We arrived late on Friday night and headed to bed soon after getting to his parent's home. On Saturday morning we got up early and ate some delicious blueberry scones that Kyle's Mom had ready for us. We headed to Spearfish to see Kyle's Grandpa and take him out to lunch. His Grandfather suffered a terrible stroke in January and is now in an assisted living home, it was difficult to see him so changed from when we had spent time with him at Christmas but it was comforting to see the wonderful place they had found for him and we were so happy when he recognized Kyle immediately upon our coming in the door. We had a good visit with him although he was quickly worn out and it was time to go. Kyle and his Dad headed back home to watch the OSU's first game of the season and his Mom and I headed into town for some last minute things for the BBQ on Monday. On Sunday we headed to the Badlands and traveled most of the day. It was a great time and I saw a lot of amazing things that I never knew existed in the middle of South Dakota. It is definitely worth seeing. On Monday Kyle and his father and I headed to Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park and had a wonderful half day trip getting home just in time for the BBQ to start. Lots of family and friends came by and we had a great time playing Horseshoe Golf despite the rain and suddenly cool temperatures. On Tuesday we had breakfast with Kyle's Great Uncle before he headed back home and then we gambled a bit before heading to a museum about the town of Deadwood and then to Mount Myriah where we hiked up a steep trail so overlook the whole city. It was great although I was really worn out when we got back to the car. We went to see his Grandpa one more time and got to visit with some other family members again before heading back to Deadwood to try our luck once more at the penny slot machines. On Wednesday we got up and had breakfast at the casino that Kyle's Dad supervises and then they took us to Rapid City to catch our flight and start our day of travel. We were lucky enough to catch an earlier flight from Chicago to Tampa and made it home an hour or so ahead of schedule. We picked up our little Harley from our friends who had offered to pet-sit the little thing and finally got home and went straight to sleep. Why is it that you always seem to need a little vacation to recover from your real vacation? Anywhoo- we are home and happy to be so! Enjoy the pics!
