The Adventures of Pineapple Pooh

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention… if you come across a small yellow creature shaped like a pineapple who resembles pooh bear in our pictures, that’s our protector, our gnome, our little man… pineapple pooh! He can be very sneaky at times (hidden in the background) but at the same time daring (lounging on a pile of buffalo dung). He has been a real trooper so far, he has even been in the United States Post Mail Service, he probably didn’t like that too much. I know I wouldn’t like being cooped up in an 8 ½ by 11 white mailing envelope from Matamoras PA to Minnesota. Luckily, he had a clear window to peek through if he was feeling lonely or scared. My mom had to mail him on Day 4, with all the chaotic last minute packing and planning, we left pineapple pooh behind, according to my mom, pineapple Pete. (that is what she labeled the envelope when he arrived at the Hilton). He missed out on Cedar point, but that was probably a good thing because his lack of height would prohibit him from riding the coasters. He’s only 1 inch. Maybe he could of got away with the kiddy rides. Keep your beautiful eyes peeled for our yellow shield pineapple pooh!

Forever young,

Tric xo.

Day 6 – Day 8: Keystone, SD to Gillette, WY to Yellowstone, WY

SO MUCH FOR SUMMER VACATION

Back on the road…Back to civilization…Back to my 20 inches of leather (that is now coated with a film of dirt from our spelunking adventure from a few days back). I look out the window to see the ground covered in white stuff. Back in Ohio, we were flabbergasted to find a half-inch of pollen coating the grass…We picked it up and threw it at each other as one would in a snowball fight but it wasn’t nearly as effective on account of the lacking mass. Who would’ve known that in less than a week, Billy & Kyle would be throwing LEGIT SNOWBALLS as we frantically scramble towards the Durango - our only source of refuge. Yes, SNOWBALLS…In reference to SNOW. We just spent the past two days in Yellowstone where temperatures dropped below freezing at times. As we drove up the mountain, we saw less grass and more snow. I think we all secretly wished it was some kind of sick joke, but we kept our mouths shut and our smiles big as we lightheartedly cracked jokes about how this wasn’t exactly how we envisioned our SUMMER vacay. When we got to camp it was already close to 9pm so as soon as Billy put the Durango in park, we all jumped out and got grindin’. The boys tackled the fire; TP & I pitched the tent; and Kristina organized the food in our bear storage box and snapped a few photos. If this was a Road Rules Challenge, the girls would’ve DEFINITELY won, but I WILL admit… Billy & Kyle WERE hitting a few roadblocks: our fire pit had about a quarter-inch of water in it and our lighter sticks were nowhere to be found. FAIL. Sooo we had a wet base and matches that stayed lit a solid 2 seconds, BUT we also had some very friendly neighbors J They suggested we dig out the water/mud and replace it with dry dirt. FAIL again. The matches just weren’t cutting it. Finally the neighbs came over with a HOT WOOD and a lighter to save the night. In an attempt to salvage Billy & Kyle’s manhood, they successfully started one the next night on their own….just in time for a rainstorm! J

That first night was a rough one for me. I’ve always prided myself on my sleeping abilities, but it just wasn’t happening. I have a pretty solid resume:

-I conked out every year at the Jersey Fireworks Fair just before the fireworks started crackling right above my head

-I slept comfortably in my closet on top of several pairs of shoes because I was too lazy to take them out

-My mom found me snuggled up in a cardboard box a few weeks after my first visit to NYC

Now I’m not sure if that proves my sleeping abilities or simply how weird I am…..Anyhow, I may have gotten a whopping two hours of sleep that first night in Yellowstone. I offered to take the end (closest to the grizzlies), but I was regretting that a couple hours into the night when I had yet to get warm enough to drift off into a peaceful slumber. I was NOT a happy camper…literally. Thankfully, there was a little comedic relief at about 6:15am when Kris’s nature was calling and she refused to walk the 200 yards to the bathroom in the grizzly-infested woods. Instead, she decided she’d drive the outrageous distance, and after we heard the Durango running for a bit, we wondered what the freeeeak she was doing (only to find out she was waiting for the windshield to defrost-figures). Finally, we heard her kick it into reverse…or what we thought was reverse…..VROOOOOOOM! The engine roared and we (and the rest of Yellowstone) were startled for a hot second. Thankfully, it was neutral and not DRIVE since our tent was about 8 feet in front of the Durango’s bumper. Anyhow, she made it to and from the bathroom without any grizzly encounters…(but we did hear coyotes or wolves howling on night #2).

Monday was the one full day we had at Yellowstone, so we decided to take the 40 minute ride to Old Faithful - a geyser that faithfully shoots boiling, stinky sulfur water up to 180 feet into the sky every 76 minutes. Old Faithful wasn’t the only geyser that was going off that day. Billy had one coming out of his butt. His faithfully erupted about every 4-6 minutes. Every time he let one loose, I’d say, “BILLYYYY!!!” and he’d be like, “IT’S THE GEYSERS!!”…even when we were back at the campsite. I’m sure this’ll be his excuse for the remainder of the trip. After Old Faithul, we took a 3-mile hike up to the overlook and around to see the other geysers and mudpots in the area.

REWIND: SPELUNKING, MT RUSHMORE, CUSTER STATE PARK

Day 6 we woke up later than expected and began to discuss our plans for the day: we wanted to go to Rushmore Caves to spelunk, head over to see the presidents, drive through Custer State Park via Needles Highway, and then drive to Gillette, WY. Kyle thought it might be a good idea to call ahead for the Rushmore Caves and they said they could only get us in at 10….it was 9:47am. They waited up a few minutes for us, and we made it! For those of you who don’t know, spelunking is basically crawling through tiny little crevices hundreds of feet underground. I’d call it caving, but apparently spelunking is the OFFICIAL term. Tric and I had been once before in CO with Sethy and Jeffy whom we had met at a bar the night before….Momma wasn’t too fond of that whole scenario and ever since I came home from Colorado last July, she has been trying to convince me to never go caving again. Even the night before I left for the road trip, I walked upstairs with my headlamp on, and she FREAKED out saying I wasn’t going caving until I explained that headlamps are ALSO used at campsites so you don’t have to cart around a flashlight….not JUST for caving. I never promised I wouldn’t do it though. Sorry momma…you know I LOVE YOU TO PIECES but you just can’t tame this WILD BEAST!!!! Anyhow, we spent three and a half hours underground for a mere 35 bucks each. That’s like 10 bucks an hour. SHWEEET. Words can’t possibly give this experience justice, so I’m going to leave it to pictures, but I’m not sure that’ll even do it. My advice: DO IT. Oh, there was one thing worth mention – Brennan, our guide, took us back to “The Fissure,” one of the tightest spots in the caves where they don’t typically take tours. I guess that’s why Brennan started FREAKING OUT when Kris said she was stuck. I don’t think his boss would’ve been very happy with him. Kris eventually got herself backed out, but stayed behind for a few minutes as we went ahead to the next “room.” I have to say, I am blown away by Kris right now. Some of this stuff isn’t exactly in her comfort zone, but she’s pushing her limits and realizing that she’s capable of waaay more than she ever knew. Kudos Kris J

We came out of the caves covered in dirt, grabbed a bite to eat and headed right over to the monument. Even though I had seen it once before when I was 12, Mount Rushmore was still pretty cool. You see it in your history books for years growing up so when it’s really right there in front of you, it’s pretty exciting. It was a first for the rest of the Drifters, so I’m sure their experience was a bit more overwhelming. We walked towards the mountain as we stared up at Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Jefferson in awe. Some nice girl took our photo in front of the monument (or so we thought). Just as we all got settled into our spots back in the Durango, Kris says, “Guys, I don’t think she ever actually took the picture.” Sooo we walked ALL THE WAY BACK to get our picture taken…and this time we made sure it was there. Custer was beautiful…Lots of buffalo….An few elk…Some birds…a pronghorn deer…No grizzlies L There were some really cool roads that went between rocks that were just big enough for the Durango and obviously – BEAUTIFUL vistas.

After our day of spelunking and sightseeing, we hopped on the road hoping to find something to eat on our way to Gillette. There was NOTHING in the middle of Wyoming so we ended up starving for a solid 9 hours until we finally made it into Gillette around 9:30pm. We’ve been mostly eating at locally-owned restaurants in an attempt to get the hometown feel and interact more with locals, but that night, we just went for the first thing we saw – Applebees (Kris & T also had giftcards waiting in their wallets that would help on the cashflow). We went across the street to crash at the Days Inn and by the time we got settled in, I was not about to wait up for 3 hours to do laundry so I promised I’d wake up early the next day to get r dooone. Set my alarm for 8:45am knowing that we’d be leaving around 11, but apparently my phone had yet to recognize the time change, so I was unknowingly up at 7:45am while the rest of the Drifters snuggled till close to 10:20. The dryer was subpar & took a couple rounds to actually dry things so I guess my early morning was just the big guy looking out for me. It actually ended up being a splendid morning. I ate breakfast, kicked it solo and got a run in. It was the first time I really had time away from the Drifters and while I wasn’t exactly CRAVING it, I realized how nice it is to get away once I had it. But in all seriousness, I have yet to get the least bit annoyed/frustrated with anyone. That’s pretty good considering we’ve spent the past 8 and a half days together.

We just jumped back in the car. We try to stop at as many state signs as we can…Just entered Idaho! We’re planning on driving through to Wells, Nevada and staying there for the night.

Random Snippets:

-TODAY IS TRICIA’S BIRTHDAY!! Marg & PapaPoore sent along a cute card with Billy to give to her today. Kris remade the card she forgot at home on a brown paper bag, and I gave Tric her card this morning. She opened her present from me before we left so we didn’t have to waste space – a scrapbook that read “Durango Drifters 2010” on the front with tons of fun stuff to make it super cute! J I can’t wait to see the finished product.

-All of Yellowstone is spotted with huge piles of buffalo dung. And when I say huge…I mean HUGE. Like 10-12 inches in diameter. Big enough to trip over. & I say that from personal experience.

-Our route map fell off our back window when we went from hot to extreme cold L I’m especially bummin’ cause it was right next to me and I was ACTUALLY learning my states! Dang Nabiiiit.

-Just finished my first book! Onto book number #2…I’m going to have to hide to finished books once they start accumulating in my suitcase cause the Drifters are willing to burn anything to start a campfire…even old love notes found in their wallet.

-I heard a huge smacking/popping noise while I was blogging and freaked out a babybit just to find out that Tric hit a bird. BIRD KILLER!

-WE HAVEN’T SHOWERED IN 3 DAYS – NO SHOWERS AT YELLOWSTONE. OW OWWW!!! (no showers, electricity, or cell service actually….a little escape J)

-Nicknames are beginning to form naturally…I think I’m the lone ranger without one L We’ve got:

-Kyle “Cobra” Sheare…because he’s a sneaky mother Russian. No, it’s from basketball way back when.

-Kris “The Whispering Scavenger” Poore in reference to her secret-telling, frugal disposition

-Billy “The Geyser” Poore in reference to his raunchy and faithful flagellations

-Tric “The Bird Killer” Poore in reference to her most recent homicide

Much love,

a.hendricks

Spelunk it!

Day 7: Keystone, SD (Kristina)

SPELUNK IT!

FINDING RUSHMORE CAVE

Awhile back I was looking for things to do while we spent the day in the Mt. Rushmore area. Obviously, things like seeing Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Needles Highway and Custer State Park were on our list of things to see. I wanted to find something different. I remember Tric and Amy talking about how much fun they had caving last summer in Colorado so I thought this would be perfect for all of us to take part in. So I decided to look more into caving (plus I would much rather go caving with a tour guide that somewhat looks after us than with Tric and Amy’s friends in Colorado and just wing it with no equipment) While I was searching I came across Rushmore Cave, only 5 miles from where we were staying. There were two options: 1.) a $18.00 walking tour inside the cave or 2.) a $35.00 2 ½ hour spelunking tour. After informing Billy (the one in charge of putting the itinerary together) what I found we talked it over with the other drifters Friday night and decided let’s do it!

Rushing to Rushmore Cave

We planned on waking up around 8:30. However, Saturday morning came around quickly and the five of us didn’t awake until 9:30 ahhh! We were already running late! Kyle came up with a brilliant idea, “Kris you should call to see if we need reservations.” Good thing I called because they had a 10:00 am and 3:00 pm spelunking tour. It was 9:47 am when I called. I spoke with April the receptionist at Rushmore Cave. She was very nice and let us sign up when two people were already on the list that max’s out at five people. I informed April that we were currently getting ready at the Super 8 in Keystone. She told me we have time to get there for the 10:00 am tour; it’s only 5 miles away and that she would wait for us to arrive! That came unexpected because back in the Northeast the response would have been a.) we can’t fit more than five in a single tour or b.) if your not here by 10, were not waiting. But fortunate for us this wasn’t the case in South Dakota. When I hung up the phone I informed the drifters to get ready and pack as fast as possible; Rushmore Cave is waiting for us. I told the group no one needed showers until after caving, although Amy refused to listen on account of her greasy head and jumped into the shower anyway while the rest of us quickly packed the car. Believe me when I say I never saw five human beings get dressed, packed and out the door so fast. We were literally driving to Rushmore Cave in less than ten minutes. We crammed everything in the Durango and jumped in to save time and rearrange after caving. We arrived at 10:05 am.

WHAT AM I GETTING MYSELF INTO??

Now I know I am the one that searched and found Rushmore Cave. I was the one that encouraged the drifters we shouldn’t miss out on it. But let me tell you I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. I just assumed we would be a slight step above the regular walking tour. (with minimal crawling here and there to get into rooms the walking tour didn’t cover) But boy was I wrong!!! The five of us walked in dressed in the proper clothing: long sleeve shirts, jeans and hiking shoes almost as we weren’t armatures at this and take part in spelunking on a daily basis. We met our tour guide Brendon; Billy paid for the excursion while the rest of us got a head start filling out a liability form: pretty much stating if we get hurt or die we cant sue Rushmore Cave. Amy willingly asked, “Did anyone ever die in Rushmore Cave?” Brendon answered, “No.” which was a relief to us all. We received helmets, headlamps, elbow and kneepads.

READY, SET, GO

The tour started off simple. We did the walking tour and as we entered the cave, Kyle said, “I feel like I’m in Goonies!” Brendon informed us on how the rooms formed and how they received their names. Since I’m a science major I found this in particular to be interesting. I learned about karsts topography (caves) throughout college and read about them in textbooks; it was really neat to see them in person and take everything I learned in class and finally see the real thing! However about thirty minutes later we were truly put to the test! This is when spelunking began…Brendon took us to the entrance. Now if you could only see the size of the entrance. It was tiny and very oddly shaped—My first thought was “how the hell am I going to fit through…” but somehow I twisted and turned my body and managed to get through (looking back it still amazes me how I got in) All five drifters entered the cave. Over the next two hours we were hunched over, army crawling, sliding head first, feet first using every muscle in out bodies with our back centimeters from the limestone ceiling. Now some fortunate ones made it through with ease compared to others. For instance Brendon, our tour guide and Tricia who is 5’4” and 115 lbs soaking wet didn’t have a single issue except jamming her right foot in a rock for a mere 20 seconds and thought she was stuck. But when it came time to slide past an 8 ½ inch crevice she did it with ease, like she was walking through the Holland Tunnel plenty of room on each side. Must be nice. As for Kyle, Billy and Amy they made it through the cave nicely. I followed Brendon through the cave followed by Amy, Tric, Billy and Kyle behind me. Certain times I could here Billy saying, “how is Kristina getting through” which encouraged me and kept me going…they were surprised and so was I that I made it through.

UH-OH…FISSURE ROOM

However, over the 2 ½ hours I did encounter one issue. Brendon took us off course to towards the Fissure Room. Unfortunately that is the only room I did not see. I simply couldn’t twist and turn my body through a gap 8 ½ inches wide. I was seriously stuck for what seemed like forever, I couldn’t budge in either direction and I kept calm (surprisingly I didn’t spaz or simply just cry in fear of being trapped) Brendon kept encouraging me from one side and the rest of the drifters from behind me. Worse came to worse Brendon (whose was panicking I was stuck because he took us off course and definitely would get in trouble for taking tourists to the fissure room) told me he was on one side and tric and amy are behind me and they both could help pull me out. But I managed to back out myself, which was a huge relief for me who was holding back tears and Brendon who now wouldn’t get in trouble for taking us to the Fissure room. I backed out and let the rest go through. They all managed to enter. I feel as though I could have attempted and possibly get through. But it wasn’t worth it I would have been in so much fear that I couldn’t get back through. I can imagine the headline in the local paper now, “Girl from PA stuck in Rushmore Cave: carried out by caving emergency team!” Definitely not worth it to me so I stayed behind; the rest of the group returned a few minutes later and we continued on our way. During the adventure there were a few times I needed assistance from Billy and Amy here and there and made it through.

ABSOLUTE DARKNESS

Towards the end of our spelunking experience Brendon took us to a room and we turned our lights off. It was absolute darkness and it was near because there are only two places in the world where this could occur: in a cave or in the bottom of the ocean. Absolute darkness is so so dark you cannot see your hand a millimeter in front of your face. If your down they’re a month straight you would come out color blind (which never been tested but could be true). Although strangely enough tric swears she could see in absolute darkness, which is, impossible so she should definitely get her eyes checked because maybe she is the only person in the 6 billion human population that has the ability (Crazzyyyy!) or maybe she was using her imagination and never saw anything…who knows. Well from here on out we did some digging (laying on your back head first pushing and pulling your body) up and over tunnels until we eventually exited the cave.

OUT AT LAST

It was relief to be out and able to move around. We headed to the exit sign to wipe the piles of dirt off our bodies and clean up. We thanked Brendon for an awesome time, looked through the gift shop, signed the guest book and headed out. It was a long morning, we were hungry so next stop: Lunch! Looking back caving at Rushmore cave was a once in a lifetime experience. I accomplished something I didn’t think I could and along with the drifters had a blast spelunking!

Random Snippets:

“Bill your talking like were in a war zone” –Cobra

That’s it for now…

~ Kristina xoxo

Roughin' it for the next 3 days..

Driving to Yellowstone National Park today. May 30, 2010. EMBRACE THE OUTDOORS!

<--(the pic is from our splunking adventure yesterday, blog will be coming soon! )

6 days with the luxury of soft mattresses, air conditioning/ and or heat, sealed walls that protect us from creatures that range from mosquitos to grizzlies. We will be in for a rude awakening, a definite change of atmosphere, and most of all my knitted snow hat might NOT be my most unnecessary item I schlepped along in my bulging, overloaded duffel bag. With low temperatures in the mid 20's, sleeping on a rock ground, surviving on trail mix & granola bars for the next couple days.. this will sure test our friendship.. we can either a). have a bonding experience that will bring us all closer (especially with the body warmth of 5 of us as a form of heat) or b). be uncomfortable, agitated, and freeezin' as a result this can cause a few tifs and scuffles, SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST!

ps. We didn't foret about day 6... we will post that day of adventures ASAP. Perhaps, today if we can swing it somehow. Otherwise, once we get back into civilization. In the meantime, enjoy your memorial day weekend, go out bbq & throw back some brewski, bask in the sun... cause in the last 6 days, if we learned one thing it is...... WE ARE PROUD TO BE AMERICAN!

God bless,

Tric

Day 5: 10hr Drive & Near Death Experience

We try to write during the drive so we can post when we get to where we’re going, but since I was driving today, I have to bang out a little hypothesis now at 12:30am so I can hit the sack. We have to be up super early tomorrow…I’m really excited about tomorrow! I won’t write about our plans now to save on time – I’ll just reflect afterwards. Anyhow, along the drive today….I got to control the iPod for a solid 10 hours. I threw on a mix of everything but we had a pretty solid worship sesh which I thoroughly enjoyed. The sun was setting across the wiiide open spaces of South Dakota which allowed me to just bask in the big guy’s glory. He’s quite the artist. Aside from the beauties of nature, I was also smitten with the beauty in the far back seat of the Durango – Tricia Arline Poore…waving her arms and singing her little heart out. We smiled at each other for a solid hour via the rear view mirror as we killed every song with our horrible voices…but I’m sure it sounded angelic to JC. Cobra joined in throughout while Kris kept her earplugs in and Billy clapped along.

We had one very memorable detour within our 11 hour trip. We swung by the Badlands. It was a race against the sun...We pulled up about 40 minutes after it disappeared from our sight but the sky still held just enough light for us to FREAK OUUUUT when we finally pulled up (we WOULD’VE been there with time to spare if Kris didn’t HAVE to see the CORN PALACE.) Anyhow, we finally parked and explored a bit. Just as we were about to get back in the Durango, another car pulled up to us. I guess that doesn’t seem that weird, but we were just pulled off to the side of the road (not in a designated parking area) and we had only seen 2 other cars back there the whole time. Three people emerged from the car. A Native American dude with shoulder length hair, an older woman who seemed to be his mother, and a white chick who didn’t smile or respond to any of my friendly attempts. The guy started walking towards our car as we were getting in so of course we started up conversation and I remember nervously fidgeting for my buckle. We were all kinda saying “Let’s go” and “Get in the car” under our breath as we continued to chat with him, closed the doors and started up. He said, “Your tire’s goin’ round and round” as he pointed at our tire like something was wrong with it. I thanked him and stumbled over my words as a I drove off and we all kinda freaked out for a while after that. Since it took us a good 45 minutes to get back to a main road, we all kept talking about what was going through our minds and exaggerated every scenario to the max. Kris thought he was going to “get a bow and arrow out and shoot all our tires” (this was said with GENUINE SERIOUSNESS). Billy still has YET to let it go…He just said, “Who wants to go to the Badlands tomorrow??” and while we were driving he pulled out his iPhone and said, “BREAKING NEWS! FUGATIVE ON THE LOSE!!!”

We didn’t get a photo at the entrance sign in hopes of getting decent sunlight for the

actual badlands, so we planned to get one on our way out. As we pulled up to the sign, Kris started freaking out and refused to get out of the car insisting that a drive-by pic of the sign would do just fine. We all ignored her initial attempts but as she got more frantic, Tricia started freaking out too and jumped back in the car. I grabbed the camera and snapped the shot of the boys while Kris continued to scream from the car. When we all finally got back in she said, “He gained 3 minutes on us.” (Again…..COMPLETE SERIOUSNESS). Well, the entire trip back was laced with jokes in reference to our Native American friend and the fact that we narrowly escaped death.

Random Snippets:

*We recognize that most/some of these will have absolutely not relevance to you or make sense to you but enjoy what you can make sense of.

-Tric: “I haven’t had a cold soda in months. Mmm this is DAMN good.

-Kristina: “Tric, what are you wearing today?” Tric (with a completely straight face): “……….Apple bottom jeans. Boots with the fur.”

-Me updating Sethy on our travels: “We’re in Minnesota, Missouri right??”

-Billy looking at Kyle buying a beer: “I thought this was supposed to be a DRY trip???”

-Me: “Wait, #13’s important too right?” Tric: “THAT’S A-ROD.” Me: “Hey guys! A-ROD’s HERE!!”

-Tric: “Peeling PEGGY.” Me: “Tric, were simply talking about exfoliation.” Tric: “Ohh, I thought we were talking about ALLITERATION”

-Me: “How many miles are we goin again?...Like 24,000 right??” (apparently it’s only about 9/10,000 – I don’t have very good comprehension for numbers – hence the finance major.

Much love

a.hendricks

DAY 4-5: JC'S Ball & Chad to the Rescue!

This morning was pleasant…Woke up to a hot continental breakfast – I opted out on the chocolate Belgium waffle in an attempt to watch my figure….only to chow down on EVERY OTHER THING at the buffet (one cheese omelet, a few tatertots, a sausage link, a yogurt, oatmeal and a cup of OJ…grabbed a muffin, bagel, apple and banana for the road). So much for watching my figure….But then again, I’ve never been able to turn down free food. We each paid $24 bucks for the night at the Hilton which included dinner and breakfast….AND no one had to sleep on the floor. If that’s not a deal, I don’t know what is! (Hollar to Kris – DD’s administrative assistant!) After breakfast, we ran upstairs to get a quick shower so we could get on the road for our longest day yet – a projected 10 hours from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Keystone, South Dakota. As I lackadaisically strolled out of the Hilton a few minutes behind everyone else, I spotted the Durango about 50 yards away with the hood popped and the rest of the Drifters hovered over the engine. Ut-Ohhhh. Somehow I wasn’t too concerned though. Did we really expect to drive 10,000 miles without any hiccups? (PS I just asked “Wait, how many miles are we going again? Like 24,000 right??”…apparently that was funny.) I knew it’d come so my attitude was immediately “embrace the experience” but I didn’t think I’d be embracing this experience on DAY FIVE. Anyhow, Billy (a hotel shuttle driver) immediately pulled up his white Pontiac to give us a jump. After he hooked up the jumper cables, he got a call for a shuttle run and said, “Just park her and leave the keys at the front desk when you’re done.” We all thanked him and just stared at each other in awe of his hospitality. He was leaving his car with COMPLETE STRANGERS. I have been BLOWN AWAY by the people we’ve encountered along this trip. The first time it hit me was in Iowa when we stopped for lunch at Country Junction. The waitress didn’t simply walk up and say “Hi, what can I get you?” She engaged us and created conversation….something I could tell was foreign to us by Billy and Jorge’s slightly confused countenance. This morning I made quick eye contact with an older man and while expecting him to quickly look the other way or stare down at his cell phone, he smiled big and said, “GOOD MORNIN’!” Now THAT’S not typical of Fairfield County…A while back I did my own little study: While running through the streets of Fairfield, I smiled and said hello to every person I passed. Most people simply looked away, others even winced and I’d say about 2 out of 20 people acknowledged my existence at all. I don’t like that. We’ve met a lot of people along the way (i.e. Mohammed, our cab driver; Bobby & Angela, our neighbors at the cubs game who were super nice; the 711 Road Trip Crew; Mary & Sue, nice ladies who took our picture outside of Mall of America & stuck around to chat; girls on the train that we sang and danced with after the game, dude at field of dreams who shared his bat and ball so we could play)…Another person that really jumped out to me was the hostess at the continental breakfast – and while yes, I know it is “her job” to make my stay a pleasant one, she went above and beyond. She could’ve simply smiled and greeted me, but she ignited further conversation and she ended up asking about our trip and telling me how she was just reunited with her brother and sister in NYC after 7 long years. That just doesn’t happen back home. There is just a warmth about these people that I really admire. Even my Starbucks barista was sweeter than lemonade on a hot summer day (and no, I’m not just saying that cause she was handing me heaven in a cup.

Anyhow, I just realized I never actually finished writing about what happened with the Durango not starting….OH THE SUSPENSE!!! We got it started with Billy’s Pontiac, and drove it a whopping 250 yards across the street to the Mall of America. We knew we should let it juice up, but we figured if worse came to worse we could always call AAA. Well, worse came to worse…as soon as we shut off the car, the automatic locks already weren’t working and we called AAA on the way into the mall. They said they’d be there in about 40 minutes so we were elated with our situation – what better place to have car issues than at the Mall of America!! Not only does it have EVERY store you could ever imagine, but it also has a full-blown AMUSEMENT PARK in the middle of it!!....but to be honest, that was the last thing on mine and Tricia’s minds….We had one mission – STARBUCKS. It turns out Iowa and Illinois don’t have Starbucks every couple miles...Instead there’s FARMS…imagine that! I said a little serenity prayer & got through the day with very little withdrawal symptoms. They say, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” – how bout taste buds? Cause my Venti Toffee Nut Iced Coffee never tasted so goooood.

Chad (our mechanic) called right on time and after he wiggled our spark plug, the car was started in 10 seconds flat – apparently we just have a lose connection. His remedy? Loosen the bolt and pour a little coca-cola on it. We snapped a shot with him & pulled around to the front of the mall to take a Drifters’ photo in front of Mall of America sign where we met our friends Mary and Sue from Cali! We were about to set up for a self-timer pic and they sweetly said, “You guys want us to take your photo?” Afterwards, we got chatting and I suggested a girls’ pic with our new friends – “all the single ladies!” I hollered out and Mary said, “Haha ohh no honeyy, I’ve been married for 40 years!” What a doll! Good people…

Let’s see, I guess I should rewind a bit to recap otherwise. Yesterday was the Yankees vs Twins Game at the new Target Stadium. They had super cool new features like charging stations for phones & a water conserving flushing system (up for #1 an down for #2) which I especially loved after recently watching a documentary on water with John and Kate (“Do they not know that water IS A NATURAL RESOURCE!? [insert Indian accent here]). We had seats in the upper deck, but we were there for a solid 10 minutes. The rest of the time we stood down below for a closer view and to get the full experience. We rocked our Yankees T’s that were donated by Uncle Danny & Uncle Timmy, and as I’m sure you could imagine…we got heckled quite a bit for being the odd ones out. By the end of the night, I had finagled a free Twin’s t-shirt and hat which I threw on. If a Yankee’s fan came by, I simply lifted my Twin’s shirt to reveal my Yankee pride...I’m a people pleaser! While my family is traditionally Yankee fans, I could give a hott damn – I’ll go to a game cause I love sports and anything that involves people I care about or getting out and living life. The rest of the Drifters, on the other hand, are avid fans. Kris and Cobra root for the Yanks while Tric and Billy ride or die for the Mets. BUT!...after 23 years of loyalty, Tricia converted to the Twins. We spent the last inning of the game right over the bull pen. While I watched the relief pitchers take turns keeping their arms warm, Tric blew kisses and hollered at them. A few minutes into her shananigans, a little boy next to her unfortunately told her one of their names, Jesse Craine…unfortunate for Craine that is. She spent the rest of the game screaming “JESSEEEE!!!” and “JC!!” I guess her persistence paid off because just as the last out was made, Craine looked up and tossed her a ball. Since she had a few beers, I was concerned with her hand-eye coordination and reached in to ensure retrieval. Mission complete….& as I handed Tric the ball we screamed like little girls, jumping around close to tears.

After the game, we went to a bar/restaurant where Jorge was in his glory as he chatted with other Yankee’s fans – in particular one who we later watched sock a Twin’s fan in the face and chase off to God knows where. Our buddy Muhammed loved us despite our differing teams and we chatted with him the entire night. We finally headed back to the subway station only to find that we missed the train by 15 minutes and we’d have to wait another 45 for the next one. This inspired a dance party and a workout sess (which included jumping jacks, squats and crunches). Check out Tricia’s videos if you’d like to witness Jorge and my rendition of “Soulja Boy”. The 45 minute trainride back to the hotel included a sing-along with several new friends…one of which knew EVERY lyric to EVERY song we played. We chatted with her, her sister and the rest of their crew for most of the trip. They were originally from New Yoooork! HOLLAAAA! Our girl Cassandra made her way down to our side of the train when she realized we brought the partaaay. She told me how she and her boy were dating for 3 years and 7 years before a mid-relationship breakup during college. She wanted a ring. Soooo we hollered down to her man singing Beyonce’s, “If you like it then you SHOULD put a ring on it.” I think we made progress….and Cass told me she’d be sure to invite me to the wedding J Back at the hotel, Kyle stumbled in the room a few minutes after the rest of us with a bag of cheese Ritz. We asked him where he got them, and he told us there was a “free concession stand” downstairs. Yea, free for sticky fingers – he went down twenty minutes later to pay his debt.

Jorge left us this morning on a 6am flight. He is “back in the concrete jungle…where dreams are made” according to his text. His spirit will be missed deeply but not his 6’3” body J I now have the backseat allll to myself….well except for the bag of difty laundry next to me. Now I’m not sure what I’d prefer….

FIELD OF DREAMS

FIELD OF DREAMS

From Dubuque, Dyersville (Field of Dreams) was about 15 miles. We ate lunch with the locals at the Country Junction. Talk about the middle of nowhere. We could all sense the mid western hospitality. We followed Lansing Rd, which took us to the actual Field of Dreams Movie site. We all took turns at bat, pitching, and playing the field. Only downfall, it is not corn season. The outfield stalks were babies. Here we come Minnesota, on our way to Target field Minnesota/Yankee game tonight … a 4hr ride.

Random Quotes:

“It smells like burnt poop” - JB

“Is it going to get dark out” – TP

“You don’t get any points out of state, you can drive as fast as you want”- Cobra

“Kris what kind of rocks are those”- Billy Po

“Watch out for the kids in the corn fields” – JB

forever young, tric xo.