More Boring Memories from 1986!

So, like I promised, I'll try to recount some more cool things that happened on a cross-country trip with my family during the summer of 1986. So, last time I left off after I attended my very first pro-baseball game. After that, not much happened in Minnesota. It was the trip back that was interesting.

We now had my parents, us four kids, and my grandmother all riding in our Olds. I bet is was pretty cramped, but I don't remember. I was a pretty scrawny kid, so I'm sure I had no problems. Anyway, while crossing South Dakota (I still can't believe that the US has a need for two Dakotas), we stopped at Wall Drug. Okay, who's been there? Anybody? Anybody? They have Jackalopes at their online store! Hmm, well, I don't think I'd recommend it anyway. Basically, it's a tourist trap that sells random crap. It's honestly pretty stupid. What I remember most is that, while I was browsing the "Random Crap" aisle with my mother, she found a "pneumatically" operated hopping frog. It had a bubble you could squeeze to send air to its balloon-like legs, thus making it appear to hop. My mom seemed to think it was pretty cool, but deep down, I thought is was stupid. I said, "no, I don't think I like it," but felt so guilty that a few minutes later I went back and bought it. That kind of thinking has stuck with me my whole life, so if you ever see me abruptly change my mind about something, now you know why.

More on South Dakota! I finally learned to whistle in South Dakota! We were camping next door to a pulp mill. It smelled terrible.

Also, I distinctly remember listening to Patch the Pirate tapes. See this link for an interesting commentary on them. I don't remember any specifics, but I do remember that I loved those stupid things. Although it was a brief affair. I don't ever remember listening to them after we got back home.

Well, that's it. Nothing terribly interesting, though sometimes I'd like to go back and see all the interpersonal relationships from that trip. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my mother was terrified of my grandmother (her mother-in-law) who was apparently pretty judgmental.