work at some of them. They are working the snack shop this year for the season (May-second week in September). Then, they will be off again. They wintered last year in Texas, but don't know where they are going to be this year. It was very interesting to talk with them.
We then went and walked through downtown Custer. We went in several little shops and talked to many interesting people. There is a great used bookstore in Custer called Second Hand Roost. We all agreed we could have stayed there for a long time.
We went to a a Rustic Pine Store. The woman running the store told us that her husband makes everything they are selling. We talked about the beauty of the pieces and how they create them.
We ate lunch at the Purple Pie Place. We each had the Purple Pie Special: sandwich, side, and piece of pie. We decided that is what Dad would have ordered if he were here with us. We talked with the owner. His home is in San Clemente, CA. He brought this place last year and they are living up here during the season, running the pie shop, and then in San Clemente during the winter. He said they brought the place with the furniture, recipes, and all and this winter he is going to create an online site and sell the recipes there.
After lunch, we decided we were tired. (Probably from all that talking.) Also, Elizabeth is fighting a cold. We went back to the hotel and all took naps. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.
About three o'clock we drove up to Mt. Rushmore. We enjoyed walking through the museum and around the grounds, but our favorite thing was the evening lighting ceremony. It is unbelievable to see those faces on the mountain. Even though she has seen it before, Lorie is still in awe that those faces could be carved out of stone. It is awe inspiring and it does make you think about our country.
To complete our day of talking to people, we talked to a woman in the bookstore who is there for the summer. She and her husband spent their first six years after retirement traveling around the United States, looking for the perfect place to live. They found the perfect place in Colorado, but could not afford it, so they ended up in Prescott, Arizona. However, it is too hot in the summertime, so they go other places in the summer. This year, they are at Mount Rushmore working for the season.
The last people we met this evening were an older couple from England. They are here for a square dance convention in Kentucky. I didn't even know that people in England square danced. They said they love it and have been involved since 2002. They are now on an extended tour of the United States and will end up in Las Vegas before going home.
We ended our day, sitting out behind the hotel by the waterfall watching the fire pit. It was beautiful and calm. It is amazing to see the stars in the sky. We could see the Big Dipper just like it was a picture.
Now, it is Thursday and we are getting ready to leave the hotel. Elizabeth said, "It is hard to find a hotel you like so much and then have to leave it."
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