South Dakota: Day One

We left at 2 PM and arrive a little before 6 PM, central. The boys were good travelers, though Josh refused to nap. He made up for it somewhat by being very interested in the view out the window. In Chicago our plane has mechanical problems, which delayed us a little, but we eventually made it. Katie and Ruth met us in Sioux Falls, where we enjoyed a pleasant dinner at Olive Garden. Following Olive Garden we drove an hour north to Brookings, where we would spend the first three nights of our trip, with Grandpa Gene. Josh traveled with Aunt Ruth, who managed to keep him from napping but only by turning the temperature in the car down to late-Fall levels. In Brookings we began our vacation policy of letting Josh sleep on the floor. We were a little worried about his getting up and wandering around, so we have avoided giving him naps. (In Rochester he has been choosing to sleep in his crib, and has had an hour nap.) It's worked well, though sometimes it's been pretty tough keeping him awake in the late afternoon. Aside from the pills sitting out at Joshie eye level on the dining-room table (!), Gene's house was pretty well Josh-proofed. Though we had to lock the doors to keep him from wandering out into traffic. And even so, at one point Susan found him trying to unlock the door, though he cleverly explained to her that he was just locking it. 

Josh was full of joie de vivre (and noise)