It seems Hubby and I cannot stay home for any length of time. We got back from our winter quarters, and a week later, we’re headed east to visit South Dakota State University. This trip had a purpose other geocaching although Hubby did that too.
We took the time to meet with Hubby’s high school friends for lunch in Pierre. Downtown is a delicious Chinese buffet called Panda House where the food was delicious! And because we were in Pierre, we had to visit Zesto, the best ice cream sundae server in the nation. I had a Muddy River sundae (twist ice cream with fudge and Oreos swirled in) and enjoyed every drop of it. Poor Hubby can’t have anything with dairy, so he was a good sport to let me eat it. Our afternoon route took us near another classmate of his, and we stopped so the two guys could visit. I read my book in the truck and was quite happy. Hubby found a few geocaches on the way to Brookings, but we managed to get to our hotel before dark.
When Hubby’s parents passed away, their wish was to establish a scholarship at SDSU for those going into the medical lab field. His mother graduated from SDSU with that degree that served her well for all her career. She worked at a family clinic as a lab technician, then at the State Laboratory testing food, water, and other materials that may have contaminants in them. She loved her job and did well at it for over thirty years. To fulfill her last wishes and pass her legacy along to others, Hubby and his sister established the Kjar Family Scholarship with the money she left behind for it.
Last week, Hubby and his sister were invited to tour the facilities where the scholarship recipients train. Both were very impressed by the state-of-the-art facility and the capabilities to work with surrounding health care providers. The program is two years long, and our scholarship goes to one junior just beginning the training and to the senior who had it the year before. As it happened, one of the recipients was working in the lab when they visited. Hubby was really happy he got to go on the tour.
I didn’t tour because my sciatica won’t let me be on my feet that long, but Hubby took me by the SDSU Dairy Barn ice cream shop later. They make the great ice cream there, and I indulged myself with two scoops. While eating it, we saw the little robotic delivery carts going down the sidewalk. It’s a rectangular box with a blinking light on a pole out the top of it. It doesn’t go very fast, dodged people, and paused before entering the crosswalk. They use those units to deliver food to students all across campus. Forget Door Dash; call Robot Dash.
On the way home, we stopped in Chamberlain where I had a short book signing table at the Old West Trading Post downtown. It’s an antique shop, but she has an extensive used book collection and new books from local authors. She said she sold more books than other stuff. Scanning through her offerings, I can see why. The range of nonfiction history books was amazing. My hosts were very charming, and the time went by fast. Hubby found several geocaches, then came to pick me up. We ate a good lunch at a famous stop along the Missouri River before heading home.
I hope we’re home for a while, although Hubby’s mentioning another trip he wants to take. After paying almost $5 a gallon, his desire to go has been tempered for which I’m happy. I don’t mind traveling, but I like it spread out more. It seems like that’s all we’ve done for weeks now. I’m ready to stay in the same place for a bit.
Gas prices may keep us home more. It makes me wonder if this area that is so dependent on tourism business will be adversely affected by high gas prices. If so, a lot of small business may suffer for it. If they come, I hope the wildfires won’t be a problem. As dry as it is here, I fear we may have a smoky summer. Let’s pray for rain.
