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Jean and I had planned a mega road trip for the summer of 2020. The few remaining states on our bucket list of setting foot in all 50 states included North Dakota. When you live in Alabama, you don’t go to North Dakota…unless…you are going to North Dakota. It simply is not on the way! We had everything mapped out and planned. We planned to fly up there and drive back. We bought our airline tickets, reserved a rental car, made the reservations, and mapped out an itinerary. Then, you already know what happened in 2020. The Covid Pandemic was one of the most unusual times in our lifetime. For most of that year, nobody went anywhere, including the Dakotas. We hardly left our own homes for months. We cancelled our trip, got most of our money back, and said, “We will go later.” Little did we realize that “later” would be five years later.

When I say we finally made it to Rapid City but not rapidly, I’m not only talking about the five- year delay. I’m talking about one day that lasted longer than a day! Yes, I do realize that is not possible, but that day began for us at 5:00 (Central Time) on Tuesday morning and we finally got in bed around 2:00 (Mountain Time) Wednesday morning. We spent about eight of those hours in an airport waiting for our connecting flight! Due to the weather, our flight was delayed seven times before it was finally cancelled. They scheduled us for a new flight later that day, and it was then delayed four times. When I remembered the phrase “Good things come to those who wait,” I knew we were going to have some more marvelous vacation!

Since this year was our 50th wedding anniversary, Jean and I decided to replan our trip to the Dakotas as a second honeymoon. We went to Panama City Beach for our first one. I’m not necessarily a beach guy…especially since the bottoms of my feet got blistered on that honeymoon trip. I know you just asked, “How do you blister the bottoms of your feet?” You do so, by riding face down on an air mattress on the Gulf waves too long. So, we decided to go to the mountains for our second honeymoon, and to take our grandson Drew with us.   

When we finally made it to Rapid City, we discovered that our luggage had not. The nice airport luggage guy scanned our baggage-claim ticket and told us our luggage was safe and sound…still sitting in the last airport. He told us it should arrive in about an hour-and-a-half. I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” 

Since I am a contact-lens wearer and my case and solution were inside my checked bag, I then had a new problem. I have slept with contacts in before, but I was singing the Lionel Richie song, “Stuck on you,” the next morning! Where do you find contact-lens stuff at midnight? I found a Wal-Mart, and a drug store, but they and most everything else in Rapid City were closed. Much to my surprise and delight, the Circle K convenience store directly in front of our hotel was open and had exactly what I needed.

After a short night’s sleep, I popped in my vision assistance, brushed my teeth with a paper towel, and headed to pick up our luggage. We were then ready to begin our road trip through the Dakotas, as well as the eastern end of Montana and Wyoming. It did not disappoint! Please stay tuned for the rest of the story.