Almost Home!

So we're almost home. We spent the past couple of days driving day and night to make it home as quickly as possible. We left South Dakota Saturday morning and made it to Oak Grove, MO which is just east of Kansas City. We stopped their because it has the last KOA campground until you reach St. Louis. We probably could have gone farther, but it was July 4th, and if you don't know, Kate is a massive fireworks fan. We looked online and found that Oak Grove does a fireworks show in their local park, much like many other small towns in America. We got there around 9:45 and invented a parking place. As it turns out, Oak Grove has an incredible fireworks show. I don't know if Missouri sells a different caliber of firework than we do in NC, but it was pretty impressive.

As you're driving up to the park, individuals are setting off their own fireworks. I'm not talking about sparklers. They were serious fireworks that you wouldn't be able to shoot in NC. Then the actual show begins. The fireworks were so loud and intense, that they were setting off car alarms. After a solid 20 minutes of fireworks, you got a finale that was so intense, it lit up the park like daylight. It was definitely the best fireworks show I've ever seen. Needless to say, my fireworks crazy wife was very happy. If you're eve in Oak Grove, MO on the 4th of July you should make a point to stop by Webb Park.

We got up Sunday and decided that we wanted to make it to NC. We knew it would be a challenge, but we thought we could do it. We aimed for my parents' house since it was about and hour and a half closer. As most of you know, I'm a pretty big tennis fan and the Wimbledon Men's finals were being played while we were on the road. We could have stayed and watched it, but I wanted to get going. As it turns out, it was the best match ever. Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick 16-14 in the 5th set after a 4 and a half hour match. I wish I could have seen it, but Kate's dad recorded it for me.

We made it to my folks' house at 2:53am and crashed hard. I remember now why I stopped staying up until 3am in the morning a long time ago. It will probably take a few days to get caught up, but it's good to be home. How did I stay up that late and still go to class in college? We'll be back in Concord this afternoon which will be nice.

Sunday was my birthday, and I must say that it didn't rank in the top 10. Driving all day is not a great way to spend your birthday, but I was with the person I most wanted to be with, so that made it a pretty good day any way. I'm officially into my 30's now (31).

I've got some more things to post about South Dakota, but all my stuff is packed up. I'll get it up tonight probably. Just because the trip is over doesn't mean the blog will end. Kate and I have some reflective thoughts and some top 10 lists to post as well. More to come later!

~Andy