Today was a driving day, and so a lot happened, but not much seemed to happen.
We realized that we had not explored Sioux Falls enough to know what the East side of the state is really like, and we need to experience all of everything here.
We took the 90 for speed. It was fascinating. Not only did we see tractor after tractor, we saw miles of the interstate torn up down to the dirt, piles of steel and concrete, rock crushers making small pieces of concrete out of the big pieces, and new roadbed being prepared. We can’t figure out why they take the road away down to the dirt. Good thing we are not road builders! Ha!
Atticus and Brandon are still sick, which is super fun. Brandon is no longer dizzy, but he looks like a sickly homeless man. Atticus looks like a cute little sick kid who cleans up his own puke, and spent much of the day napping like a champ. The rest of us are downing Oscillococcinum like weird hippies and imagining every little pang of anything is the flu coming on.
Sick baby boys are so sad.
We didn’t stop often today. The kids got wiggly in the car. At one point, Brandon got a work emergency and so had an hour of workation. When I peeked back at the kids, during a particularly naughty spat, I saw a lot of mischief and one angry princess back there. “What’s happening back there?” “Nothing” “Sunshine is mad because she lost Gold Grab again!” “Judah is cheating!” “No he’s not, he’s just helping Atticus!” “Let’s listen to a book!” “We can’t! Popi is on the phone! We have to be quiet!”
Ummmmm….time for earbuds and some St. Augustine.
When we did stop, it was in the middle of cornfields, a lost gas station that was planted at a time when someone thought a town might pop up. “This here’s gonna be a BOOMING town! Just you watch!” The gas station store had an odd man running it, and there was a hearty array of home-made snacks and canned goods among the scanty candy junk offerings. Brandon bought some “corn cob sugar pectin” and some caramel corn puffs. The corn puffs were, well, inedible, and the corn cob sugar pectin will remain unopened…forever maybe?
The rebels began to riot over hunger and thirst, but supplies were running low. There was a little place called Krispy Krunchy Chicken. Oh, wait, it’s at a gas station. It’s a box of chicken from a gas station. Nobody seemed to mind very much that it was basically chicken coated in salt with a little bit of flour. I ate veggies, and Brandon looked like he was having a flu relapse.
Brandon had contacted his family in Sioux Falls to see if we could have a speed visit, and I don’t think we have ever been happier to reach a destination.
This family is a group of 5 sisters and 1 brother, cousins to Brandon’s mom, and 3 of the sisters, plus a few young cousins, were there. They served us ice cream, spoke softly, were such midwestern ladies, and made me want to live close to them. I want my daughters to grow up to be like them.
These are the South Dakota cousins. One of the sisters lives in Minnesota and is a flight attendant married to a farmer. We have met up with her several times as she travels to San Diego from time to time. Once, we even stayed with her family for several days while we rested up on a cross-country bike trip. I got to drive a combine during that stay.
Tonight we are in Sioux Falls at a dumpy motel by the airport. It’s not really terrible. It does not have a water park, no fun campground friends, no cute dive bars close by. We have been spoiled.
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