This past week has been fantastic and one I will never forget. I was reunited with one of my dear friends from the UK, Charlie, and she and I embarked on a road trip of epic proportions. She had studied this past semester at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and had been traveling the south since the end of the semester. I was so excited for her to arrive in Kansas City last Monday, and I'm fairly certain I have talked of nothing else for at least the last three months. After showing her Platte City and Kansas City in a day (an admittedly easy task to accomplish!) we set out on the open road to South Dakota. We had dreams of seeing mountains turned into sculptures, beautiful national parks, and (hopefully) loads of good shopping. Here we are just before stepping into the car for our adventure...
We were definitely not disappointed! We stopped at the #1 roadside attraction in the United States on the way there... the famous Wall Drug. It was an interesting place with pretty much anything you could think of up for sale.
We stayed at the historic Hotel Alex Johnson in downtown Rapid City. It was a beautiful hotel that I had seen featured on one of Rachael Ray's shows. The hotel itself has a very interesting history, including that of infamous hauntings. While we didn't see any ghosts lurking around the linen closet, there were strange sounds from the pipes around the room. Maybe the ghosts haunt the plumbing? ;) Who knows. In any case, the hotel was very charming...
We had a very busy first day in South Dakota. Seeing Mount Rushmore was at the top of our list, and it was a truly amazing sight to behold. Charlie and I were in awe of it, especially when we saw how the mountain was sculpted. The workers had basically dangled from a cable, perched on a shoddy piece of metal, with nothing around them but a tiny bit of leather. Yikes. I think maybe you had to be passionate - and just a tad crazy - to want to work on a project like that. But the work certainly paid off, and it is such an interesting landmark for everyone to enjoy...
Next we headed to the mountain sculpture in progress, the Crazy Horse Memorial. The only part that is completed is the face, and it looks like that is the only part that is anywhere near complete. The project is entirely made up of private funding, and unfortunately this means very slow progress. Charlie and I both hope that it is completed in our lifetimes, but I can't help but feel skeptical. I encourage everyone to go and at least see how it is now. When it's finished it is surely to be spectacular...
After eating lunch in Custer (which I mistakenly thought was Keystone), we set out to see the wildlife at Custer State Park. Charlie had never seen buffalo before, and that was our main goal to accomplish. Not only did we find a herd of resting buffalo, but we literally crossed paths with them several times as we were attempting to leave the park. They are massive animals, and it was so neat to see them close-up. Yet another "Things Charlie Needs to See in America" box checked off the list...
The next day we set out to the town of Deadwood to see the sights. We were also trying desperately to find an old-fashioned Soda Shop and Ice Cream Parlor. Google told me there was in the nearby town of Lead. To make a long story short: Google lied. However, on our way to Keystone we stumbled upon something extraordinary. We came upon the quaint 50's diner-inspired establishment of Boondocks. This place had it all: Classic American diner food, black bar stools with a cool counter, oldies music playing, pictures of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe, vintage cars, and dinosaurs. Yes, they even had dinosaurs (apparently they are a big deal in South Dakota)! In fact I'm not totally convinced this place is 1940's or 1950's inspired. It may actually be that old. Hard to tell these days.
After driving through the beautiful Black Hills, and exploring Rushmore Cave, we decided to end our road trip with a bang. We went to see a drive-in movie. There aren't any drive-ins in the UK, and I had never been to one, so it was a first for both Charlie and myself. It was certainly an adventure again, seeing as how my car died right before the movie started. In my defense, I didn't know my ignition should be on "Accessory" mode so that we could listen to the movie AND make sure my battery didn't go dead. The nice ticket booth lady didn't give us our pamphlet or trash bag that held this vital information. Thankfully we were rescued by the owner, Roy, who jump-started the car at the beginning of the show. We watched Oz the Great and Powerful from the comfort of the car and will have a funny story to tell! :) Here is Charlie, pre car-battery-failure...
We had to head back to Kansas City the next day, so that was the end of our road trip. It was such a great time to catch up with her, and I was reminded yet again of how amazing my time in the UK truly was. It was so difficult to say goodbye to Charlie at the airport, but as she so eloquently puts it: "It is only ever goodbye for now". I'm hoping to visit my girls across the pond next summer, so I will focus on looking forward to our reunion then.
Now it is back to work, back to writing, and back to dreaming. Till we meet again!
Cheers!
:)
