~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Would you like to meet the pilot?"
Our first flight was far too early in the morning to be doing anything. Mr. Kenobi & I were barely keeping our eyes open enough to finish our coffee. Fortunately, we were greeted by a peppy flight attendant who smiled and said, "Would you boys like to meet the pilot?" Of course they would.
We filed into the plane and toward the cockpit, where a tall, handsome man stooped down to introduce himself and invite the boys to look into the pilots' area. Before I knew what was happening, he had scooped each boy up and into his seat. The co-pilot greeted them and Mr. Pilot turned to me to say, "Mom, do you have a camera?" Of course I did.
Click, click. By this time we were all awake and thoroughly impressed with Delta Airlines. Mr. Pilot set his pilot's cap on Obi-2's head, and encouraged the boys to pull the steering thingy and push buttons. No kidding. People boarded in behind us, peering in at these kids and their parents at the front of the plane.
Just before takeoff, a voice came on the overhead speakers,
"Good morning, folks, and thank you for flying with us today. I especially want to thank Obi-1 and Obi-2, who helped me check out all of the systems and prepare the plane. Everything looks good, so sit back and enjoy your flight."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's all downhill.
It was not, as we were corrected sternly, all downhill on the first day of the Mickelson Trail Trek. My mom, aunt and uncle participated in a 3-day bike ride through the Black Hills, while we hung out with dad at "The Cabin." While the overall elevation decreased nearly 2500 feet on the first day, there were many ups and downs to the ride.
Fortunately, we had great evening dinners together. A bit of electrolyte juice and some hors d'ovuers later, and everyone enjoyed the relaxing beauty of our retreat. Of course, it didn't hurt that we got to make s'mores at night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good trade.
Nani & Papa (my parents) took the boys back home, leaving Mr. Kenobi at the cabin with their zippy little red convertible. We spent a couple days touring the winding and scenic highways of the Black Hills, visited the Presidents, and marveled in the Badlands. It was the first real "weekend away" we've had since starting our family, and wonderful. We even had time to see Wall Drug...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Help me watch for the exit."
There is a sign for Wall Drug nearly every 1/2 mile in the Dakotas. As I told Mr. Kenobi, if you miss the exit(s) to this tourist trap, you don't deserve the free donut and 5-cent coffee they serve up there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's the sherbet today?"
I admit it. I'm a bit cautious about my children's eating habits. Oh, fine. I'm very strict - at least compared to most parents - about avoiding sugar. It's not that I don't allow it at all, but you can probably imagine my reaction when I heard the boys were making their own ice cream cones (and eating them) every day at 11 am!!!
Of course, as soon as we pulled into town, we had to head to the local Zesto, too. Among the dozens (maybe hundreds) of ice cream treats they offer is sherbet. Creamy, fruity, and "less sugar than ice cream" I was promised by the owner. Yeah, right. It is delicious, of course, and we enjoyed every bite!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No comments:
Post a Comment