Summertime And The Livin' Ain't Easy

This whole concept of summer as a time of lazy days spent in utter relaxation is a giant pile of hooey. School has only been out for a couple of weeks and I think I've been running around way more than I ever do during the school year. Both kids are in activities in different towns (that's a whole other story). Charlie has summer rec Monday through Thursday in Crookston, plus Tae Kwon Do twice a week. Andrew is in the midst of driver's ed (God help me), weight training and baseball in Fisher. Now that he has an official girlfriend, social engagements have become more numerous and the fact that she lives in yet another town adds to the mix. You've got to love this whole small town thing!

We've been to the emergency room once already and had another close call. The trip to the ER was technically my fault as I shot the NERF foam dart my youngest was trying to dodge when he smucked his chin on the counter that caused him to bite through his lower lip. However, him slicing his finger while cutting an orange was totally NOT my fault. No trip needed that time though. They're going to start calling the cops on us pretty soon.

We spent the day in Sioux Falls, SD yesterday. Leaving home at 11 pm, driving through rain, fog and dark of night to arrive at about 4 am. The interesting thing about drving at night around here, particularly when it's damp, is the hordes of frogs that pepper the highways. I have no earthly idea why this phenomenon occurs but squashing batallions of the suicidal amphibians is impossible to avoid. I felt kind of bad about the first half dozen or so but became a hardened serial killer with little or no remorse after a while. Charlie kept a running tally (really should have Nyquilled him pre-trip) and reminded me frequently that I was probably going to end up in the pits of hell for my ongoing slaughter of innocents. I handled the Minnesota frog horde with pretty good grace, never knowing that the South Dakota turtle brigade was just two state lines away. I didn't actually run over any of the turtles, thank goodness since they were roughly the size of dinner plates and I shudder to think of what THEY would have done to the underside of my car. There they were, lined up like sentinels along the shoulder of the interstate every few miles. I think word had spread of my Minnesota frog massacre and they were there to ensure I didn't wreak my brand of nightmare of the amphibious populace of South Dakota.
Sioux Falls, SD at 4 am on a Saturday is about what you'd expect when we rolled into town there wasn't much to do but find a Fryin' Pan and have a somewhat early breakfast. This was all the of the kids' first experience at a 24 hour eatery in the middle of the night, clearly they've haven't hit college yet. You're wondering what the hell we were doing in Sioux Falls in the dead of night? We went to watch their 34th annual (and I just heard about it this year) hot air balloon race and couldn't find a reasonable hotel room. So...road trip. Launch was at 5:45 am so we did the logical thing and drove all night to arrive with time for breakfast.

The midnight ride was well and truly worth the lives lost to get there. I have never seen more than one hot air balloon at a time up close and personal. Here before us were more than thirty, spread out on the ground and waiting to be filled.

An unfilled hot air balloon isn't much to look at:

But it's a whole different story once they start filling up:

And airborne, breathtaking:

Absolutely worth the effort.

Once the balloons launched, there wasn't a whole lot else to do there and your options ANYWHERE at 7:00 on a Saturday morning are relatively limited. Andrew suggested the mall, never considering malls weren't a 24 hour deal (this is definitely a non-urban child). We made our way to the historic downtown area to find the blocks lined with works of art. 'Sculpturewalk' is apparently an ongoing thing downtown. We wandered there a bit and took pictures of our favorites. Keeping Charlie out of the water features was a bit of a challenge but I eventually won with the argument that if he got wet, he was going to stay wet as we didn't bring extra clothing. Charlie got a hold of the map and, I think randomly, decided he wanted to go to Falls Park (yes, there is a falls in Sioux Falls). A fine, fine choice practically worth the drive for the park alone. Overall, Sioux Falls is a cool city and I'll definitely plan on more than a few hours spent next time.

The trip home was less exciting than the trip there. No frog fatalities, no turtle lookouts, just a whole bunch of squished mammal types...raccoons being the most prevalent. My passengers passed out for most of the trip, leaving me totally in control of the radio for once. Getting home Saturday afternoon, I realized I had been up for roughly 34 of the previous 38 hours and it was time for a bit of a nap. It was then I discovered a deep and abiding love for my bed.