Day 33

so, these are my only photos for the day becuase i was stupid. i thought my camera bag was closed, but no. it was not. and we got severely DUMPED upon. my camera's shot. i'm going to get a new one in about 20 minutes.

the second photo probobly needs an explanation. bob got lost. really lost. he ended up riding 70 miles by himself and then found us. i would say he was pretty glad to see us! we all got hugs....

check liz, ben, and sean's blogs for photos from the past 3 days. i was with them.

Day 32

so, i didn't drink coffee, but now i do. it's beginning to be a must. and for the best (cheapest) fix, we often turn to the gas station.

children of the corn? i've never seen the movie and i think that's probobly a good
thing.

ok, this 3rd photo is VERY VERY important. it was the first (and last) time that i was EVER in front of the world-famous-crazy-fast steve on the road. i took sweet pleasure in the fact for about 2.8 seconds.

Day 31

today was sort of like life. i felt everything. frustration, elation, and everything else. the morning was glorious. magical, even. it was humid and misty and divine. then i hit sort of a midday wall, got over it, hit another wall, bla, bla. and i had a flat at mile 103 3/4 of 104. it was the only day that liz and i have ridden alone and it was wonderful for that. bob jr. and dan's families made us dinner. mmmm mmmm mmmm. i bet i had a whole pound of cheese curds!! thank you!!

Day 30

my what a wondeful day. is my writing getting repetitive? do i say that about every day? it feels like it. today surely was, though. we started out along the mississippi and biked into wisconsin. i LOVE THE MIDWEST!! green and beautiful. along the way, the meyers family set up a wonderful stop for us. i wont even try to describe how good the food was because i can't.
a glorious, beautiful day.

Day 29

Rochester!!!!! my family set up a tent on our way in and i was able to visit with my family and some close family friends. you guys are wonderful for coming out to greet us. WONDERFUL. later that night, my parents and older sister, megan, came to eat dinner with us in winona.

Day 28

What a surprise to look up at our first water stop and see Bob and Karen standing there. Thank you so much. it made my day!

Day 27 home again home again jiggity jig!

my dear papa came to get me at the dorms in new ulm last night. and he brought more cookies, bless his heart. the looong hugs from both my niece and my nephew made the 2 hour drive very worth it. it's been a nice relaxing day with DELICIOUS FOOD. god i love you, mom. thanks for all of the support, family.

Day 26

man o man do we love the shade trees!! and there's nothing like a little watermellon to satisfy that midday hunger.
congratulations mom and dad on 33 years of marriage. i love you both!!

Day 25

MIIIIIINESOTA!! how i love thee. my camera wasn't working temporarily, so i don't have border shots, but it was a fun day. we got free ice cream in brookings and had a fun night in camp discussing possible eating contest options. 18 crispy creams? a gallon of chocolate milk? come on, no problem!

Day 24

what an exciting, eventful day. i took my first dig--turned a little too sharply on some gravel hence the dusty racing stripe down my side. we also passed the half way mark on our trip and experienced a pretty huge thunderstorm. what you can't tell from that photo of the four of us is how SOPPING wet we were. in swimming we used to say "eat my bubbles" and during this storm i was. i was eating the rain and the spray from the semis and from ben's back tire. it was insane. but FUN!! after we finished riding, my grandparents came and visited me with my cousin, cooper. we went to the laura ingalls wilder homestead. thanks grandpa and grandma!! i love you!

Day 23

pollie is amazing. not only is she our fearless leader, but she is also a basketballista!! sorry, tom. you're no match for the wonder that is pollie.
this was also the night my dear aunt ann came to visit. she bought sean, ben, and i our first round of burgers at bob's drive-in and dazzled us with her diet-coke-drinking talents. i love you, ann!! thanks for everything!!

Day 22

a hot, long, windy day. i complained a little and my mom replied, "well you are in the dakotas, you know". that's for sure!! there were some beautiful places, to be fair. the photo of the sunset was taken near our campsite in pierre, sd.

Day 21

the day started out with a little adventure...a windy, but short thunderstorm. that passed as we moved into the badlands. all in all a beautiful and not too hot day. let me explain alison's shirt--pb and j...life is good. a commentary on our daily lives considering that most of us eat about 3 pb and js a day.

Day 20

a rest day!! thank you so much mike and candace (my aunt and uncle) for the food, the company, and for running us around town. i love you both!!

Day 19

state number 5. good thing i didn't know how dangerous buffalo are when i was taking this photo, right? but it was a beautiful day until the last 20 miles when we got whipped around by an ugly headwind.

Day 18

we had a long-shot view of devils tower today...this sign was much prettier!! at our 2nd rest stop, quite a few of us stopped in at polly's cafe. from left to right--max, litha, and sam (the former mayer). what a nice group of people! after that rest stop, i went outside to the rv and heard willie nelson on the radio. it was a pretty emotional moment considering my unyielding love for the man. ann and andy then showed me how to 9-step. (andy tried to teach me the electric slide later that night but i had some troubles....) the last photo is of sean and me before i proceeded to kick his butt in one-on-one soccer. right sean?