The drive back to Sioux Falls was fairly quiet. We did hit some rain on the way and there were warnings on the radio about heavy rain and strong winds, but we didn't get that.
We drove past a few bikers (most of them had stopped under bridges during the rain) and a lot of RV's with bikes on a trailer. It was the last day of the Sturgis Rally and most of them were travelling back home. Saying that, the traffic wasn't that heavy so as I have already mentioned the drive back was fairly quiet.
We drove across the Missouri river again. This time we were a bit more prepared and got a few more photos. It is an impressive river for sure.
When we arrived in Sioux Falls we went straight to the Hotel and had a relaxing evening. We had a 5 meat pizza for tea. Yummy :) And then we watched the first pre-season American Football game (Steelers vs Vikings). Loved that and the Vikings won!!!
Monday 10th we went up early and packed up to drive to the airport. Grant has been awesome driving the car and the Chevrolet Malibu was a really nice car.
We had breakfast at the airport and I had so much fun watching the lady working there. She moved so slow it was almost unbelievable. Maybe her day of work went faster by moving slower, if that make sense....
We arrived at Minneapolis airport but this time we didn't have to walk as far as we did when we arrived from LA. Flight to Lansing leaving from B10. We arrived there and found that the flight had been moved to B6 so we moved there. After sitting there for about 30 minutes, guess what.... The flight got moved yet again to B2. Man, make up your mind!. Anyway, We all got boarded and the Captain welcomed us on board and starting to tell us about Lansing, when the plan lost power. The 3rd engine (that powers communication in the plane and aircondition) suddenly stopped working. Remember that we had to change planes going to Sioux Falls. A tech came around and it was decided that we were going to stay on the plane and fly to Minneapolis. We left about 45 minutes late but landed only about 20 minutes after the planned landing time.
At this stage it started to feel a bit nervous because we now were going to meet the cousins for the first time. We came down the stairs and we saw Alan first, then Kim (Alan's wife). Then we saw Britt-Marie and Valerie. And around the corner Mark (Valerie's husband) and Aunt Mary was waiting for us.
For tea we went to a steakhouse. Interestingly we got on our plate (we shared a meal) 1 steak and 1 corn on the cob. No potatoes or gravy. It tasted great but was a bit odd.
We sat up late talking about our dads and our families. I got confirmed that Leif left Sweden to get away from The Salvation Army and God, and that Grand Ma sneaked his bible into his suitcase.
I asked Mary how they met an she told it was on a blind date. Imagine that.
I also sounds like Leif had the same sense of humour as my dad. If I remembered correctly dad told me that the 2 of them were quite close.
Alan have all this old photos from his dad and he asked me if I could recognise any of the people but most of them were un-known to me. To my surprise he had photos of Ann-Britt, me, Lennart and Martin. I have no idea who sent those to Leif.
We were up to after midnight before we went to bed.
Today we went to John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids. It took over 1 hour to get there. The zoo was amazing. Amongst the animals we saw was a Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle. What majestic creatures. And we saw 3 Bongos.....Google that to find out what type of animal that is.
We then travelled to Cadillac and that is were we are tonight. Tomorrow we are going to Macalan Island. There are no cars on this Island so you either have to walk, bike or take a horsedrawn ride. The Island have 2 forts and it is famous for its fudge. Apparently Mark & Valerie know someone from there and they have given us a free horsedrawn ride and free fudge. Life can't be better.
We are having spaghetti for tea tonight. Will be interesting to compare it with my version.
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