“If you look down, you’ll end up in the ground. Just look where you want to go.” - Louis

South Dakota has surely surpassed all other states for providing bizarre happenings. Our day began with a scavenger hunt to find a coffee shop in Sioux Falls. When we searched for a place to stay last night, I noticed “Connie’s Coffee & Bakery” only a block down from the Econo Lodge we stayed at, so I suggested we go. Well, apparently Connie left town. So, our GPS directed us to “Wild Flower Coffee” in downtown. Yeah, I guess someone weeded the garden and took out the Wild Flowers. Now I figured for a downtown area, they must have a coffee shop so we walked around a few blocks and found nothing. On a tangent, however, Sioux Falls actually seems like a pretty cool place to explore -- a lot of trendy shops and restaurants. It slightly reminded me of Portsmouth, NH, but minus the Friendly Toast. So, we got back into the car and decided to explore another coffee shop just up the road called something along the lines of Clay Coffee… guess what? Doesn’t exist either! With our mouths parched, stomachs grumbling, and attitudes getting sour, we gave it one last shot -- the “Firehouse Underground.” Sounds kind of indie, right? I thought so too, and when we arrived after I told Jay to keep going past the Starbucks because you can get that anywhere… well, lets just say I should have indulged myself with a tall soy chai latte. You see, the Firehouse Underground, located in the downstairs of what seemed like an office building, had a great sign explaining its… coffee house? Yes, the Firehouse Underground actually provides a meeting place for conversation and coffee for “people who love Jesus Christ.” Yikes, not my cup of tea. So, as Jay began to descend I said, “Uh… I don’t think we want to go there.” Needless to say, we promptly left and got on the highway to find someplace else along the way. We found a Perkin’s Family Restaurant some miles down the road, and finally got our coffee and breakfast… at 1pm. Back on the road again our terrain hasn’t changed too much -- corn fields, cows, and endless fields of grass surround us constantly. Side note: people don’t honk out here like in Massachusetts… I will need to get used to this. After some time of driving, we found ourself at a scenic rest stop on the Missouri River because of course my bladder can’t handle more than 30cc of liquid. So I enter the building and look to my left. This happens to be a Lewis and Clark themed area, and amidst the tent replicas and informational signs, I see a bearded guy with a Red Sox hat. “Hm..” I though, “we’re in the middle of South Dakota… who would be wearing a Red Sox hat?” I walked towards him and to my pleasant surprise… Mike Lepage! Talk about coincidence; my first true high school romance and I reunited in the middle of South Dakota, hilarious! We talked about our travels and then went on our separate ways, assuring we’d keep in touch as to where we end up. I find moments like this so phenomenal. Of all the places you could be at one point in time, how is that we both chose that same place? Blows my mind. Anyways, so I wanted to take some pictures while we stopped of the river and rolling hills. I asked a woman if she could take a picture of my brother and I. As she handed the camera back to me, two men had walked over and one of them says, “Now you’re supposed to give her a big kiss.” Pretending I did not actually hear those words and burying my face in my hands, I replied, “Uh, no. Thats my brother. I would be scarred forever.” Jay made some comments along the same lines, while the man laughed and said, “Well it’ll be a picture for the family album! You’ve got to do it once, then you can say been there, done that. Then it’s over and you don’t do it again.” I’m almost positive I tasted vomited in my mouth as we walked away. After that experience, we headed out. Since we went over the Missouri River, the land has gone from flat to rolling hills. Favorite part of the drive in South Dakota definitely goes to the massive fields of sunflowers that seemed to go on forever… so beautiful! For those of you who aren’t aware, sunflowers top the list of favorite flowers followed by passion flowers. The wind here has been very, very gusty and every time I open the window to take a picture of something, it sounds as though I’m opening the emergency exit on an airplane. Poor Celeste has been abused during this trip; she’s covered with bugs and who knows what else. I must say, there has not been many punny signs in South Dakota. In the restroom at Perkins I found, “Wash and dry your hands well. For the health of it.” I considered it a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the punniest; I still appreciate the message, though. We made our way to Mount Rushmore in the late afternoon, which proved a perfect time to appreciate the beauty of the monument. As you approach it from the road, which the view has changed from flat farmland to rolling hills to mountain ranges in the distance, you can see the presidents. To think someone actually carved the rocks to form recognizable and historical figures completely amazes me. We hung out for some time, took pictures of us picking Abraham Lincolns nose, and roamed around the gift shop. I waited outside while Jay made some purchases and when he came out he told me that the people he stood with in line were from Swansea! The coincidences of the day just keep getting weirder and weirder. As we inch closer to Pomeroy, I continue to feel very positive about this move. No pleas to turn around or questioning why I thought this to be a good idea -- all good things! My gut tells me I will be fine and I am getting more and more excited to begin this new adventure. Back to traveling, we entered Wyoming and it greeted us with some lighting in the distance -- my reaction to the lighting? “uhhhh whooaaaoooaaa! I hope Celeste doesn’t get struck!!”. The mountains in the distance definitely put a smile on my face and I look forward to seeing Devils Tower tomorrow. When we arrived in Wyoming we checked into a hotel in Sundance and decided to check out the local bar called the Turf. There we met Gerry, and no, not my Dad. He gave us the official welcome to Wyoming and invited us to bar hop to the other (and only other) bar in town, the Dime Horseshoe Bar. Jay fit right in, while I kept my mouth shut and smiled when the conversation turned political. The people out here are very, very friendly and I had a really great beer called Easy Street. Gerry kindly introduced us to everyone in the bar and we had a great night. I’m beginning to like this western lifestyle.