Monday, July 16, 2012

Left you hangin’ didn’t I?

Well, we left Waterloo (still singing Abba in my head) headed for Dyersville and the Field of Dreams movie set.

We visited a few years ago but this was Doris’ first time at the field.

During our first visit we terrorized Reese for life by Tom and I pretending to disappear into the corn.  She was five years old.  In retrospect, probably not our best parenting moment, but we were only a few years into it so you can expect some hiccups now and then.  We’re much better at it now.

We got their early and walked around the field and of course, out to the corn.  This time though, Reese was game enough to venture pretty far into the cornfield with me and allowed us to take her picture fading into the corn.  Tom took an enhanced picture of her that makes it look like she’s disappearing.  Spooky!

There’s an old bat that someone left at the fence so we bought a ball and decided we would try to hit a few. 

By this time more people had arrived and were playing an impromptu game.  They were nice enough to include us so Reese stepped up to bat.

She hit one down the 3^rd base side on her second try!  As Reese took first base Tom stepped up to the plate.  He hit one out to left field on the first try and off to the bases he went.  Everyone was great with Reese helping her know where to go.

Now for the heavy hitter!  I took the bat and positioned myself at home plate ready for the first pitch. 

You know that song “One, two, three strikes you’re out…”  We’ll there’s a picture of me in the songbook under that one.  I wanted a hit badly, but alas it was not to be.  I took the walk of shame and continued to cheer on Tom and Reese. 

It was so much fun!  It's so funny how complete strangers can come together in such an unexpected way. 

The sale of the field had closed three days before, but we were assured that the new corporate owners were going to leave the field as is and even perhaps open the house for tours.  They are adding 24 regulation fields in the area surrounding the field.  I hope it doesn't detract from the middle of know where feeling you get now when you’re at the farm.

The rumor is that the farm and field were sold for upwards of $5 million and that the original owners were building a new home closer to downtown Dyersville.

We left with a renewed love for Iowa (or was it Heaven?) and vowed to watch the movie when we got home. 

We headed to nearby Dubuque where we had two last things on our list of things to do on our trip.

Our first stop is the Fenelon Elevator Company. 

I mentioned that Doris doesn’t like heights right?  Well, surprisingly the elevator is at the top of a very steep hill.  A VERY STEEP hill. 

Clearly Doris was not going to take the $2 round trip ride up or down the hill, which I mentioned was STEEP.

You would have thought that I would remember Doris’ dislike of heights, but it honestly never occurred to me, especially when I asked her to take our picture over the ledge.  One look at her face and it was clear I would have to live without a picture of the three of us in the tramcar.

There’s one lady who runs the tram, and she doesn’t like to be distracted from her task of raising and lowering the tram.  At this point I’m feeling really good about her dedication to her job.   I mentioned it was STEEP right?

We entered our car, and promising not to stand up on our ride we began our descent.  One cable held out fate! 

On the way back up Reese astutely noticed that the cable didn’t actually touch a couple of the middle rollers.  That’s probably ok right?

At any rate we arrived back at the top safe and sound.  Our 5-minute ride that we had traveled all the way to South Dakota and back for, was complete!

Doris, who had busied herself reading the pamphlet while we were scaling the STEEP hill, pointed out that the cable had caught firs at least twice since it opened in 1882, crashing the cable car into the bottom of the hill. 

I’m super glad she didn’t read that before we got in and rode down the STEEP hill.

We headed back down the hill, in the van this time, on our way to the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium.  We entered through the gift shop so I was happy!

The aquarium was very nice, right on the river with views of Illinois, Wisconsin and of course Iowa. 

Once again there was an observatory, but this time Doris chose not to go up.

It was getting late and we still had about a 2-½ hour to drive until we got home.

We crossed the bridge to Illinois (Girls won!  We Rule!) and decided to drive through Galena so Doris could see the city.  We also decided to stop for one last vacation ice cream cone (no wonder I gained weight!). 

It was close to 7 p.m. when we got close to St. Charles and started discussing dinner options.  After 9 days of eating out it’s near impossible to feel too enthusiastic about any option.  After providing several viable possibilities, we decided on Portillos.

Our vacation had come to a successful close and we had been delivered safely home.  Time for a nice meal and some rest.

So we get to Portillos and Tom orders the ribs, but there’s a 15-minute wait for ribs so he decides to get the BBQ chicken salad.  When we get the window however guess what…10-minute wait on the chicken.  Tom was none too thrilled.

So we wait the 10 minutes (the knowledge that he could have just gotten the ribs was not lost on us) and our meals are delivered to the car, but it’s wrong.

Tom’s done now.

He grabs the bags and storms into Portillos.  I take this opportunity to warn Reese that now would not be a good time to tease daddy about the order getting mixed up.

Apparently neither Tom nor the manager could explain the strange going ons through the drive through, but our order was fixed and off we went.

It was great to get back home to our dried out grass and enormous water bill.  Well, maybe not the water bill!

Thanks for taking this amazing trip with us.  We had a great time as you can see, and we hope you enjoyed it as well, and that it has inspired you to take your families to Mt. Rushmore soon.  No really.  There are some things I need you to get me from the gift shop!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Sioux Falls is really the only modern city on I90 from Rapid City.  By which I mean they have a Target, Wal-Mart, a mall, and some nicer chain restaurants.  Ah, civilization!  No cows in sight but I can feel that they're near by.

I forgot to mention that we had such a fun night crashing in our room to watch a movie.  Reese and I bought Mirror, Mirror for the trip but until now we never had the time to watch it.  We stopped at Target to get some popcorn and soda and plopped on the bed to watch.  It was a great way to relax after a long drive.

Seven hotel breakfasts' down, one more to go!

I lost my taste for it when I witnessed one of the servers carry out "fresh" scrambled eggs in a bag from the microwave. Yummy!

As I mentioned there are still things to do on our agenda before our vacation comes to a close.

First stop today is Falls Park here in Sioux Falls.

Our drive to the Park was pretty unremarkable, but when we got there we saw how gorgeous the Falls are!

We started with the visitor's center and proceeded up the 5 flights of stairs to the observation tower.  After the first two flights in 100 degree heat I was having flashbacks of Reese and I climbing down 20+ flights at the Eiffel Tower in April.

I mentioned before that Doris doesn't like heights.  Over the next two days you will see how we tortured her at every opportunity.  We really did get along during the trip so I don't know why we choose to terrify her every couple of hours or so.  Well, on trips like this you make your own fun!

The Falls Park Tower was our first opportunity.  There’s an outside walkway that surrounds the top floor where you can see the Park from every angle.  You should have seen the look Doris gave me when I asked her to take our picture.  It just wasn't going to happen.  She stuck to the inside walls and did not venture too close to the rail, even after I demonstrated how safe it was.

It just got worse for her.

It was extraordinarily hot for this time of the day, getting close to 100 degrees before 11 a.m.  

Reese saw people climbing on the rocks of the Falls and the child who wouldn’t pet a donkey, couldn’t wait to risk a broken limb for the thrill of the climb!

Doris decided to watch from the safety of a bench as Reese, Tom and I moved un-stealth like over the rock terrain.

We had a blast.  It was fun to navigate the cracks and crevasses and watch Reese take risks as Tom’s blood pressure went sky- rocketing.

From the stories he tells of his adventures in the woods as a child with his two brothers, you would think he’d be more adventurous, but not when it comes to his little girl.

We must have climbed for an hour before the heat started getting to us.  By this time Doris had found a shady tree that brought a little relief from the sun.  We were all happy to get back to the air conditioning!

We headed to Minnesota with a destination mapped out for Waterloo, Iowa. 

Tom finished second in the race to the state line...again.  He threatened to stop the car and get out and run for it but thought better of it.

The lady at the welcome center was very nice and suggested some points of interest along our way.  You’ll never guess!

As we approached Blue Earth (that’s really the name of the city) we could hear a faint “Ho, ho, ho.” sound.  We considered Santa, Christmas in July and all that, but the tone of the “Ho” wasn’t the same.

All of a sudden, there he stood in all his green wonder – The Jolly Green Giant!  Standing 55.5 feet tall and gleaming in his greenness, he stands as a symbol of mid-western quirkiness. 

This is the next best thing to a ball a twine we’ve seen.

Reese could not understand why his legs were green, even though I explained several times that he’s just green and he was not wearing tights.  I still don’t think she gets it.

Since it’s National Ice Cream Day we had to stop at the adjoining DQ and get a treat.  We HAD to.  It’s a real holiday.

Back in the car we headed for the city of Albert Lea and our turnoff for Iowa.  Only thing is that I changed my mind about going through Mason and gave Tom new directions, but I had failed to mention that the road I wanted him to turn onto didn’t connect to I90.  Details, details!

Sooooo…we passed our turn and found ourselves closer to Austin, MN so we decided to drive the extra 14 miles to the SPAM museum.  Since it’s Sunday I expected it to be closed and that all we would get is our picture taken with a can of SPAM, but as luck would have it the museum was still open for another 40 minutes.  We would have to speed SPAM if we were going to get through it all.

I can now confirm that there is actually meat in SPAM.  It includes the delicacy pork shoulder.  And if we learned anything on our travels, it’s that prairie folk and Indians alike made use of everything at their disposal, wasting nothing, and I mean nothing. 

If SPAM doesn’t impress you, the Hormel Family will.  During WWII they sent each soldier $5 for the holidays.  Back then I’m sure it was fortune.  They were a very respected family in the community and throughout the world. 

Remember the little key you would use to open SPAM?  Well, apparently remembering that makes you old because they haven’t used that since the late 70’s.  Now it’s the more modern pull-tab.

Reese didn’t even know what SPAM was before we got here, neither did we really, but now she’s all about it.   Of course she hasn’t tasted it yet.

Try this: Take a hamburger bun and cut a ¼ or more slice of SPAM to put in it.  Cover the SPAM with a slice of Kraft cheese, and if you like, top it with a slice of pineapple (I skip this).  Top it with the bun and wrap it in foil.  Put the whole thing in the coals of a fire until the “meat” is hot and the cheese is melted.  You now have “Heavenly Ham” as we Girl Scouts call it.

EAT MORE SPAM!

Stop by when you get a chance.  Everyone there is so nice!!!

On to Waterloo we go.  I suggested that we should listen to Abba on the way, but no one took me seriously.

We checked into the hotel, racking up even more Hilton points, and headed out for dinner.

We stopped at Olive Garden, unwilling to try new things in Waterloo.

Our waitress was lovely, really she was, but there were a few problems.  First, they were out of tomatoes for the salad, then they were out of scampi sauce for the chicken scampi, then they didn’t have Bolognese sauce, just meat sauce.   I know, I was confused by that one too but apparently meat sauce and Bolognese contain different meats.

In my opinion the manager threw this poor girl under the bus making her come out time after time with bad news. 

The rest of the dinner was fine based on the scraps they could muster together in the kitchen.

Wait until you hear how we torture Doris tomorrow!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Today we began the trek home, but not without some more fun stops on the agenda, and hopefully some that are not planned.

Tom, disregarding our multiple request to go back to Mt. Rushmore before we left, headed us out on our way home.  In our defense we really didn't get quality time in the gift shop, and, well, there's ice cream there as I think I've mentioned.

Oh well.  Motivation for the next trip.

The drive back out through South Dakota on I90 was pretty much the same as the drive in: flat, windy, cows, corn, cheesy roadside attractions.

Since we had seen everything on the way in we decided just to forge through, just stopping for potty and food breaks.

We also stopped at a Cabela's to stretch our legs and give Tom a break.  Not too exciting but you wanted every detail!

Other than that we headed straight to Sioux Falls where we had decided to stop for the night.

This is a break from tradition for us.  Usually we drive until we get tired and then look for a place to stay.  It usually takes another 2 hours to actually find a place, and then we're tired and hungry and ready to kill each other.

We actually booked the hotel the night before because we weren't sure about our plans for our return trip. This is a positive change.

We found a fun Mexican place for dinner and Doris and I had Margaritas, she a strawberry and me a fun watermelon!  Yum!

Although the trip from Rapid City to Sioux Falls was pretty uneventful we all accomplished a lot.

Doris caught up on some reading on her iPad, I caught up on my blog writing, Reese began drafting a multi-scene play, and Tom drove us over 300 miles.

Since this post is short, I'll share with you the combined disdain the four of us now have for the GPS guy in Tom's phone.

He HATES it when we don't listen to him.  You can't even get off the road for a quick break without him relentlessly bitching at us.  Excuse my language.  When we got off in Hartford, SD to eat he really got peeved, and I quote verbatim:

"Now turn right on First Street"
"Now turn right on Second Street"
"Now turn right on Third Street"
"Now turn right on Fourth Street"
"Recalculating route"

The guy can't let go.  We're not taking him next time.

On to Iowa tomorrow!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Today we set out for the city of Deadwood, SD.   That’s about an hour north of Rapid City.

With the wide-open spaces of Wyoming looming so close by, we just HAD to divert our path and at least cross the boarder to say we had been there.

Note: I feel compelled to share yet another Lydon Family tradition with you now.  It is our practice, when crossing state lines, to race.  Yes, race.  Whoever notices the line approaching first stretches out their arm as far forward as possible toward the windshield, thus crossing the line first.  We stretch, pull, and strain, all in order to cross the line first.

In our family, the girls always win, and poor Tom always looses.

Traveling across country with Doris for the first time we included her in the quest for the girls to continue to rain supreme!

Noting Tom’s protests, the girls won, Iowa (all three times), Nebraska, South Dakota (both times), Wyoming and Minnesota!  Yeah team!

Still relishing in our victory we pulled into the visitor center, one of the best we encountered with lots of interactive programs.  Reese and Doris went white water rafting while Tom and I rode a bucking bronco.

We decided to drive to Sundance but with Devils Tower so close the guide suggested we just do the “quick loop” around, and back into South Dakota.

Our quick trip to Wyoming lasted close to 2 hours.  Note: The loop is not quick.

We made it to Sundance where we took pictures by the statue of Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, better know in these parts as the “Sundance Kid”.  You know, as in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.  This was the only thing to see in Sundance.

We got back on the highway and enjoyed some more flat dry prairie until Devils Tower appeared like a pop tart bursting out of a toaster in the middle of a barren desert.  I’m not a professional writer so don’t expect the similes to be creative.

Though we enjoyed taking pictures of it we didn’t feel the need to drive closer, so we stayed on the loop and continued on our way back to South Dakota.

Over the course of the LONG drive we passed several bustling cities like Alva, population – 15 (five of whom were at the general store), and the metropolis of Aladdin, population – 50.

Wyoming was fun!

Back in South Dakota (Girls won!!) We headed through the city of Sturgis, home to the 72^nd Annual 2012 Motorcycle Rally.  Though the week long event doesn’t begin until August 6th, the city as well as the entire state is already gearing up (pardon the pun) for a big shindig! 

Not only are there a lot of bikers here in South Dakota, there are also Sturgis souvenirs everywhere you go.

Moving on to Deadwood we got some lunch and then walked over to the No. 10 Saloon, site of the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok (only it really wasn’t since the real site was down the street.) to watch a reenactment of the event.

We settled in at a table in the saloon with our backs to the wall for safety, and glasses of sarsaparilla on the table in front of us (really just Reese, the rest of us had Coke and Diet Coke) to watch the show.

It was fun if not completely historically accurate. The Old West of the 1880’s was big on tall tales.

Similar to our Buffalo Bill experience, Wild Bill was depicted not as a skilled scout and asset to the US western migration, but in the unflattering light as a drifter who couldn’t hold a job and liked to gamble. 

I’m not sure what snippets Reese is taking away from all this but so far the hero’s of the Wild West seem like poster children for what not to do.

I expected that we would spend the day in Deadwood but most of the attractions I read about lacked their luster in real life.  The town’s main industries, once gold prospecting, prostitution and gambling, have been replaced by tourism and gambling.  Apparently gambling as some staying power.

Slot machines are everywhere.

Most tourist attractions are manufactured reincarnations of a less than accurate depiction of what they think we think the Wild West was like.  It’s great mindless entertainment but after yesterday our expectations had evolved.

I’m not being completely fair though since we decided against venturing into many of those attractions.  Maybe we were just tired.

We watched another reenactment, this time of a street gunfight.   What I'm hoping escaped Reese's comprehension and that of the other children in the audience, was that to be a truly accurate shot and successfully hit your target you should stop walking and take aim.  Great family show!

Next we headed to Broken Boot Gold Mine.  As it turns out it was never a very successful gold mine in its time.

We decided to do the tour since Reese and Tom’s gold lust had reached a fever pitch. 

The mine was nice and cool, a respite from the extreme heat of the day.  I didn’t even take a sweater and if you know me, you know I’m always cold.  This wasn’t so bad.  Our very young tour guide was very informative and tried her best to answer every question.  I’m in the minority of people who thought it was cheesy.  Tom, Doris and Reese enjoyed it thoroughly.

The mine itself had some points of interest that were engaging, but when our guide pointed to the area of a recent 2010 collapse, I lost my calm, cool exterior.  Yes, I have one.  It just seems like I’m always freaking out!

Anyway, after she shares this minor (pardon the pun again) little detail I want out! But it gets better.  She decides to show us what it would have actually been like for a minor way back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s…she lights a candle…and turns out the light.

Really not having fun now.  It’s not as if it’s burning a strong flame either.  It’s the worst candle in the whole world.  Who would use such a bad specimen of a candle in a demonstration?

Let’s get this over with and turn the lights back on shall we?

So what does she do, now that I’m nearing hysteria?  She blows out the inadequate candle that I’ve grown VERY attached to!!

SERIOUSLY?  

We are in pitch, and I mean pitch-black darkness.   Is there any other kind?  This isn’t funny.  This isn’t a nice thing to do to people.  TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON GIRLIE!!!!!!

She makes a joke about raising our hands if we want her to turn the lights back on.  NOT funny!

Finally as I’m nearing a heart attack, she turns them back on.  I need to run, not walk, out of this cave now!

The ceilings were getting lower too.  Did I mention that?  I'm not making this up.

When she finally released us to freedom I held myself back from kissing the ground outside.  Our lovely guide said some minors would go crazy under these working conditions.  Really?  I can’t imagine why.  I am not minor material. 

As part of our tour Tom and Reese got to pan for gold with guaranteed results.  This is like going to Bear Country USA. 

The good part?  That they learned how to properly use their recently purchased panning tools. Dip and shake, dip and shake, dip and shake.  Now you all know how to do it.

It really was fun watching them pan, and they both found gold, as advertised.  We’re rich!

Gold in hand we headed out of Deadwood with no particular destination in mind.  We discussed whether or not to head in to Hill City or instead back to Rapid City.

Literally at a fork in the road we decided on Rapid City and Tom did a little U turn.  As he turned we came face to face with a sign for a Korean War Memorial.  We took this as a sign from my dad that we made the right choice.

We grabbed some dinner, but we’ve eaten out so much I can’t even remember where we went.

As some of you may know, Reese and I got Tom a telescope for his graduation.  He really wanted to bring it with us out to South Dakota to take advantage of the unobstructed skies and the lack of light pollution.

With the clear skies we decided tonight would be the night to take the telescope out if we were going to get the chance to do it.

We choose Custer State Park again because it really is out in the middle of nowhere.  It’s flat and dark, the perfect location.

The drive out seemed longer than the day before but it could have just been that we were all tired.  It was well after 9 p.m. when we started out since that’s when it begins to get dark.

We finally got to the park and Tom decided to drive in a bit to get us off the beaten path and find a good spot to set-up.

Before long we found a pull off spot for picnics so we stopped.  Apparently we were close to at least one house because dog started barking as soon as we pulled in.  Unfazed Tom went to work putting the scope together.

Now this is the same park we visited yesterday so there’s a long list of wild animals that call this place home.   We’re in their backyard now.  Buffalo, mountain lions, snakes, etc… 

Telling yourself that you’re safe and no animals will approach you, and believing you won’t get viciously attacked by a rabid mountain lion are two totally different things.

So we got out of the car, grabbed some lounge chairs, and acted brave.  When I heard an owl in the vicinity I stated how much I liked the soothing hoot, hoot sound.  Inside I’m thinking: “That’s a warning of some kind!”

Nothing fazed Tom at all.

So here we are in the middle of nowhere, ready to see some stars.  This is best done in pitch darkness.  The gold mine chick would have loved it.

So imagine yourself out in a desert, hundreds of miles from civilization, no light, no sound, just lots of sky.

Now imagine a flash mob of traffic and that’s what it was like for us out in the woods.

A steady steam of cars traveled up and down the Park roads, into the Park, out of the Park, up the hill, down the hill, car after car after car.  This does not create the best scenario for star gazing, as every time the light hits your eyes it takes longer for them to adjust.  You look through the viewfinder and can’t see a thing.

There was so much traffic it became comical.  We would all try to shield our eyes from the lights, but I think all this did was make us look like we were doing something we shouldn’t be doing in a State Park.  Any minute a Park Ranger was going to pull up and escort us form the area.

It was very late by the time the car traffic subsided so we surrendered and packed up.  We were lucky enough to see some amazing stars and at least one galaxy so it wasn’t a total loss. 

Reese fell asleep a little after 11 p.m. in the car on the way back, as Tom, Doris and I laughed about our defunct star gazing trek.

There were fewer cars as we approached Rapid City than came through the Park while we were there. 

How nice.