Great American Road Trip - July 3, 2011 (Day 3)

After a great second day in Mitchell, at Wall Drug, at Mt. Rushmore, and in Spearfish, we woke up, enjoyed the free waffle breakfast at the Comfort Suites, and headed to Deadwood, South Dakota. Upon arrival, we walked around a bit, and then we popped into Kevin Costner's casino. The casino was cool because Costner displays his costumes from many of his movies there, including Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and For Love of the Game. It was really neat to see all of that, and it reminded me of how many movies Costner has been in and how many of them I've really enjoyed.

After walking around a bit, we boarded the Boothill Tour bus and set off for a formal tour of the town. The tour was nice because I knew very little about the town or its history. (Unlike many people I know, I'm not really fascinated by the tales of the American west. It's not that I don't recognize its importance in the development of America or the struggles of the people; it just doesn't capture my attention like other time periods or areas).


I think my favorite part of the tour was the trip up to the town's old cemetery, which sits high up on a hill overlooking town. Both Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried in this cemetery, and we were pleased to learn that there was a Jewish section in the cemetery. It turns out that Jews played a prominent role in the development of the town, and it seems like they were well accepted or at least a recognized part of the town. From what I know, this was fairly unusual for the time period, and it was very nice to see.

After the tour, we had lunch at Saloon No. 10, a bar in town. Many bikers must hang out there, as they had a sign saying no motorcycle colors and the bouncer responded in a pretty serious manner when we asked about it. Anyway, the original Saloon No. 10 was the place in which Wild Bill Hickok was killed while playing poker (the bar has moved, so it no longer sits on the actual location of his death).


An interesting story about Will Bill - as a lawman, he knew he couldn't trust many people in town, and as a result, he never sat with his back to the door when he was out and about. However, on the night he was killed, he had entered the saloon to play poker, and the only seat available was one that would require him to sit with his back to the door. He asked his friends to switch seats, but they refused. Wild Bill hesitated to sit down, but his friends gave him a hard time, so he finally gave in. Of course, Jack McCall then walked in and shot Wild Bill in the back of the head, killing him instantly. When he died, he was holding what people now call the "dead man's hand:" two black aces, and two black eights. Interesting for sure.


After lunch and some ice cream, we hit the road again. Our next stop was Wyoming (a new state for Beth) and Devil's Tower. My sister Amanda and I took a similar trip after I took the bar exam in 2008, but we didn't have time to stop at Devil's Tower then, so I was looking forward to seeing it this time. Though the signs may have exaggerated how long it would take to get there (definitely not just a 25 minute detour), the Tower was worth the drive.


There was a nice trail around the tower, but we only hiked part of the way because it was pretty hot and because we needed to continue on to Cody for the night. We got some great pictures at the tower, and we also saw some vultures flying around the top of it (at least that's what other people told us they were). In addition to the vultures, we saw prairie dogs in the tower area, and that was pretty cool. Finally, we saw some people climbing up the tower - I'm not sure I could have done that even when I was in fantastic shape. In fact, I'm not even sure I would have ever wanted to do that - I've never been all that interested in climbing things, period. Anyway, I admired their strength and determination, even if it wasn't for me.


After Devil's Tower, we continued our drive to Cody, Wyoming. Along the way, we spotted our first antelope - pretty cool. We also drove through parts of the Bighorn National Forest, which is gorgeous. Notably, we saw a good amount of snow, which is nuts for July! At the end of the day, we saw Shell Falls, a raging waterfall and river in Bighorn - gorgeous as well.


That night, we stayed at the Legacy Inn in Cody, and it was a cute little place with a nice proprietor. We had thought about maybe going to find a local place to eat in town, but we were both tired, so we had our first fast food of the trip: Taco Johns for me, and Burger King for Beth. After eating and uploading a few pictures, it was time for bed. Another great day on the Great American Road Trip!
Some random notes: we kept track of the different state and Canadian province license plates we saw on the trip. By the end of the trip, I think we saw every state except for Delaware, Alabama, West Virginia, and Rhode Island (and we may have seen Rhode Island; I'm blanking). We also saw most, if not all, of the Canadian provinces. Pretty cool to see folks from all over out and about on the road.

Great American Road Trip - July 1-2, 2011 (Days 1 and 2)

This past winter, Beth and I planned a western road trip to visit Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming/Montana, Idaho (briefly), Glacier National Park in Montana and Canada, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. Beth had never been to Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho, and I had never been to Idaho or Canada (odd I know, as I've lived in Minnesota for most of my life). We (Beth) diligently planned our route, made hotel reservations, ordered maps and tour books, arranged for the best pet sitters ever (thanks Jessie and Carolyn!), prepared the little blue Honda Civic, and researched things/places to see. In short, we were really looking forward to the adventure, which we estimated would cover a little more than 3,000 miles.

After a brutal winter and a disappointing spring, we finally set out for what I deemed the Great American Road Trip on Friday, July 1, 2011. We both had to work that day, so we didn't hit the road until around 4. Our first destination was Mitchell, South Dakota, approximately 5 hours away and home of the (somewhat) famous Corn Palace.

Because we weren't in a hurry, we decided to stop for dinner at The Ranch in Fairmont, Minnesota. Dinner was great, but as we ate, the sky to the west became more and more ominous. Beth wanted to wait out the storm at the restaurant, but being the optimistic (and slightly crazy) person that I am, I insisted that we just push through. Unfortunately, we ran into what turned out to be a pretty intense thunderstorm that involved hail and sheets of rain. I finally gave in when we no longer could see at all and said we should pull over. Beth, the poor driver, readily agreed and we pulled off to the side of the freeway. The storm quickly passed, and lucky for me, our car endured no hail damage. Maybe some day I will learn!

We pulled into our hotel, a Days Inn, in Mitchell some time around 9 or 10, and I felt like we were really on our way. A successful first night, storm and all!

Oh, a slightly amusing story about our room that night that first night. It was obvious that the hotel was packed, as they gave us a room that was obviously normally used as a conference room. It was huge, and we had a Murphy bed that came out of the wall. We also had a industrial bar/kitchen sink in the room. I was worried that it would be a super loud and uncomfortable room, but it turned out to be just fine. I guess the Days Inn knew what it was doing after all.

July 2, 2011 - Day 2:

We woke up Saturday morning, had our Days Inn breakfast (that Beth could have handed to me through our conveniently connected door), and headed into Mitchell to see the Corn Palace. My family took a vacation to western South Dakota when I was a kid, but we never stopped at the Corn Palace. Almost everyone told us it wasn't worth the time, but we figured we couldn't skip it since we were already in Mitchell. And, how can you pass up the opportunity to see kitschy

Americana at its best?

After the Corn Palace, we hit the road again and Wall Drug was our next destination. Like the Corn Palace, Wall Drug is one of those truly hokey tourist places that is hard to skip. At one point, we started counting the billboards advertising Wall Drug between Mitchell and Wall, and I think we reached over 300! Insanity. We also drove over the Missouri River along the way, and I've never seen it that high. Sort of freaky. Anyway, here are some pictures from the journey and that pit stop:

After the Wall Drug extravaganza, we were off to Mount Rushmore. I was very excited to see it, as I hadn't seen it since I was a kid and I remembered it being pretty cool. It turns out that they made quite a few improvements since I was last there. They now have a really nice visitor center and plaza, as well as a parking ramp. And, they didn't use any government money to fund the entire project. Pretty cool.

While there, we took a ranger-led tour, which we both really enjoyed (except for the horribly rude people that joined us). For instance, the elevation of Mt. Rushmore is over 5,700 feet, and the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, originally planned to sculpt the presidents' torsos in addition to the heads. We also looked for the restaurant that Beth's grandparents, Walter and Vivian, ate at years ago, but the ranger said it was no longer there. Instead, it was replaced by a snack shop on the plaza. Oh well, things change I suppose.

After Mt. Rushmore, we headed towards Sturgis, South Dakota, where we had long ago used Priceline to book a room for the night. Unfortunately, Priceline chose Super 8, which made me nervous even back then, but I was hopeful that it might turn out okay. Wrong - we arrived to a not-so-nice hotel and a rude clerk who informed us that she only had a smoking room available. She also told us that we wouldn't be able to find any other rooms in town. The smoking room in the shady hotel wasn't going to work for us, so Beth started looking for another room and I called Priceline. After being on hold for quite a while, Priceline did come through and refunded the price of the room for that night. At the same time, Beth found us a room at a Comfort Suites in Spearfish, South Dakota (just a bit further west on 94) instead. Whew!

That night, we went out to dinner at the Spearfish Chophouse and Whiskey Bar. It was a cute little local place at the base of Spearfish Canyon, which we decided to drive through after dinner. The canyon was gorgeous, and we saw many deer as we drove along. We also saw a lovely waterfall (Bridal Veil Falls) and the city of Deadwood at night. After that little adventure, we relaxed in the hotel hot tub and hit the hay. All in all, it was a really great second day on the Great American Road Trip!

Wedding Planning Update

It seems the wedding planning is cruising along these days. The invites should go out soon, which is awesome. The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner is planned, and the shower is set for July 18. We had our engagement photo shoot, and discussed the wedding day with the photographer, setting up a schedule. We hired a videographer and chose the wedding dinner. We have a DJ (though we need to meet with him again) and we even made progress on the gift bags for out of town guests!

All that's left is the cake and the flowers (of the big things), and we've already tasted cake from one bakery. We have another cake tasting on Sunday too, so I hope we can wrap that up soon. As for flowers, I'm not even sure where to begin with that, as I don't care that much about them. I don't want to spend much money on them either. I guess I don't understand the point. Oh, I guess we also have to make a program for the actual wedding day, and maybe pick music for the ceremony. And make the slide show, and figure out some of the wording for the ketubah, and order the dessert and brunch for the pre and post wedding activities, and put the gift bags together...oh boy, I guess there still is a lot left to do! Regardless, we have made good progress, and it seems like we just might be able to pull it all off, which is impressive given our tight schedule. Yay!

NY wedding weekend

B and I went out to New York over the last weekend in June to attend B's cousin Liz's wedding. As usual, my bad travel luck reared its ugly head. We were scheduled to fly to LaGuardia on Friday evening, and we arrived at the airport with time to spare. However, as we sat waiting, we heard rumblings that the flight was canceled. Because we really needed to get to NYC that night (our car rental was waiting, etc.), I ran to the counter to get in line. The agent came out and confirmed that our flight was indeed canceled due to bad weather. He gave us two options: catch a flight in the morning or try to catch a flight to JFK that was leaving at about the same time as the LaGuardia flight. We desperately needed the JFK flight, and I was trying hard to hold our space in line. However, people kept cutting in front of me. I called B over (she was on the phone with NWA) and explained what was happening. She then told the people cutting in front to back off and that we were going to return to our place in line. It was awesome. I wish I had that much chutzpah, but I don't. She also helped someone else who was cut off by grabbing her boarding pass and saying she was with us. Brilliant!

Anyway, we got our boarding passes for the JFK flight and ran over to that gate to board. We were already worried about our luggage (stupidly, I decided that we should check a bag, as we needed to bring both dress clothes and casual clothes. I don't know why I did this, as I know better.). The flight attendants told us that the ground crew was going to try to transfer our bags, and we figured they probably would, as they had almost a full hour to do so. Alas, we arrived at JFK but our bag did not. B managed to be first in line at luggage service desk (we had a bad feeling so she decided to wait there while I stood at the conveyor belt). Unfortunately, the woman helping her had NO clue what she was doing. B had to help her fill out the form on the computer, and even then, she almost reversed our home address with the hotel address. It took this woman FOREVER to help just B - I can't imagine how long the rest of the folks were waiting.

Not only did we not have our luggage at this point, but we also had no way to get to our rental car, which was at LaGuardia. Fortunately, B was able to reach her cousin Jenni and her husband Rob, who graciously and generously agreed to pick us up at JFK and to take us to the car rental shop. This was especially kind, as our flight was delayed and then we had to wait to file the missing bag claim - I think it was well after midnight when we were able to leave the airport.

After Rob and Jenni dropped us off, we decided to try to find a 24-hour store out on Long Island so we could at least buy toothbrushes. Oddly, every store on Long Island, including gas stations, must close at 1o or midnight, as nothing was open. We finally gave up and went to the hotel. We were able to purchase a few basics there, and finally went to bed at 2:30 or so.

The next day, Saturday morning, we called about our luggage. We figured it might arrive that morning even, as there are tons of direct flights from MSP to NYC. However, NWA had NO idea where our bag was - none, nada, zero, zilch. WTF?! As someone said, how is it that UPS can track millions of packages, some tiny, some huge, etc., always knowing where they are, but the airlines can't manage to move bags 100 yards from one gate to another without losing (or damaging) them? And how can the bag go from on the plane to completely lost??? What happens there? I'm very curious, and if anyone knows what happens at airports, let me know. I need a behind the scenes tour!

Anyway, also on Saturday morning, the whole gang (B's parents, B's siblings/significant others and kids plus me) went to Huntington Station to look around. I wasn't too impressed with the area - nothing special. After that, we went to Liz's and Justin's pre-reception, and I met TONS of B's family members. I had a good time at that, despite having to wear the same clothes as I wore on Friday (jeans and a polo, not exactly appropriate attire, but oh well).

After the pre-reception, and after learning we weren't going to be receiving our luggage any time soon (NWA still had no clue where it was), we decided we better go buy some new clothes. Fortunately, our dress clothes/shoes and pajamas were in our carry on, but we really had very little other than that. We found a local Target and bought some shorts and polos - what a waste of money, as we didn't really plan on buying clothes in New York! Sigh. After our shopping adventure, the family took Rich and Marleen out to a local Indian restaurant to celebrate their 35 anniversary - congrats!

Sunday was the big day - Liz and Justin's wedding! As I mentioned, we had our dress clothes, so we were in good shape for this. The wedding was at a country club in Long Island - quite nice. Unfortunately, I didn't figure out the ceremony was outside until that day...and I didn't really wear the best clothes for a hot, sunny day. Oh well, I was fine. I felt bad for the elderly though - most of them had to flee to the shade! Overall, I had a great time at the wedding and the reception. Liz and Justin are so genuinely happy that it's hard not to be happy for them. I hope their marriage brings them nothing but joy. Oh, a funny sidenote - I "caught" the bouquet. Really, Liz threw it so hard at me that it bounced off my legs and I just picked it up. I guess this means that B and I better follow through with our wedding plans! ;)

After the wedding (which was in the late morning), some of the family decided to go to Jones Beach, a state park in Long Island. We walked along the boardwalk (it was quite cold by the water so no swimming for me), and had a nice time. As we were walking back to our cars, B noticed a motorcycle accident on the side of the road. Because she had just renewed her CPR and first aid certification, she decided to go up and offer her help. The motorcyclist, Rich, had made it to the grass, but it was clear he was in significant pain. B told one woman to call 911 and then assessed the situation. She looked at Rich's eyes and then asked him to sit down. He made it onto the grass and leaned back, and despite our efforts to keep him talking, he lost consciousness. I was holding his hand when this happened, and all I could think was, "dear God, don't let this guy die right in front of me." B then instructed us to rip his shirt off in preparation to do CPR. Fortunately, she could then see that he was still breathing (shallowly), and she found his pulse, which was weak. Rich then suddenly awoke and became quite belligerent, yelling at us and asking who we were. Luckily, his friend was there and told him what happened, and he let B keep helping him. He then lost consciousness again, and B monitored his breathing/heart rate. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the beach EMT arrived (B's dad Rich ran to the beach to find them). B asked if he needed a second for CPR, but the EMT said his partner could handle it. Not wanting to get in the way, we left, not knowing whether Rich made it or not. I hope he did. It was quite scary, and I was definitely jittery afterward. I was also extremely proud of B - she was quite heroic, and I think she gave that guy a chance to live by acting quickly and handling the scene. Amazing, really amazing! My baby rocks!

After all that excitement, we went back to the hotel and then out for some Italian food. Then it was time for bed (our luggage still hadn't arrived btw), as we had to head into the city in the morning for breakfast with B's grandparents and to catch our flight home.

On Monday morning, as we were getting ready to go to the airport, NWA called us and said, your bag is at LaGuardia - do you want us to deliver it? Hello morons, we are now on our way back to Minneapolis! B asked them to put it on the plane, but they refused and said we had to come get it. Seriously? NWA is ridiculous. Unfortunately, we hadn't built that scenario into our travel plans, and we weren't sure we could make our flight if we had to add that extra step, especially after we got lost on the way to the airport (one of the major roads was closed). B called NWA back and basically said, "you will put that bag on the plane," and they relented.

After a crazy ride, we arrived at the airport and barely made our flight - I HATE when we cut it that close. I really don't want to do that again. As we waited in the security line, we ran into Mike, Aviva, and the boys (they also got lost), so we helped them through security and with boarding. The flight home was fairly smooth, and by some miracle, our bag was waiting for us at the MSP baggage claim. Ironically, it had a RUSH tag on it. Ha! Clearly that didn't happen. Oh well, at least we had it - I was starting to worry that it was lost forever, and I had a lot of my favorite clothes/shoes in there.

After that hectic trip, B declared that she is done with traveling for a while. It's just too stressful, and the airlines are a BIG part of that. I think I agree with her, at least somewhat - maybe I shouldn't travel for a while either. The travel gods seem to hate me (my flight home from London was canceled in 2007, forcing me to stay an extra day after 40 days away from home, my luggage was lost for five days at the beginning of my Jerusalem trip, my first flight on the way to Jerusalem was canceled, a 2007 flight to Florida was canceled and we almost missed the entire weekend trip, one of my suitcases was once lost and returned to me with a hole and a tire track over it, etc.). I seriously do not have good travel luck - perhaps the next step is a plane crash, and I certainly don't want to tempt fate! :)

All in all though, despite the travel woes, I had a great time in NY, and I'm so glad I got to be a part of Liz and Justin's wedding celebration. I love weddings. I also really enjoyed hanging out with B's immediate family and meeting her extended family, as I had heard so much about all of them. Now I can't wait until our wedding in September - yay!

PS - NWA gets the idiot of the week award. Really, all airlines probably deserve the award permanently, but I'll go with the week for now. I only have so much power after all. Haha!

Fun with Firefighters

About two weeks ago, B and I went to the associate party at a fellow attorney's house. When we pulled up, some folks were standing outside and said we couldn't go in. We laughed and said whatever, and then they said, no really, you can't go in, the carbon monoxide detector is going off and the fire department is on the way. Sure enough, a big fire truck pulled up a few minutes later to check it out. They brought a full crew in a full size truck, and the guys let us explore it while a few went inside with the carbon monoxide meters. After a few minutes, they came out and gave us the all clear; the detector seemed to be malfunctioning. We then went inside and enjoyed the party.

Fast forward to Saturday afternoon at our own house. B went upstairs to take a nap, and I was watching Band of Brothers in the basement. Suddenly she called me up and said, the carbon monoxide detector in our bedroom is going off. I thought maybe she was playing a prank on me, as what are the odds of that happening twice in one weekend?!? However, it really WAS going off, and we weren't sure what to do. I changed the batteries but it kept beeping and telling us there was a carbon monoxide problem. B then called a non-emergency fire department number, and they said to call 911 and get out of the house. So, B called them and we went to sit on the front steps. And once again, we encountered a giant fire truck pulling up to a house! The guys were in full gear, and they went in to check it out. Also once again, the detector was malfunctioning - their meters read zero. Odd. I took the batteries out (the beeping drives Matty crazy), and decided to buy a new detector.

Now that we're back from our NY trip, I decided to try the old one again, just to be sure. Lo and behold, the stupid thing now works fine! I guess I can take the new detector back. I feel a little nervous that maybe I shouldn't risk it, but we have detectors on the main floor and in the basement as well, so I think we will be okay. I hope so anyway, two visits from the fire department is plenty for me - and I'm sure for our neighbors as well. :)

Oh Matty

One of the great things about the new house is that the backyard is completely fenced, which means we can just open the door and let Matty run around freely. She loves it, and so do we. However, I've always worried that someone would come by and open our gate, and I think that happened last night. I stumbled out of bed around 6 this morning to let Matty out (hitting my head on the stairway arch on the way down - nice). I opened the door and off she went. I was going to just let her hang out and go back upstairs for a few more Zs, but for whatever reason I decided to bring her inside. I opened the door and called her name...and called it again...and again. She didn't come, which is odd...and then I noticed a white flash near 42nd Street (not our yard for non-Minneapolitans) and realized she had escaped (I didn't have my glasses on to make things worse). I tore up the stairs and told B what happened. We both ran out and got into our cars, as once Matty starts to run, you can't catch her on foot - she is insanely fast.

I headed north through the alley and spotted her running north on 20th Ave. I followed her as she tore down the street (literally, I was driving fairly fast and she was flying ahead of me). She ran through our neighbors' yards, terrorizing the early dogwalkers and regular walkers. She ran up to some poor lady's fence and started going nuts at her dogs - she tried to control her dogs and I kept yelling "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't catch her." Oh, I was in my PJs to make it even better.

After terrorizing those dogs, she was off again, running over to Sibley Park. Immediately, I spotted a big problem - a woman walking two dogs with a stroller. Matty of course saw them too and off she went. The woman yelled very loudly at Matty, and I again was shouting, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, she won't hurt you" and the poor woman said, "yeah, but my dog WILL hurt her." I think I mumbled something like, "well, she pretty much deserves it at this point." The poor woman's baby was screaming at this point, but she kindly offered to help me by giving me her cookies to tempt Matty. Matty didn't buy it and she continued to run off through the entire park.

Fortunately, B pulled up at that point, and she managed to corral Matty - I'm guessing Matty was tired by then, as she really was running fast and she ran a long way. Plus, she just listens to B more than me. I was quite relieved that B caught her, as I was really scared she would be hit by a car. She doesn't really stop to look for cars - she just runs. I saw her fly through intersections where cars were coming. Yikes! I really, really didn't want to see our dog killed this morning (or any morning or time for that matter). So, knowing B had her was a huge relief.

We all headed home and tried to calm down (it really stresses B out too, to the point where she becomes ill). After a little while, Matty tried to make peace with us by cuddling, but I wasn't having it yet. I love her, but I wasn't too happy with her. I'm sure our neighbors weren't too thrilled either. I thought about posting a general "missed connection" on craigslist apologizing to all she might have run into - especially the poor woman with the baby. I'm really sorry folks!

Later on in the day, I received flowers at work. The card said, "I'm sorry. Love, Matty." How can I not forgive the dog after such a kind gesture (thanks B, that was very sweet and very cute of you to do)? I really do love that dog, but boy is she a challenge at times. I'm not sure why she loves to escape so much, as she has a good life with us (right now she's completely sacked out on the couch next to me - guess that run WAS tiring), but it's something we have to live with - it's just who she is. And we wouldn't have her any other way. :)

Girls in Wonderland 2009

B and I went to Florida in early June to visit Melia and Melissa and to partake in Girls in Wonderland 2009. We had an absolute blast at GIW in 2008, so we were really looking forward to the trip. Well, it turns out we are a little too old for GIW. We don't stay up until 5 am drinking and partying, we don't dress completely trashy, we don't throw our trash on the ground wherever we want, we don't run around the hotel hallway screaming and yelling at 4 am, and we don't generally act like immature assholes. Don't get me wrong - I loved the pool parties, spending time with B, Melia, and Melissa, and getting away for the weekend, but I can do without the rest of the weekend. It's just not my scene anymore. B and I go to bed at a fairly reasonable hour most nights, and we get up fairly early to get things done. We still love to have fun, but maybe just not in that way. I guess I'm just done with my early 20s (though I never actually acted that badly when I was in my 20s - there was some really horrid behavior going on).

In fun news, we ditched the pool party on Saturday and went to Epcot Center! I had never been before, and I loved it (though, I can't believe how much they charge for admission - holy crap! Don't they know we're in a recession - who can afford those prices?). It was really fun to go there with B. We stayed for the fireworks show, and it was just a really great date.

All in all, I'm very glad we went to Florida, as it was great to see Melia and Melissa and to go on vacation with B. However, I'm pretty sure that next year, we will be going to Florida just to see M and M - no more Girls in Wonderland for us! I guess we are more content in the regular world, and I'm okay with that!

PS - if you ever have a chance to see DJ Pride, run, don't walk, but run away. She is just not a good DJ. Lesbians like music with words - not house music like the gay boys. Get your demographics right!