Lauren and I have just returned home from a weekend back on the farm in South Dakota. While it did in fact coincide with Easter, it was really just a weekend at home for the first time since Christmas.
Friday night, we headed out right after work and had been making great time until we got close to home. Mom told me not to take the Carpenter road off 212 because of some terrible potholes, so we went south on 81 out of Watertown, then west through Hazel. Before we could reach Hwy. 25, we came upon two miles of gravel road. What the hell, I figured, and we tried to reach 25 on the gravel. Unfortunately, we got almost all the way down this creepy gravel road and then noticed it was underwater. We had to back all the way out and try a different road, but it was too muddy and we had to back down that road and backtrack again. It was a series of poor decisions but we eventually made it home. That night we stayed up chatting with Ma and Pa for an hour or two before calling it a night.
Saturday morning and afternoon we hung out at home. I took my old ’85 Monte Carlo SS for a spin for the first time in five years. Then Lauren got her first up-close experience with cows as we went out to check cows with Dad. Lauren found it to be a rewarding experience! In the afternoon, Grandma Bell and Uncle Stuart came down for a visit and we all ate Grandma’s strawberry pie. Mmm-mmm!
In the evening, Mom, Dad, Alex, Ann, Lee, Patra, Lauren, and I went out for dinner at the Hanger restaurant at the Huron Airport. I ate a tasty 18 oz. prime rib. We decided to keep the fun rolling, so I suggested karaoke at the Sportsman’s Bar. There, I rocked the house with “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” with Mom’s high school friend Lynda and did a solo of Travis Tritt’s “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.” Later, Lauren joined me for “Two Pina Coladas; Alex joined me for “Jessie’s Girl”; and Ann joined me for “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” I think all were crowd-pleasers.
The craziness of the night was a dice game Alex wanted to teach the family. The game consists of rolling five dice and one person picking a shot, one paying for it, and one taking it. We thought it might be fun to play a round or two since Alex had just turned 21 and this was his first real bar experience. Well, one thing led to another and… well, I best not incriminate anyone in my immediate family. But somewhere, I knew Jason LaPlant was proud of us.
Sunday morning we woke up, Mom cooked an enormous brunch, and then Lauren and I hit the road at 2, making it home safely by 7. We stopped at the Poulters to give them a gift of Dakota Style chips and Glanzer beef products. All in all, a successful Easter!
Oh, and here are pictures of the weekend and other stuff.
Ryan Glanzer Blog 