highlights from vacation

We did a lot in just two weeks.  Here are a few highlights:

Burrito made her first pie with Grandma Maxine (see right).

We got to see U2's 360 Tour at the TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. I had been waiting for this concert since last year when we bought the highly-prized tickets.  At that time, we lived in North Dakota.  Bono suffered a serious back injury, however, and the concert had to be rescheduled.  We determined we were still going!  I think U2 is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of concert, almost a religious experience (maybe cut out the "almost").  It amazes me to see loads of people who would never darken the door of a church attending and singing songs like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" which includes an explicit reference to Christ.  People obviously hunger for meaning more than we give them credit for. The concert took on extra dramatic flair when a huge downpour of rain began about 45 minutes in.  We were lucky enough to score seats under an overhang, but others were not so lucky.  Bono and crew gamely kept playing, even breaking out umbrellas and rain-related songs on occasion, such as "Singin' in the Rain."  It seemed as if the rain brought out even more passion from the most famous rock band in the world.  The air was electric (thankfully not from anyone being electrocuted!).

We visited a beautiful garden and read lots of stories with Grandma Pam.

We visited the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota and Burrito got to get a picture with "Corn Guy" (her name for a person dressed up in a suit as an ear of corn).

We stopped by an 1880s town near Murdo, South Dakota.  It had Dances with Wolves memorabilia and a town street you could walk down.  At the hotel, I found this sign (see right).  Apparently, we traveled in the wrong century!  Lodging for 25 cents!  Also, wine was sold by the gallon.

We visited Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota (more on that in a later post too) where I got my 5 cent coffee, which then kept me up that night.  But how can you pass up 5 cent coffee?

We stopped by Mount Rushmore, followed by the Flintstones' Bedrock City where we ate Bronto Burgers at the Bedrock City Drive-In. 

We proceeded on to Deadwood, SD, a place which I had wanted to visit ever since we lived in North Dakota.  It was interesting to see the multitude of casinos in the most famous lawless town of the Old West.  We visited the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane at Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood. 

I took note of the causes of death in Lawrence County in the late 1800s.  Murder was lower than I expected, given Deadwood's reputation.  We also found the spot where Wild Bill was shot and killed and got a quick snapshot of Al Swearengen's costume from the TV show, Deadwood. 

We arrived home exhausted (I'm still unpacking and cleaning) and glad to be home.  We had lots of adventures but in the end, there's no place like home!