Oh, what a trip!

Sadly I am back in Raleigh and my vacation has come to an end. I had the most amazing time with Ryne the past ten days. We managed to squeeze so much into our time together. It was so nice being able to spend time together and just relax.

After our stay at the cabin in Chadron State Park we spent time in Chadron. We went out to dinner.. Angela's, of course, for mugaritas and nachos! We then saw the new Indiana Jones movie. I was a little disapointed with the whole alien twist. On Thursday night Ryne's Uncle Dale (aka Waldo) joined us for dinner. It was nice being able to cook out with him and hang out. On Friday we went to Historic Fort Robison and saw Oklahoma! at the Post Playhouse. It was opening night and the cast did a fantastic job! The cast is a collection of college students from all over the country. Before the show we had a nice dinner at Fort Robinson. It was such a fun night! After Oklahoma! we hopped in the car and drove up to his parents' house in the Black Hills. It made for a late night but both wanted to be able to wake up there in the morning.

On Saturday we got up and met Ryne's friend Tito (real name Tony) for lunch at the diner in Hill City, SD. Tito is quite the character and there is never a dull (or quiet moment) when he is around! We then went and toured Mt. Rushmore. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we got some fantastic pictures. There is a really nice walking trail that we took that brought us right to the base of Mt. Rushmore. Tito has a really fancy camera and took some fantastic pictures.

After Mt. Rushmore we drove to the Cosmos Mystery Area. I saw a pamphlet for this place the first time I visited Ryne and it kind of became a joke between us. Well we finally decided to go visit this place. All I can say is that is it is BIZARRE!!! Supposedly there is a vortex at the Cosmos which then impacts everything else. At the Cosmos balls roll up hills, you can stand on a wall, your height can change, and you basically feel like you are not even in your body. It is so hard to explain but it was a really fun time. I had a super hard time just being able to stand up and walk -- shocking I know!! Hopefully you can figure out what I am talking about from the pictures -- and note, the pictures are straight!

On Sunday we spent the day with Ryne's mom. Unfortunately his dad had to work. The three of us went to Rapid City and saw a movie together. We then went out to dinner and just had a really good time. It was such a nice and relaxing day. I know it meant a lot to Ryne to be able to spend time with both me and him mom.

It was very, very, very sad leaving! It keep gets harder and harder to say good-bye. Thankfully Ryne will be coming to the Cape for the 4th of July so I will get to see him again in a few weeks. I am really looking forward to showing him around the Cape.