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I took a four-day trip to South Dakota on the 4th-7th, and here is my travel journal (normally I write travel journals during the trip, but I’m writing this one in retrospect):

Day one – June 4th – Aberdeen:

Like always, we left home almost an hour later than planned. On the way to Aberdeen, I listened to music, read the Bible, and read That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis. When we got to Aberdeen, we ate at Culver’s for lunch. If you know me well, that really shouldn’t come as a shock, as I have a bit of a Culver’s addiction, and we don’t have one here. I had a butterburger with cheese snack-pak and a cone of Boston cream pie custard. After eating, we went to Wylie Park, which is loaded with activities. We started by using the bumper boats. I must say that I pwned my brother; he got far wetter than me. It would’ve been nice to have gotten a bit more wet, though, because it was somewhat hot out. Next we walked through Storybook Land and the Land of Oz, and as those attractions are targeted toward younger children, I did my best to relive my childhood and just have fun. I bought a flying monkeys T-shirt (since I love monkeys), had a slush puppy, got a train ride, and rode the balloon ride. Rique ruined the balloon ride because he spun the gondola around quickly, and my stomach just can’t take that. Nice job, Rique. Next my dad, brother, and I rented a paddle boat for a half hour. We finished our day at Wylie Park with Rique and I playing mini golf. I played all right, but Rique had a good day and demolished me. We had plans to also rent a bike for four, but since it was getting late, we just went back to the hotel afterward. We ordered a pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Godfather’s Pizza for supper, which was good. I just chilled the rest of the night, while Rique and Dad went swimming and Mom rested.

Day two – June 5th – Dell Rapids/Sioux Falls:

The reason we took this trip was to see my uncle who couldn’t make it up for my graduation, so we went to Dell Rapids to visit him, his wife, and his son. When we arrived at his house, the weather wasn’t very good, so we had to stay inside for a while. We talked for a bit, and then Rique and I went downstairs to play pool. I hadn’t played pool for years, but I beat him two games out of three. I should’ve beaten him all three games, but I called the incorrect pocket for the eight ball, which was very dumb of me. Once the weather was better, Rique and I drove my uncle’s golf cart for a little while. For supper my uncle, his wife, his son, his son’s girlfriend, my parents, my brother, and I went to Spezia, an Italian restaurant in Sioux Falls. I ordered basically the cheapest entrée on the menu, as everything was over $15. I’m used to eating at sit-down restaurants with most prices under $10, so the prices came as a shock to me, but I guess that’s how many restaurants (just not so much locally) are. My entrée was penne with all sorts of vegetables (asparagus, zucchini, radishes, peppers, portabella mushrooms, etc.), and it came with bread and salad (I chose caesar of course). It was really good. Afterward we checked out my cousin and his girlfriend’s new house and then returned to my uncle’s house in Dell Rapids. We decided to go to the driving range (my uncle lives next to the golf course). The only time I had played golf previously was for a couple of weeks in gym class one year, so you can imagine how that went. I surprised myself with a few hits, but there were stretches of total embarrassment where I whiffed completely consecutive times. It was a little nerve-wracking toward the end of my bucket of balls because a thunderstorm was rolling in. Luckily we were able to finish without anything eventful happening; we just got pretty wet because the rain started coming down. Afterward my uncle, my cousin, my dad, and I went to look at vehicles while everyone else stayed at the house. My dad is going to buy me some sort of four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicle, so that driving in the snow won’t be so bad when I go off to NDSU. That was about it for the night, as when we returned to my uncle’s house, I just watched Rique play pool, and then I went to bed.

Day three – June 6th – Sioux Falls:

The next morning everyone went to the Original Pancake House in Sioux Falls for breakfast. I had chocolate chip pancakes, an over-medium egg, and cranberry-apple juice. It was really good but too much to eat. After breakfast, we said goodbye to my uncle, his wife, his son, and his son’s girlfriend. My parents, my brother, and I then went to Falls Park. I could easily have spent all day there. The scenery is spectacular and walking around and climbing on the rocks is really fun. If I lived in Sioux Falls, I would go there often and just sit somewhere and read or walk around. We spent hours there, I took a lot of photos, and I had a great time. Next we went to the Great Plains Zoo. A lot of the animals weren’t visible, but it was still fun. Then it was time for revenge in mini golf. This time I creamed my brother. By this time, I was incredibly hungry since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. We went to Sonic, and I had a burger, chili cheese tots, and a pineapple shake. It’s too bad there aren’t any Sonics around here because I love that place. After supper we went back to the hotel, and Rique and I went swimming for a while before bedtime.

Day four – June 7th – Traveling:

I don’t have much to write about the fourth day because it was virtually all traveling. The long, boring drive was interrupted by a lunch stop in Aberdeen. I had a chicken and fish combo from Long John Silver’s, which of course was very good. After more driving, we stopped at McDonald’s for a bathroom break and ice cream. And that’s about it. We arrived home sometime in the afternoon, which meant going back to the monotony and boredom of being at home.

For photos of Falls Park and Great Plains Zoo, go to my Windows Live Space: http://bripoeticjustice.spaces.live.com

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