two goofy girls in a van

As we pulled into Sioux Falls, SD, Kina and I both thought that we might have finally found an interesting city that we could enjoy andddd unfortunately we were wrong again. Do you find this shocking? Nope...us either. We spent a couple hours driving around today trying to find whatever it was that we thought we were missing but we ended up just driving up the same 3 or 4 streets multiple times just hoping that the little rows of uninteresting stores would morph themselves into adorable boutiques, awsome t-shirt shops, and charming restaurants. We officially enjoyed Des Moines much more. There were at least a COUPLE of cool shops there. If you are ever passing through you should check out Domestica and Ray Gun..they are awesome!

So far, we've not met many people on our travels but those that we have met have made quite the impact. Our first traveling friends came in the form of 3 twenty something guys and their 14 or 15 year old younger brother that were in the pool/hot tub in Des Moines at the same time as us. We were all sitting in the hot tub together when one of the guys struck up conversation merely to cut the awkwardness of strangers having seperate conversations within three inches of each other. Kina and I merged into the guys conversation when one of them that looked older and was heavily tattooed started commenting on the crazy baby mommas (yes that means more than one) in his life and how one of them attempted to stabbed him once. The 14 year old looked up in complete seriousness and asked, "well, with scissors or a knife?" Apparently, this made some sort of a difference to him. Secondly, we met a young man in the mall who very slyly swooped into Bath and Body Works to try to talk to Kina. All was going well in the conversation while he asked us about the candles we were holding but quickly went downhill when he pointed to me and asked, "is this your daughter?" Clearly this dude isn't too wise on the ways of picking up women. Both situations made for endless entertainment for Kina and I.

It seems that the people of Sioux Falls are aware of the fact that they live in a land of vast nothingness. To cope, they have filled any open space, no matter the size, with Casinos. From the door to my hotel room I can see at least three. When there is nothing to spend your money on I guess casinos are the best way to keep the economy flowing? 

Kina and I have noticed lately that our thought are starting to merge. Before one of us can get out a complete thought, the other is either answering the question or shouting "I was just thinking that!" We are literally morphing into an old couple who can make it through the day without any verbal communication. Between our 4pm dinners, books on tape, walks after dinner, and ability to read eachother's minds it seems that maybe the fact that Kina will be out of town this weekend will be a good thing so that we can have a chance of converting back to normal people. Speaking of Kina going out of town......

I am SOOO proud of Kina for putting on her big girl panties and taking on the Tough Mudder this weekend. I only wish that I could be manly enough to be standing next to her on Saturday but one of us needs to be here to man the (very productive) ship. Everyone please go to facebook right now and give the girl a few positive words to carry her up to and through what may be one of the most difficult physical tasks of her life.

Peace and Muddy fun,
Allison