Girls' Weekend in Minnesota

You know that I'm a Paper Crafter. One of the ladies I craft with went to this big Paper Crafting event in Minneapolis last year and has not stopped talking about it. She invited the rest of us to go with her, but we didn't jump at the invitation. Ever since she returned, she has been raving about it. So of course we had to go this year. She was off with her husband and didn't come with us. She did leave us with plenty of instructions and suggestions though.

Our flight left at 6:00 AM!!!! Who knew there were flights at this time? 

The event is called Scrapfest 2013 and it's sponsored by Archiver's, a chain of stores that I would LOVE to have here locally...Dave, very happy they're across the country. They carry all the cool, hip, and happening items, and the displays are fabulous! Seriously, look at all this paper!

Did I tell you the event is at the Mall of America? This is the largest Mall....filled with plenty of stores, restaurants, and an entire amusement park!!!!!

There's a Lego store with all sorts of displays...made from Legos of course. There's even a section where anyone can wander in and build something

Archiver's is located in the Mall. They hold the event through out the Mall. There are displays galore, "Make and Takes" (I made two necklaces at a bead store that are so cool people stop and ask about them! and NO I will not be taking up beading and/or jewelry making), and all the paper crafting Rock Stars teaching classes....Tim Holtz, Becky Higgins, Teresa Collins, and plenty more.

We rode the light rail (the ticket machines give change in dollar coins! Very fun! a little heavy to carry around and then all the stores know where you've been when you pay in dollar coins!) to the downtown. This was Sunday and the Vikings were playing at home. The fans are about as hopeful as a Raider fan. They thought for sure they'd win.....they lost. Here's the Mary Tyler Moore statue in front of Macy's (which has the LARGEST inventory of scarves.....for winter....seriously, racks and racks, aisles and aisles).

There were plenty of interesting buildings....like this wall filled with music. We walked past the Dakota Club to see if anyone interesting was playing. The flyways that connect the buildings are very interesting. My photos didn't turn out too well. I may snag Teresa's later on to show you. They're definitely something you won't see in CA!

We had really good meals....except for the free breakfast which we only ate once. The restaurants in the Mall run from the usual McDonald's, A&W, Cinnabon and then to Grille's with old school wood panelling and linens, and then we even had Sushi. We did not starve. We discovered Minnesota's Wild Rice Corn Chowder which is seriously the best ever.

My favorite meal was meeting up with my brother, his wife, and son. They took us to their favorite family restaurant, "It's Greek to Me". I have no idea what we ate, but it was delicious. I mostly liked the company. We live so far apart that we hardly ever see one another. It was a real treat.

The weather was absolutely the best and the people are the nicest. All the jokes about the uber polite people? Yep, they're all true. I was startled the first time a child cut in front of us and the mom immediately corrected him and told him "that's not nice to do that to people". Now there's something you don't hear too often around here.

We did our part for the Minnesota economy. I even purchased a suitcase to bring home all my new loot. There's no sales tax on clothing and shoes, how could I resist? Teresa did introduce me to several new stores and we both discovered Flips. This is a store that sells nothing but......flip flops! Dave even has a new pair. I have no idea why this isn't in CA.

The sales people were all so nice (Minnesotans!) articulate and educated. Most of them had at least two jobs. Honestly, I don't know how the young people can make it.

Great time, glad we went, not sure that I'd go all this way again. Perhaps next time a long weekend to....?????

Theo is Two!!!

Our #2 grandson turned Two. He didn't get a Birthday when he turned One, so his Mama decided to make it up with a super Second Birthday party. And since we are the Swenson Annex, it was at our home. It ended up at the tail end of our two week visit from our cleaning people and we actually had to tidy up on our own to prepare. Oh well.

We had a house full of people that we love and that love us, does it get any better? Nope!

Theo is fearless and lovable. He gives the best snuggles and kisses.

As soon as he enters our house he runs and leaps in to our arms for a snuggle and a kiss. And to ask for  juice and a cracker (which is his word for snack). Sometimes he leaps before we're ready to grab him and there have been those times that he falls back and smacks his little head. No worries, he jumps up and gets a hug. He has a slight club foot which means he trips and falls, and then he gets right up. I think he will grow up to be resilient, persistent, and not a whiner. The sparkle in his eyes and sweet grin will open many doors and arms.

Theo refers to himself as "me". He's clear that he wants something and is not afraid to take it. Especially if his older brother may have what he wants. He does admire and adore his older brother. If both seats are open, he'll go for his brother's.

He calls his sister "Juju" and that's now her nickname. He will snuggle and kiss his sister. If she happens to be on the floor for some tummy time, both boys are all over her with snuggles and kisses. Theo may push her head down in to the floor until she screams and we rescue her. She doesn't get much tummy time. It isn't safe with the adoration of her two rough and tumble brothers.

Theo is a boy of action and so far has not embraced sitting on a lap and reading a book for anything longer than a few seconds. He is getting better. That may be to humor is G.Ma.

This boy is still a terribly messy eater. He shoves huge amounts of food in to his mouth. It is horribly unsightly and dangerous. We're working on getting him to take smaller bites, chew and swallow, then take another bite. We have a lot more training to do.

Theo is a serious dirt magnet. He can take a bath with a full scrubbing and then within an hour be grungy again. We're not quite sure how he does this, right before our eyes.

We are so in love with this little guy and can't hug him enough.

Knowing That Your Schedule Is Way Too Full

So I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger and I'm not sure that's a good thing.  I can feel my anxiety level rise and am most definitely losing my sweetness. It is nearly impossible to remain sweet when you haven't any margin in your life. Now the hard part, cutting back.

The last time I remember being this way was years ago when I tried to fit too many things in to my schedule. When you're dreading going on vacation because you are just too darned busy, that is a sign that you need to make changes in your life.

How did I get in this situation? I had a pretty full schedule and then I accepted the teaching assignment . I am now over the edge. I'm pretty sure that the first time teaching a class requires a ridiculous amount of preparation. That doesn't even count the time to learn all the new systems and programs. So do I teach the next semester? Just to see if the second time around is much less time? First I need to be invited to return. Then we'll talk about it.

Why Yes, We Are Alive

You know how you see someone that you haven't seen in ages and they ask "What have you been up to?" and you can't think of a single thing to tell them? I just tell them I'm crazy busy but nothing terribly exciting. How can that happen? Want details? Here goes......

Since we last met, the app "MyFitnessPal" is my new best friend. If you haven't heard of this one, this is a free app that's used to track the calories consumed and even credits you for activities. I won't go in to detail, just that the horrible escalation of the numbers on our scale have finally stopped climbing and have reversed direction.  I've resumed WW, that's mostly to spend time with my friend....and to face someone at the scale as well as receive new ideas, encouragement, and "atta girl". The WW app is not nearly as easy as MyFitnessPal. My man is on board too. We boldly went in to uncharted territory together, so we're righting the ship together.  The first two weeks have worked quite well.

Then there's my new job. Yep, that's right, I'm an employee. First time I've been an employee in 25 years! Funny since I went back to my old job! I'm teaching accounting at the local community college. I wasn't really looking for more work, it fell in to my lap and I couldn't say no. During the summer I had hours, and hours, and hours, and more hours of training, learning, meetings (my idea of hell on earth), and watching online tutorials. Now that class has started, it is exhilarating and exhausting.

Crafting time has been few and far between. I cannot even remember the last time I completed a scrapbook page. I have yet to finish the vacation album for Spain and we're almost ready for our next non-riding trip. I have sorted everything from our riding trip and have yet to put things in their proper pages. Living life now, will scrap it later.

Oh, and the grandchildren? They are even cuter than the last time we chatted! I know, that's hard to believe, but true.

Mr. & Mrs. Telstad

We attend plenty of weddings. I sometimes joke that we're professional wedding attenders. Well, we just went to a special wedding for a very special couple. Our lovely, sweet, and adorable niece was married! We LOVE her husband. At first, we loved him because he loved and adored her. He treated her special, as it should be. Then, we loved him because of who he is, fabulous young man.

The wedding was so wonderful. We enjoyed chatting with all the family and friends. Everyone was kind, considerate, and joyful. If you dreamed of what a wedding should be, this was it. The three toasts were emotional and humorous. Her father brought down the house and had us all smiling and weeping at the same time. He had props too, her elephant slippers from when she was nine!

 

J took lovely photos so here's the link to her post: http://theswensonfamily.blogspot.com/2013/07/michelle-scott.html

We love Michelle, Scott and our whole new family!

Best Wishes for a Happily Ever After!!!!

This Little Guy LOVES Running Water!!!

It's hot, T is having a tough time inside. What to do? I know.....let's take him outside and turn on the faucet!

I gave him a big plastic bowl that he could stand in, arrange for the water to fill it up, lift and dump the water on the plants, put it on his head. There were all sorts of possibilities. I didn't allow him to use the hose though!

And when he was thoroughly soaked, I wrapped him in a towel and we came back inside to put on a dry diaper and toss the wet clothes in the dryer. See how easy that is?

Isn't He Cute?

Here's my youngest grandson. Isn't he cute?

Doesn't he look sweet? And innocent? Well, I should probably tell you that he's sitting in his big brother's seat. Drinking his big brother's juice. He's like any little brother. He wants whatever his big brother has. And that includes the seat and the juice. Still, he is just adorable!

What Do You Remember?

As we're sitting around eating our dessert, Strawberry Sparkle Cake, we're chatting and I say to J, "I wonder what they'll remember about Family Dinner and what they did at their grandparents' home". J turns to E and asks "what do you do at G.Ma's?" and E says "I watch Octonauts".

We laugh and I say, "I wonder what else he'll remember". So J asks E, "what else do you do at G.Ma's?" and E responds "watch more Octonauts".

Argh!!!! What about all those books we read? and the T-Ball? and the walks? and the.....well, you get my drift.

It will be interesting to see what he remembers when he's older. I hope I'm around to hear what he remembers. And I really hope that it's not all the episodes of Octonauts that he watched!!!!

Best Family Dinner, EVER!!!!

I may have hit it out of the ballpark on this one. Thank You to Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman. I was working on the menu, looking for inspiration, and once again, found the perfect answer on Ree's website. She makes real food, for real people. I read out the title, sometimes give some of the ingredients, to Dave and we go from there. I bet you're wondering what we served.....here it is:

Pork Sandwiches with Cilantro-Jalapeno Slaw

Baked beans....okay, some pieces and parts are just fine dumped from a can and heated up. Sheesh, I don't do everything from scratch.

Strawberry Sparkle Cake, my boys LOVE it when grandma brings out the mixer...they know they're going to get a beater to lick. What happens when all three want a beater? There are only two beaters. Oh no!!!!! I'll worry about that later. And this photo was taken a little late. It was much prettier earlier on.

I pretty much lifted part of her Fourth of July menu. All the food can be prepared prior to dinner, and there was tons of food. We will all be having leftovers for many more meals....and NO ONE is complaining about that!!!!!

Park Time

You may remember last year when we began having both boys, at the same time. We took them to the park and well, I may have let T take a header off the steps where there may have been blood involved. I am happy to say that we have survived and are thriving at the park. We're learning what T can handle and also, what we can't handle. T is doing much better than we are. While we can still move about, it is tough on the joints. Especially difficult is trying to fit in to the tunnels and crawl. We do that once, learn, and do not repeat.

The slide is always fun, for everyone

Theo set up shop, Ezra was his customer before he went pirate

Theo still loves the speakers and I'm happy he can reach them all by himself

Look at that blond hair! He looks so much like his cousin Charis that it fools iPhoto.

Road Trip 2013 - Fourteen

We woke up 441 miles from home with a forecast of hellishly hot temperatures that we had to travel through. The plan was to stop around Ukiah midday, spend the night, and get up early the next day before it got hot. Well, we were like horses headed back to the barn and went all the way home.

We left Gold Beach at 6:30 am, trying to beat the heat that we knew we would encounter. As soon as we left the coast the temperature began to rise. We stopped in Garberville and I grabbed my shirt, buff, and cooling vest to wet down. Dave wisely told me to get in the air conditioned car. I am so glad I followed his direction. It wasn't that hot in Garberville (90 ish), but when we stopped in Ukiah it was 111 degrees. Dave, who is a lizard and loves the heat, looked red and wilting. After we filled up we headed to McDonald's on the next block to get a cold drink, cool down, and wet everything down. Well, their AC wasn't working!!!!!!! We did get ice water, wet down our shirts, cooling vests, and hair. We even filled the neckerchief with ice cubes. This was the hottest part of the day. Do I need to remind you that there is no AC on the bike?

It was fun watching the temperature drop over 30 degrees as we rode over the bridge and went through Berkeley. It did warm up as we entered P-Town, but not even close to the heat in Ukiah.

We love taking road trips whether by car or motorcycle. We live in a diverse country that you don't experience when you fly. Especially if you are only hanging along either of the coasts. The road trip was fun and it is always nice to be home.

The stats? 4,218 miles, 9 states, and a butt load of fun!

Road Trip 2013 - Day Thirteen, Continued

We rolled in to Gold Beach, Oregon around 4 pm. We originally thought we would get to Brookings, located 30 miles down the road. This is July 4th week and Dave was getting a little anxious about finding a room. We had researched our options the night before and wanted to get a look at them in person. At the southern end of town we stopped to have a committee meeting. We were right outside of the Ireland Rustic Cottages which are rated number one on TripAdvisor. One look and we knew Donna wouldn't pick this one. The rest of us went for it. They look like log cabins, very funky. As we're standing in the office the phones are ringing and people are coming in after us and standing in line. We took three rooms. Donna balked and then jumped in. We think this may be our favorite hotel on this trip.

We all met on the balcony (it was still too windy to take advantage of the large decks and picnic tables) for cocktails and dinner. Remember our abandoned plans for a picnic lunch? We modified the plan and it became a picnic dinner. We had a spectacular view. There was a family of deer romping through the brush. Dave and I weren't moved since we have them at home and consider them antlered rats, but the others enjoyed watching the baby. There were four whales just beyond the lighthouse that spouted, breeched, and hung around for at least 30 minutes.

After dinner some of us headed over to the hot tubs. There were three and we had one all to ourselves.

Dave had a horrible night. His sinuses were draining and he just couldn't stay asleep. He ended up moving to one of the big recliners (yep, our room had two huge comfy recliners) where he was able to get enough sleep so he could function the next day. We loved this place and would return.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Thirteen

The temperature was nice and chilly when we left Lincoln City and stayed cool, gray, and foggy all the way to Gold Beach. We made a stop in Coos Bay. They have a friendly Visitor's Center (located right in the middle of the road where it splits) and yet another Quilt shop. The guys checked out the wine store (it was closed) and headed down to the river for a view......and to stay out of the quilt store. I did make a purchase here and you most likely will be seeing my pillow case creation in an upcoming post. We've decided that quilting is still popular in areas with horrid winter weather. People quilt while they're home bound.

We filled up at a Fred Meyer. This is a chain of stores, groceries mostly. This one was HUGE. We had to go inside because they didn't have restrooms at the gas pumps. Another funny thing about Oregon, they have people pump the gas, you can't pump your own. For motorcycles, they come out and enter some code and then you pump your own. Anyway, back to Fred Meyer. This is a super store. They have everything. It reminds me of an indoor market because they have alcoves for electronics, or other things, on the outskirts of the main store. Again, this place is HUGE. About as large of the super WalMarts in the Midwest. After our comfort stop, we head to the delicatessen and bought stuff for a picnic lunch.

Our next stop was Bandon. I had heard this was a really cute town, although Diane says it is boring. We loved it. We had lunch (it was way too windy for our planned picnic) and then while the guys paid the bills (we have had seriously good luck with splitting checks on this ride. They even ask us if we want to split the bill before we ask them. Why is it such a big deal in CA? Oh, and they don't automatically add the tip like they do in CA) we walked across the street.

There was yet another wonderful Quilt & Fabric shop where we all found lovely things to buy. The fabric on this road trip has been spectacular. They carry so many more lines than we have back home. Many I've seen (and purchased) off the Internet. It is so wonderful to be able to see, touch, and feel them in person.

Right next store to the Quilt & Fabric shop was the brand new Face Rock Creamery. They make cheese and have plenty of fun stuff to eat. They have a tasting bar of some of their cheese and curds. I tried curds for the first time. I'm no Miss Muffet, I won't be purchasing curds, unless they are greatly enhanced when combined with whey.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Twelve

The temperature is rising, so much for the perfect weather we had for days. The wise decision is to head to the coast so we leave Walla Walla, WA to head to the Oregon Coast today. We're not too sure how far we'll get, and we still have plenty of vacation time.

We rode along the Columbia River, which sounds scenic and it is not. At least for most of ride it is not all that scenic. See?

We did get to the beautiful Oregon Falls area, took the Historic Route 30, did a little walking up the Multnomah Falls, stopped for the Vista House at Crown Point to see the panoramic view of the Columbia Gorge.

We rode in to Lincoln City, OR and stopped for the night. Funny, we ended up at the same hotel we stopped at years ago on our first long trip.

Instead of the Road House we ate at last time, we opted to go upscale. The food hasn't been gourmet on this trip. We ate at Kyllo's Restaurant which is a great location, very good view, and above average food. They're not as cool, hip, and happening as they think they are, still better than what we've experienced. Donna & Bret, who do not eat fish, were good sports and found things that they liked.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Eleven

We planned to go from Kalispell, MT to Moscow, ID. The mileage seemed low but we might find an interesting stop that would take up some time.

We needed fuel and a comfort stop and found a delightful stop. It had all sorts of interesting "crap" and food. Huckleberry is the big thing in these parts. We bought a slice of huckleberry pie to share for dessert. I almost bought Christmas PJs but they just weren't quite cute and functional enough.

We arrived in Moscow, ID (pronounced Mos-coo) and still had too much time and energy (the others did, not me, it was getting upwards to 100 and I was melting) so "we" took out the iPhone, GPS, and old school paper map. After much discussion it was decided we could easily make it to Walla Walla, WA and Bret downloaded the route via his laptop to his GPS.

I used the sink to soak my shirt and buff to cool off. Then I walked across the street to buy Idaho postcards. We continue to purchase and mail a postcard in each state for our grandsons. The chain was broken in Idaho. The postcards were purchased but not mailed in Idaho. The post office was around the block and it was just too darn hot to search for it. We did mail them but it wasn't until Walla Walla. I was just so sad that the chain had been broken that I was giving up the postcard mailing. Later I got over my silliness and sent more postcards. I did miss out on WA, but we weren't there long and never saw anything interesting during our ride. Perhaps because it was so hot and a bit tense.

Remember a few days back when I told you I was going to take more responsibility and help Dave with directions? Well, about that. Today was a debacle.  It could be the heat. It could be iPhone maps. It could be my eye sight. In any case, it wasn't pretty. We did get to Walla Walla.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Ten, Continued

After the ride through Glacier, we stopped for the evening in Kalispell, MT on the edge of the Flathead (which is a really HUGE lake. The largest natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi). Our hotel was on the outskirts of town, just down the street from the Harley dealer.  This all worked out really well.

We pulled in, registered, and began to unload. That's when we discovered we had lost a few screws from the saddlebag. A quick trip to the dealer and we were all patched up. Good thing because we want the top of the bag to fit snuggly, not fly open while riding, and be able to lock it up.

None of us wanted to ride to dinner and all we had nearby was a gas station Mini Mart. What to do? We had pizza delivered and sat out on the balcony having dinner, enjoying wine, and chatting with our new best friends (other riders who had stopped here for the evening).

We had our plan for the next night, the laundry was finished, and off to bed we went.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Ten

When I tell you that AIS is before 8, please remember that we are now an hour ahead. So it means that I have my butt on the back of a motorcycle before 7 in my body's time zone. And I shouldn't need to remind you how much I dislike getting up early. Being married to Dave means early mornings. I knew this when I married him, so here we go.  Off we go to ride The Road To The Sun. 

Just before we enter the road, we stop in Browning to put on more layers (which we ended up not needing since it wasn't as cold as we expected. Once again, we continue the blessing of perfect weather).  Browning is one of the many Indian/Native American Reservations in these parts. It is creepy, yucky, and poverty ridden. We even were approached by a young man that was high on something. Just breaks your heart when you see that.

This is one of the top motorcycle roads to ride and it is great! The road goes through Glacier National Park in Northern Montana. The road just opened last week and still has a bit of snow around the edges. This ride exceeded all my expectations. Just spectacular.

Big lake, snow covered mountains, water falls, long horned sheep, walking through snow, red cedar trees. So much beauty.

And yes, we did sing tunes from The Sound of Music while riding through the park.

Road Trip 2013 - Day Nine

AIS was 8, so a slower start today, the miles are low. You never can tell how long it will be though. We might find a stop that looks interesting, or road construction slows us down. Lots of road construction this time of year in these parts. With the severe winter weather, they need to get it all done in the summer. It really slows travel and the gravel & dirt roads are no fun.

Today we left Billings and stopped for the night in Great Falls, MT. The weather is still good, but it was hot. Especially sitting on the road waiting for the pilot car, and then stopping at every light while riding through Great Falls. I cannot imagine traveling across the country in a covered wagon.

Lodging in this area is limited. We're planning on traveling through Glacier National Park and riding the Road to the Sun. That road is only open a few months a year, when they can get in to clear the snow. Accommodations are limited and we missed out on three rooms two weeks ago because we dawdled. Now we got as close as we could on the East side, Great Falls. We have booked rooms as close to the Park on the West side, in Kalispell.

While driving through town, we passed the Harley dealer where we discovered it's the Montana Bike Rally while we're here. They had the Bison cheerleaders (Great Falls High School) washing bikes. Not sure how I'm feeling about that. My daughter's cheerleading squad washed cars to raise funds. This is for a Motorcycle Rally. It just seemed creepy and exploitative.

We checked in to the hotel and that's when we saw the poster. The Rumble is scheduled for tonight. What's that? An annual Fight Force (MMA style event......street fighting). Well, that's a first for us. Interesting demographic.

Unloaded the bike, got in the room, laid down to test the bed....woke up an hour later. Dave told me if  I wanted to go to the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center I need to get up, I rolled over & slept another hour! I didn't even think I was tired. I was planning on doing laundry....good thing we still have clean clothes! I must be finally relaxing....or perhaps it is the heat.

For cocktail hour (I keep calling it that but there are no cocktails, only wine & water) we ended up poolside. It's a lovely  New Orleans style with wrought iron and plenty of trees and plants. Really lovely.

We ate dinner at the hotel and it was amazingly tasty. Our entrees were duck (yes, in Montana and it was fabulous), roasted chicken, chicken hunter, florentine salad with chicken. For dessert, I ordered the featured chocolate caramel pie for all to share. It was the least I could do since I've been tasting theirs all week! Great service and tasty, LOVE!

Tomorrow I should be able to find spectacular postcards for the boys!

Road Trip 2013 - Day Eight

Today we leave Keystone and say good-by to Annette. We're down to two bikes and our chase car and yet another day of fine weather. It did get a tad warm, but no rain, thunder, lightening, or high wind so we're calling it wonderful. Nothing that taking your shirt and wetting it in the sink can't fix, or if you're Bret, dunking your head in the sink.

It was a long day of riding. We went through three states.....South Dakota, Wyoming, and Montana. We saw plenty of antelope grazing in the fields along the highway (and yes, I hummed "Home, Home   On the range, where the deer and the antelope play" each time). We missed a turn and ended up in road construction on a gravel road. Our lunch was at the bowling alley in Broadus, MT, population 455.

Our big stop was at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, location of Custer's Last Stand. I thought they did a very good job of explaining the battle, historical significance of the event, and honoring of both sides. Why, oh why does man continue to inflict harm on one another? And the government hasn't changed much either.

We arrived safely to our hotel in Billings, MT and we love it. The ladies that checked us in were fabulous, one is a CA transplant. Our room minimum is going to take a beating and may need to be adjusted. There was a little communication trouble and I realize I need to take more responsibility and help Dave. I was so enjoying being the fluff on the back of the bike.

Two of us went to Fiberworks, a quilt and fabric store. I was in heaven. The woman that owns this store is an artist. I saw fabrics and designs that I have never seen before. I will be purchasing from their website. The woman that helped us is yet another CA transplant. Very interesting discussion on why she moved here (husband's family) and what changes in lifestyle she has experienced. She was explaining how the weather isn't that bad, I'm not convinced. Then she explained the town is close to 100k population but including the surrounding communities it is 400k. Then she told us that if you need medical treatment for "big stuff" (explained as cancer treatment and most complicated surgeries) you had to go to Minnesota or Washington. If Dave tells you I moved here, look for my body.

Here's one of the MANY fabulous quilts. Just a little different than what you usually see.

Quick cocktail time and then my favorite road trip dining establishment, CRACKER BARREL! Great waitress, good food, low price of $17!

Road Trip 2013 - Day Seven

Today began with singing Happy Birthday to Peter who turned.......we won't say because it's a big scary number. Then we were off for a ride to Deadwood. We've been through here before and thought it was a really cute stop. We got there before everything opened up, paid $4!!!! To park. Not terribly impressed. The riding was beautiful and we are blessed with yet another day of perfect weather.

We walked in to the Midnight Star, a casino (which are seriously all over the place), to use the bathroom. Awesome old style building. A employee stopped us, we thought "oh no, she's going to say something about the bathroom is for customers only". We are so wrong. She told us about the place and to go upstairs and look around. People in this part of the country are super friendly. She told us the place is owned by Kevin Costner. He made the movie "Dances With Wolves" around here. We were wondering why there were photos of Kevin. Now we know.

We continued on to Sturgis, the place where they hold the big, raucous motorcycle rally. We took photos that I wish I could include but I still can't figure how to get the iPad and blog to behave.
We said good-by to Tim & Deb, they were headed back to Indiana.

We rode through Spearfish and along a beautiful byway road. It's such a wide open scenic country. The beauty and diversity is amazing. They do not appear to be ethnically or culturally diverse, mostly white people that are really wide. We aren't in CA, that's for sure.

Some went to Devil's Tower (we've seen it, once was enough), and Iron Mountain Road (which we rode a couple of days earlier). We went back to the hotel and went swimming.

Some of us had lunch at Culver's, a fast food place with frozen custard. I think this would be a hit in CA. I LOVE frozen custard, which is big in the Midwest.

Another fine cocktail hour (sharing bison stories) and then a very tasty birthday dinner at Gideon's, this is a new, higher end place in Keystone. We are so spoiled living in the SF Bay Area, an abundance of fine dining, not so in these parts.