I realize most of the people reading this were either involved in this story or have already heard it, but I'm going to go ahead and tell it anyway, because I feel it needs to be documented.
After our week in Allen, we decided to make a quick trip to Wisconsin. The plan was to get there VERY late Friday night and return to SD Sunday morning.
As we drove back across the state to Sioux Falls, I was determined to get a little work done. So, I pulled the laptop out, but the light streaming through the windows of the van made it so I couldn't see what I was typing. I know, first world problems. Thankfully, I am super resourceful. So, I pulled out the blanket and made myself a little cubicle. Here is what I looked like working in my new office...and, then, what I looked like when I was finished.
(FYI - we were in a traffic jam when these were taken, so no one was endangered.)
So, we made it to Sioux Falls, and swapped the company van out for for good old Waldorf - my camry. (He is named after the Muppet.) And we hit the road for our 7-hour drive to Wisconsin around 7:00pm. A little after 9:00pm, a suspicious light came on my dashboard. We had never seen it before, so I looked it up in my owner's manual, because that is the responsible thing to do. It said - "Low Tire Pressure", so we planned to stop at the next gas station to fill it up. Not 2 minutes later, though, we were stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. Waldorf only has a doughnut spare too and it was far too late for anyone to be open. So, we spent the night (courtesy of Julie's hotel points - thanks, Mumsie!) in Fairmont, MN.
The next morning, we had to buy 4 new tires and get an alignment. Determined to finish what we had set out to do, we kept on trucking toward Madison. (Did I mention Harrison also had a killer sinus infection by this point?) We finally got there around 5:00pm. The up-side of driving in the daylight is we got to see some incredibly beautiful Fall colors which we haven't experienced too much because of the crazy South Dakota weather. It was positively glorious.
Because of the Fall foliage, I was feeling very harvest-y and announced upon our arrival that we should really find a corn maze. So......we did. And it was the greatest thing ever! Mom drove like a maniac down dark, drizzly farm roads for what felt like an hour, but we made it there alive.
There were, of course, plenty of photo ops.
She is getting so tall!
A couple thing here. 1) Why did we make my Dad go all the way to the bottom one? And 2) I didn't realize we were just supposed to smile.
So, it had been quite rainy leading up to our little corn maze visit. This coupled with the darkness created treacherous maze-ing conditions. In fact, one woman who Harrison and Dad talked to said this rivaled the Tough Mudder race she did in Seattle. Go ahead and scroll back up to the "How Tall This Fall" photo to observe Audrey's choice of footwear. Or don't. I'll just tell you. It was moccasins. Moccasins! We were all slipping around like crazy, but Audrey, in particular, was struggling. Let's just say....she fell....a few times.
I know it is awful, but it was one of the most hysterical experiences of my life. My mom and I were laughing so hard at one point that we almost got separated from the group. People around us were asking if Audrey was ok, and I would respond - "Ooooh, she's fine!" But I realized I was so busy laughing I didn't really know. She was, in fact, ok. But Mother Nature handed her quite a beating.
We did learn one thing out there: Audrey is good at Corn Mazes. Like Freakishly good. Like "Did you actually make this maze, Audrey?" good. And it was not an easy maze. It looked like this...
You had to find these checkpoints and, at each one, you get 1/8 of the map. I would stand there and try to orient to the map and figure out where we were going and get really confused and frustrated. Audrey would take one tiny glimpse at the map and say - "We're going this way!" And she was ALWAYS right. Every time. We NEVER came to a dead end. Not once. I am not exaggerating. It was creepy. They told us it takes some people 4.5 hours to complete this. We got through there in 45 minutes, tops. Without Audrey though, I would, undoubtedly, still be out there. I would say - "Shouldn't we follow this map?" And she would respond - "No! I'm following my heart!!" She has an exceptional heart. (But we already knew that.) If she changes her mind about nursing, she has a fall-back in corn maze design.
Needless to say, we grew some Memories. Well, actually - we grew some Memoies because Harrison didn't slouch enough.
After all the craziness, I am so glad we came the rest of the way to Wisconsin. It was so good for the soul.
Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my mom accidentally made me a pancake shaped like a pumpkin on Sunday Morning. Perfection.
So, now I need to go put the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes. I have so much more to share though, so stay tuned! And remember - if you ever need a Corn Maze companion - call my sister. I am very serious.
Bye for now,
Carolyn and Harrison
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