We arrived in Rapid City after a delay on our stopover in Denver, a bit tired... but no time for sleeping when you have family to visit! My parents and Cody picked us up from the airport. First we needed to fuel up and found a "Mexican" restaurant (according to google) on our way to Spearfish. This Mexican place only had picnic benches which were on outside of someone's trailer. Or that is the best way I can describe it. But whatever, the food was pretty delicious, and very MEATY! Then of course, one must always stock up at Walmart for the essential American goodies, like carrot cake oreos, beer, and sweet corn on the cob!
I didn't realize my first year in Portugal but years later I was curious why there was never any corn for sale in the supermarket. Corn on the cob was one of my favorite things to eat during the summer. Way back in the day on Chandler Boulevard, until I was maybe 7/8 years old they had a huge corn field and you would go and pick out the corn direct from the farmers! I remember checking the corn ears to see if there were any worms in them and how yellow they looked. It was so much fun and something I always looked forward to. I am sure that farmer was paid out TONS of money to sell their land which was developed into hotel and retail space.
Anyways, no corn on the cob in the supermarket except in the organic section where it is already husked and doesn't look very good. But ironically in our area during summer time there is tons growing! I decided to steal some during one of our hikes and make it... however was soo disappointed when we did. It was so starchy and barely sweet. I tried a few more times over the summer and it just doesn't compare. I guess the seed must be different and it isn't really a European thing. So I told my mom that I wanted to have as much Corn as we possibly could squeeze!
Back to the trip, Luckily our airbnb host didn't mind if we checked in early. This place was very hmmm interesting to say the least but had some great perks. Like oh a brand new sauna in the middle of the living room. A kayak with no paddles, a garage full of stuff, and a jacuzzi on the deck! The place was clean and cute and very log cabin ish.
We had a little nap, played some croquet together, got ready and headed off to the first part of the reunion which was a meet up at the casino with a black jack and a slot machine tournament. There were snacks and it was fun trying to figure out/remember who everyone was! Just like when I was younger I struggled to put all the family connections and stuff together. It is a bit complicated when my Grandpa has/had 15(ish?) siblings. Plus the oldest of those siblings has another 12... I think?
My mom got second place in the slot machine tournament, and Cody was doing well at the Craps tables as always. I was a super newbie in the Black Jack tournament and probably one of the first ones out. We headed to dinner in Deadwood with my Grandpa and Uncle Chris.
The next day we headed out to visit Mount Rushmore. We hiked around a bit and then the weather wasn't looking good for another hike in the area. While driving through the little town nearby we saw they had photo studios taking Old Western Photos, and when in America, be American.. No better rainy day activity than to take a bunch of silly photos. It was a lot of fun getting dressed up and choosing our scene. Bob the dog was so photogenic and was perfect with his little cowboy hat on.
Then came all of the introductions for Joel. Friday night dinner was in the town social hall and everyone was going to be there. It was such a great time to catch up with so many cousins, aunts, uncles, and people that I couldn't tell you how we are related. :P We got to play a little bit of bean bags and Joel had fun hearing a country band live. We were also forced to dance once. Anyone who saw our wedding video knows we are super professionals. (hahah, not!)
Saturday morning was the reunion Golf Tournament. Joel and I were lucky enough to be put on the winning team. Thank goodness for playing best ball, because otherwise we would have been out there for hours! I also won farthest female put! Lunch was together in the social hall and later on was the bean bag tournament. Everyone did pretty well but my dad and his partner won the tournament! Later on was the silent auction and maybe Joel's favorite part of the reunion? People donate things to help offset the costs of the next reunion. Joel and Cody played a game that they each had to bid at least five times but still try not to win whatever item, if they didn't want it of course. But then out came the funny t shirts! They were worn by my great Aunts at the last reunion I attended until about ten years ago. Joel definitely wanted one of these and he won one. It was a Hawaiian girl in a coconut bikini with a grass skirt. All of the family loved him and he was such a sport to join us! He says he wants to come to the next one in two years in Utah.
Saturday night we had the immediate family over at our Airbnb and ordered some pizzas and my mom put a bunch of snacks out to enjoy. Sunday morning we had breakfast together and then most people headed out. Cody's flight was not until the next afternoon so we decided to do a hike with Mark, Jill and Stephanie and then they came over to BBQ together and play some yard games. They are so much fun and always have us laughing. Plus killer bean bag players, I need some lessons I guess. My skills were pretty rusty!
Monday we headed back to Deadwood to do a bit more exploring and have a nice lunch together before Cody's flight. Deadwood is so cute, and rustic like what you would imagine in an old west town! We dropped Cody and the road trip began! What would be like driving from our house to Paris, which to Europeans is crazy to drive! Ee went from Rapid City to some small city outside of Minneapolis in one day. Then finished the next the following day. We arrived to VanDee Camp before lunch time and were so excited to slow down after a busy busy beginning to the trip.
At VanDee Camp we enjoyed boat rides, fishing, golfing, relaxing, sleeping in, Nintendo Wii, games, cooking, mountain bike rides, and paddle boating. Oh and can't forget meeting mom's neighbor, Arnie for "Cocktails" on the patio. The first day of fishing mom gave us the boating tour of the lake and we visited all of the bars on the water and played their shake of the day. Joel tried the Wisconsin famous fried cheese curds. We also went up to go fishing with my Uncle Doug in Lake Nebagamon. We caught some big fish there, but my parents got a bit carried away but caught TONS of fish up there! Joel caught the biggest Small Mouth Bass of the day, it was 19 inches (48cm)!
Mountain biking with my dad was so much fun but whoa, I was scared so many times! The trail crossed over these super thin bike bridges and in between trees which seemed so narrow for the handle bars on a bike! I made it out and only hit the handle bars once on a tree and was able to recover. I am an okay biker but whenever I am in a situation of tightness I always panic even though I am sure if I didn't panic I would have had no problem making it through. We also had to keep moving moving moving because there were SOOO many mosquitoes, if we stopped they would catch up to us! I am sure my dad had a good laugh at how many times I was screaming.
My dad and I also went on a road bike to the freeway from my moms place
and which was also fun, a little less stressful than the mountain bike
trail but soo different from our mostly flat bike rides here in Aveiro.
The last day in Hayward (the nearest city to VanDee Camp) was the musky festival. We enjoyed walking around the town, seeing the Hula Hoop contest, eating brats, and seeing the art festival. Bob the dog was always popular and got tons of cuddles. Then we made our way down to Madison for dinner with my Aunt and cousins. We both loved her new puppy and soo wanted to take her home to be friends with Mel. They also played lots of darts and Joel won a game! Bobby's super kegerator fridge is so funny!
Visiting my Grandma's old house was very bittersweet. So many memories visiting and playing in the huge garden, the sledding hill, beanie baby school with Shayna, building things with Grandpa and enjoying Grandma's garden. Joel was so impressed with my Grandpa's workshop! What an amazingly talented man he was. You don't appreciate those things when you are young but now to think he built such a modern house himself back in the mid 60s is so incredible.
Anyways the next morning, we went to visit Grandma in her assisted living care facility. The staff there are always really friendly and grandma just loved Joel. We also ate lunch with her. It was such a typical midwestern meal. Mashed potatoes and meat loaf with apple pie for dessert! After visiting Grandma we headed out to explore the downtown area and the capitol building. The place is totally different from winter to summer time! We had ice cream at the Union and enjoyed eating it out on the terrace in front of the lake. My mom says if it was a bit warmer there would be lots of people swimming in the lake but it had been raining and not quite warm enough yet. We went back to Sally's and brought my mom's favorite Greek gyros to eat.
The next morning I dropped off Joel at the airport bright and early for his 6am flight. As I was driving home the sun was rising over the lake and it was just an incredible color and such peaceful driving, so beautiful! Anyways got back to Grandma's and slept a bit more. We packed up and then headed to visit Grandma one more time. This time we were going through more pictures and her vacation albums and reading things to her. It is so interesting to hear her talk about the different trips she has taken and things she has done. Later on a volunteer who visits my Grandma every week for the last 18 months showed up to do her weekly visit. This woman and my Grandma read from Grandma's diary together, we sat in with her for a few entries of the journal then headed off for lunch. I said I couldn't leave the US without a poke bowl. So we found a place. Then my dad had to get the oil changed in the car and mom and I went shopping in Madison's first mall. It was soo quiet, I couldn't believe it. Phoenix malls in summer time are packed but maybe the area isn't as nice anymore or the kids are playing outside which we couldn't always do at home!
Then we headed back to Sally's house for dinner. She BBQed some chicken on the grill and made potato salad. Then we headed back up to VanDee Camp.
I had about another week until my flight home. I had hoped to work from there but didn't realize that the internet service they have in the national forest is well.... not quite the same as the fibre internet we have here in Portugal, so I didn't want to risk having connection problems, so I didn't teach. Good thing too because one morning we woke up and the internet seemed to go in and out every 15 minutes or so. My dad had to use my phone which randomly had 3G service by the lake to call the internet provider to tell them it was down.
We spent a few days organizing a room which my mom wanted to use as the guest house kitchen, which was filled with random stuff.. Literally from floor to ceiling. We definitely made some progress and she was able to make it a mini kitchen.
We also had so much fun stand up paddle boarding and canoeing down a river. There was a company which rented us the equipment and then shuttled us to the starting point and then we finished where their shop was. We also got to bring along Bob! I was nervous because there are some little rapids but the board was really steady, and I didn't have any problems. We were pulled over by the National Forrest Park rangers because we weren't told that I had to carry my life vest on the board. It was in my parents canoe. Luckily they just told us I needed it, and let us float on... :P It was a pretty warm day for Northern Wisco so the water felt super refreshing. Bob the dog also hung out on the paddle with me for part of the trip. He is sooo relaxed around water, I cannot believe it! Mel would never get in a boat, let alone a paddle board!
My flight was out of Duluth, Minnesota at the terrible hour of 6am. So we did a little day trip for my dad's birthday and my last day with them. We walked around the little beautiful town of Bayfield. Then we headed to a guided kayaking trip to the Apostle Islands which are on Lake Superior. Kayaking on Lake Superior is considered open water kayaking.. I think is what the guide called it, basically the equivalent of being in the ocean. The lake temperature was sooo cold, but it felt so nice because we had wet suits on and were baking and sweating in the sun prior to getting in the water. Then we also had to do some safety drills if we flipped over. We had a water proof skirting the only place we could possibly get wet, without flipping was our hands and arms. Getting the skirt off the little cabin was a bit hard on land, I can't imagine the stress if you flipped and you were trying to get free in the water and do it..! The thought stressed me out a bit, but it was such a calm day, I think you would have to mess up really bad to flip! I had to share the kayak with another lady in the group. I didn't realize at first that I had the rutter and the steering power at my feet! So we were trying to turn and had to ask for help! :O Oops, luckily my mom was in the same position and also didn't know. It still took some adjusting, and sometimes I was distracted and not thinking about my feet and suddenly my boat partner was like uhhh maybe we should go to the left a bit! SO kind, but I can only imagine, she must have been thinking what is this girl doing!
As we made our way away from the beach there were tons of cool little caves to go through. This is from wikipedia: "When the glaciers melted, waves from the waters of Lake Superior caused erosion that formed the islands. The islands are composed of mostly red sandstone because of the glacial shift." They are an incredibly beautiful red color, a bit different than those in the Southwest US. The water color near the caves was so green and turquiosey! Some of the caves we had to duck down to get through! It was also a bit stressful steering accurately trying not to crash into the walls. :O But I think I managed, maybe had a few bumps where we were already going slow.
It was a great time but it felt like the time was so short, maybe we were super slow paddlers, plus all the time doing the safety demo! I wanted to go farther. But it was a really fun outing and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits the area!
After that our drive to Duluth was along the Lake Superior shore line and soo pretty with the sun setting! We had to stop and soak in the view at a little rest stop. Then continued on our way. The little motel we booked in Duluth was so cute! I don't know why I found it so charming, but it was the best place for my last sleep in America. We ate at a brewery and I ate the most delicious veggie burger, which was made with wild rice. Wild rice is apparently a popular crop grown in the area! I loved it, I should try and figure out how to make them and find where I can buy wild rice or something like it!
The next morning my flights to Chicago and Newark went fine. However, after my flight to Brussels was totally boarded, everyone comfy in their seats, the flight attendant announces that the pilot is stuck in traffic, therefore we must deplane. So there will be a one hour delay. Joel had been texting me and he saw online they had already put a two hour delay, so I would definitely miss my connecting flight on to Lisbon. I went to the ticket counter near the gate, but the line was huge. During my wait time I had walked around every corner of the terminal and knew there was another one, about 5 minutes away. So instead of waiting in the line, headed over to the other wing of the terminal where the ladies were all standing around. I got the excellent news that the ticket agent got me on a direct flight to Lisbon leaving in about an hour! I told Joel my seat and he told me that I was also in economy premium! I couldn't believe it :O
The flight was fine, I didn't sleep much and watched the movie about Ruth Bader Ginnsburg, that was an amazing movie. I loved it. What strength and courage the few women had to stand up and fight the norm and make changes. The leg space was incredible, I didn't know what to do with all that space! I landed in Lisbon, jumped on a train and Joel picked me up in the train station during his lunch break. It was so wonderful to see my amazing dog, I missed Mel so much while I was away!
What a great trip! The USA is so big and it's crazy to think the last three times we have visited have all been so different! [Hawaii, Southwest US, Midwest & NYC]
And now some funny, good and bad cultural differences that really slapped me in the face. Free water at meals in a restaurant. Most of the times you don't even have to ask for it, just automatically poured for you on the table. There is also no shame in just asking for water! Though it is illegal to not give customers tap water here in Portugal, a few places have refused, and Joel fought a server one time because it is illegal not to give a glass of tap water. Because of that, I usually just bring my own little water bottle. As you all know I hate plastic water bottles and think that they are one of the easiest ways we could reduce our plastic consumption, so going to a restaurant to ask for a water and being given a plastic water bottle makes me angry. Some places have glass bottles, but I still think it's crazy they don't serve tap water.
Tax and Tips not being included in menu and shopping prices. And tipping in general.
Tons and tons of one time plastic ware being used all the time as the US has a real eating/drinking on the go culture. If you know you are going to your fav coffee place everyday, why not bring your own reusable cup? I was surprised also that even in restaurants where you sat down you are still given plastic cutlery and served in plastic. You cannot even ask for take away cups here! Sit down, relax and drink you coffee. Or do as the Portuguese do, have your espresso cafe, like a little shot and head on your way. They don't mess around with all that milk/sugar/ whatever else Americans put in their coffee. :P You never see people eating and walking in Portugal. When we first moved here and I would do it Joel would laugh at me!
People traveling in comfy clothes. I am like the only one in Portugal wearing comfortable clothes, people travel in style here! While we were in Australia Joel was doing tons of traveling for work and he never once considered wearing non work clothes for a flight. The first time I convinced him to, he was ironically selected to be moved up to first class.
These things had me thinking about a lot of things since the trip, but I had another question during the trip that I couldn't really answer well. That question from my cousin was what are the cultural differences between USA and Portugal. While there are big differences between the food, celebrations, arts, and language, the other smaller details are hard to explain. I will have to think on it more and try to give a better answer.
Lots of Love until next time :)
Nicole, Joel & Mel
I didn't realize my first year in Portugal but years later I was curious why there was never any corn for sale in the supermarket. Corn on the cob was one of my favorite things to eat during the summer. Way back in the day on Chandler Boulevard, until I was maybe 7/8 years old they had a huge corn field and you would go and pick out the corn direct from the farmers! I remember checking the corn ears to see if there were any worms in them and how yellow they looked. It was so much fun and something I always looked forward to. I am sure that farmer was paid out TONS of money to sell their land which was developed into hotel and retail space.
Anyways, no corn on the cob in the supermarket except in the organic section where it is already husked and doesn't look very good. But ironically in our area during summer time there is tons growing! I decided to steal some during one of our hikes and make it... however was soo disappointed when we did. It was so starchy and barely sweet. I tried a few more times over the summer and it just doesn't compare. I guess the seed must be different and it isn't really a European thing. So I told my mom that I wanted to have as much Corn as we possibly could squeeze!
Back to the trip, Luckily our airbnb host didn't mind if we checked in early. This place was very hmmm interesting to say the least but had some great perks. Like oh a brand new sauna in the middle of the living room. A kayak with no paddles, a garage full of stuff, and a jacuzzi on the deck! The place was clean and cute and very log cabin ish.
We had a little nap, played some croquet together, got ready and headed off to the first part of the reunion which was a meet up at the casino with a black jack and a slot machine tournament. There were snacks and it was fun trying to figure out/remember who everyone was! Just like when I was younger I struggled to put all the family connections and stuff together. It is a bit complicated when my Grandpa has/had 15(ish?) siblings. Plus the oldest of those siblings has another 12... I think?
My mom got second place in the slot machine tournament, and Cody was doing well at the Craps tables as always. I was a super newbie in the Black Jack tournament and probably one of the first ones out. We headed to dinner in Deadwood with my Grandpa and Uncle Chris.
The next day we headed out to visit Mount Rushmore. We hiked around a bit and then the weather wasn't looking good for another hike in the area. While driving through the little town nearby we saw they had photo studios taking Old Western Photos, and when in America, be American.. No better rainy day activity than to take a bunch of silly photos. It was a lot of fun getting dressed up and choosing our scene. Bob the dog was so photogenic and was perfect with his little cowboy hat on.
Then came all of the introductions for Joel. Friday night dinner was in the town social hall and everyone was going to be there. It was such a great time to catch up with so many cousins, aunts, uncles, and people that I couldn't tell you how we are related. :P We got to play a little bit of bean bags and Joel had fun hearing a country band live. We were also forced to dance once. Anyone who saw our wedding video knows we are super professionals. (hahah, not!)
Saturday morning was the reunion Golf Tournament. Joel and I were lucky enough to be put on the winning team. Thank goodness for playing best ball, because otherwise we would have been out there for hours! I also won farthest female put! Lunch was together in the social hall and later on was the bean bag tournament. Everyone did pretty well but my dad and his partner won the tournament! Later on was the silent auction and maybe Joel's favorite part of the reunion? People donate things to help offset the costs of the next reunion. Joel and Cody played a game that they each had to bid at least five times but still try not to win whatever item, if they didn't want it of course. But then out came the funny t shirts! They were worn by my great Aunts at the last reunion I attended until about ten years ago. Joel definitely wanted one of these and he won one. It was a Hawaiian girl in a coconut bikini with a grass skirt. All of the family loved him and he was such a sport to join us! He says he wants to come to the next one in two years in Utah.
Saturday night we had the immediate family over at our Airbnb and ordered some pizzas and my mom put a bunch of snacks out to enjoy. Sunday morning we had breakfast together and then most people headed out. Cody's flight was not until the next afternoon so we decided to do a hike with Mark, Jill and Stephanie and then they came over to BBQ together and play some yard games. They are so much fun and always have us laughing. Plus killer bean bag players, I need some lessons I guess. My skills were pretty rusty!
Monday we headed back to Deadwood to do a bit more exploring and have a nice lunch together before Cody's flight. Deadwood is so cute, and rustic like what you would imagine in an old west town! We dropped Cody and the road trip began! What would be like driving from our house to Paris, which to Europeans is crazy to drive! Ee went from Rapid City to some small city outside of Minneapolis in one day. Then finished the next the following day. We arrived to VanDee Camp before lunch time and were so excited to slow down after a busy busy beginning to the trip.
At VanDee Camp we enjoyed boat rides, fishing, golfing, relaxing, sleeping in, Nintendo Wii, games, cooking, mountain bike rides, and paddle boating. Oh and can't forget meeting mom's neighbor, Arnie for "Cocktails" on the patio. The first day of fishing mom gave us the boating tour of the lake and we visited all of the bars on the water and played their shake of the day. Joel tried the Wisconsin famous fried cheese curds. We also went up to go fishing with my Uncle Doug in Lake Nebagamon. We caught some big fish there, but my parents got a bit carried away but caught TONS of fish up there! Joel caught the biggest Small Mouth Bass of the day, it was 19 inches (48cm)!
Mountain biking with my dad was so much fun but whoa, I was scared so many times! The trail crossed over these super thin bike bridges and in between trees which seemed so narrow for the handle bars on a bike! I made it out and only hit the handle bars once on a tree and was able to recover. I am an okay biker but whenever I am in a situation of tightness I always panic even though I am sure if I didn't panic I would have had no problem making it through. We also had to keep moving moving moving because there were SOOO many mosquitoes, if we stopped they would catch up to us! I am sure my dad had a good laugh at how many times I was screaming.
The last day in Hayward (the nearest city to VanDee Camp) was the musky festival. We enjoyed walking around the town, seeing the Hula Hoop contest, eating brats, and seeing the art festival. Bob the dog was always popular and got tons of cuddles. Then we made our way down to Madison for dinner with my Aunt and cousins. We both loved her new puppy and soo wanted to take her home to be friends with Mel. They also played lots of darts and Joel won a game! Bobby's super kegerator fridge is so funny!
Visiting my Grandma's old house was very bittersweet. So many memories visiting and playing in the huge garden, the sledding hill, beanie baby school with Shayna, building things with Grandpa and enjoying Grandma's garden. Joel was so impressed with my Grandpa's workshop! What an amazingly talented man he was. You don't appreciate those things when you are young but now to think he built such a modern house himself back in the mid 60s is so incredible.
Anyways the next morning, we went to visit Grandma in her assisted living care facility. The staff there are always really friendly and grandma just loved Joel. We also ate lunch with her. It was such a typical midwestern meal. Mashed potatoes and meat loaf with apple pie for dessert! After visiting Grandma we headed out to explore the downtown area and the capitol building. The place is totally different from winter to summer time! We had ice cream at the Union and enjoyed eating it out on the terrace in front of the lake. My mom says if it was a bit warmer there would be lots of people swimming in the lake but it had been raining and not quite warm enough yet. We went back to Sally's and brought my mom's favorite Greek gyros to eat.
The next morning I dropped off Joel at the airport bright and early for his 6am flight. As I was driving home the sun was rising over the lake and it was just an incredible color and such peaceful driving, so beautiful! Anyways got back to Grandma's and slept a bit more. We packed up and then headed to visit Grandma one more time. This time we were going through more pictures and her vacation albums and reading things to her. It is so interesting to hear her talk about the different trips she has taken and things she has done. Later on a volunteer who visits my Grandma every week for the last 18 months showed up to do her weekly visit. This woman and my Grandma read from Grandma's diary together, we sat in with her for a few entries of the journal then headed off for lunch. I said I couldn't leave the US without a poke bowl. So we found a place. Then my dad had to get the oil changed in the car and mom and I went shopping in Madison's first mall. It was soo quiet, I couldn't believe it. Phoenix malls in summer time are packed but maybe the area isn't as nice anymore or the kids are playing outside which we couldn't always do at home!
Then we headed back to Sally's house for dinner. She BBQed some chicken on the grill and made potato salad. Then we headed back up to VanDee Camp.
I had about another week until my flight home. I had hoped to work from there but didn't realize that the internet service they have in the national forest is well.... not quite the same as the fibre internet we have here in Portugal, so I didn't want to risk having connection problems, so I didn't teach. Good thing too because one morning we woke up and the internet seemed to go in and out every 15 minutes or so. My dad had to use my phone which randomly had 3G service by the lake to call the internet provider to tell them it was down.
We spent a few days organizing a room which my mom wanted to use as the guest house kitchen, which was filled with random stuff.. Literally from floor to ceiling. We definitely made some progress and she was able to make it a mini kitchen.
We also had so much fun stand up paddle boarding and canoeing down a river. There was a company which rented us the equipment and then shuttled us to the starting point and then we finished where their shop was. We also got to bring along Bob! I was nervous because there are some little rapids but the board was really steady, and I didn't have any problems. We were pulled over by the National Forrest Park rangers because we weren't told that I had to carry my life vest on the board. It was in my parents canoe. Luckily they just told us I needed it, and let us float on... :P It was a pretty warm day for Northern Wisco so the water felt super refreshing. Bob the dog also hung out on the paddle with me for part of the trip. He is sooo relaxed around water, I cannot believe it! Mel would never get in a boat, let alone a paddle board!
My flight was out of Duluth, Minnesota at the terrible hour of 6am. So we did a little day trip for my dad's birthday and my last day with them. We walked around the little beautiful town of Bayfield. Then we headed to a guided kayaking trip to the Apostle Islands which are on Lake Superior. Kayaking on Lake Superior is considered open water kayaking.. I think is what the guide called it, basically the equivalent of being in the ocean. The lake temperature was sooo cold, but it felt so nice because we had wet suits on and were baking and sweating in the sun prior to getting in the water. Then we also had to do some safety drills if we flipped over. We had a water proof skirting the only place we could possibly get wet, without flipping was our hands and arms. Getting the skirt off the little cabin was a bit hard on land, I can't imagine the stress if you flipped and you were trying to get free in the water and do it..! The thought stressed me out a bit, but it was such a calm day, I think you would have to mess up really bad to flip! I had to share the kayak with another lady in the group. I didn't realize at first that I had the rutter and the steering power at my feet! So we were trying to turn and had to ask for help! :O Oops, luckily my mom was in the same position and also didn't know. It still took some adjusting, and sometimes I was distracted and not thinking about my feet and suddenly my boat partner was like uhhh maybe we should go to the left a bit! SO kind, but I can only imagine, she must have been thinking what is this girl doing!
As we made our way away from the beach there were tons of cool little caves to go through. This is from wikipedia: "When the glaciers melted, waves from the waters of Lake Superior caused erosion that formed the islands. The islands are composed of mostly red sandstone because of the glacial shift." They are an incredibly beautiful red color, a bit different than those in the Southwest US. The water color near the caves was so green and turquiosey! Some of the caves we had to duck down to get through! It was also a bit stressful steering accurately trying not to crash into the walls. :O But I think I managed, maybe had a few bumps where we were already going slow.
It was a great time but it felt like the time was so short, maybe we were super slow paddlers, plus all the time doing the safety demo! I wanted to go farther. But it was a really fun outing and I highly recommend it to anyone who visits the area!
After that our drive to Duluth was along the Lake Superior shore line and soo pretty with the sun setting! We had to stop and soak in the view at a little rest stop. Then continued on our way. The little motel we booked in Duluth was so cute! I don't know why I found it so charming, but it was the best place for my last sleep in America. We ate at a brewery and I ate the most delicious veggie burger, which was made with wild rice. Wild rice is apparently a popular crop grown in the area! I loved it, I should try and figure out how to make them and find where I can buy wild rice or something like it!
The next morning my flights to Chicago and Newark went fine. However, after my flight to Brussels was totally boarded, everyone comfy in their seats, the flight attendant announces that the pilot is stuck in traffic, therefore we must deplane. So there will be a one hour delay. Joel had been texting me and he saw online they had already put a two hour delay, so I would definitely miss my connecting flight on to Lisbon. I went to the ticket counter near the gate, but the line was huge. During my wait time I had walked around every corner of the terminal and knew there was another one, about 5 minutes away. So instead of waiting in the line, headed over to the other wing of the terminal where the ladies were all standing around. I got the excellent news that the ticket agent got me on a direct flight to Lisbon leaving in about an hour! I told Joel my seat and he told me that I was also in economy premium! I couldn't believe it :O
The flight was fine, I didn't sleep much and watched the movie about Ruth Bader Ginnsburg, that was an amazing movie. I loved it. What strength and courage the few women had to stand up and fight the norm and make changes. The leg space was incredible, I didn't know what to do with all that space! I landed in Lisbon, jumped on a train and Joel picked me up in the train station during his lunch break. It was so wonderful to see my amazing dog, I missed Mel so much while I was away!
What a great trip! The USA is so big and it's crazy to think the last three times we have visited have all been so different! [Hawaii, Southwest US, Midwest & NYC]
And now some funny, good and bad cultural differences that really slapped me in the face. Free water at meals in a restaurant. Most of the times you don't even have to ask for it, just automatically poured for you on the table. There is also no shame in just asking for water! Though it is illegal to not give customers tap water here in Portugal, a few places have refused, and Joel fought a server one time because it is illegal not to give a glass of tap water. Because of that, I usually just bring my own little water bottle. As you all know I hate plastic water bottles and think that they are one of the easiest ways we could reduce our plastic consumption, so going to a restaurant to ask for a water and being given a plastic water bottle makes me angry. Some places have glass bottles, but I still think it's crazy they don't serve tap water.
Tax and Tips not being included in menu and shopping prices. And tipping in general.
Tons and tons of one time plastic ware being used all the time as the US has a real eating/drinking on the go culture. If you know you are going to your fav coffee place everyday, why not bring your own reusable cup? I was surprised also that even in restaurants where you sat down you are still given plastic cutlery and served in plastic. You cannot even ask for take away cups here! Sit down, relax and drink you coffee. Or do as the Portuguese do, have your espresso cafe, like a little shot and head on your way. They don't mess around with all that milk/sugar/ whatever else Americans put in their coffee. :P You never see people eating and walking in Portugal. When we first moved here and I would do it Joel would laugh at me!
People traveling in comfy clothes. I am like the only one in Portugal wearing comfortable clothes, people travel in style here! While we were in Australia Joel was doing tons of traveling for work and he never once considered wearing non work clothes for a flight. The first time I convinced him to, he was ironically selected to be moved up to first class.
These things had me thinking about a lot of things since the trip, but I had another question during the trip that I couldn't really answer well. That question from my cousin was what are the cultural differences between USA and Portugal. While there are big differences between the food, celebrations, arts, and language, the other smaller details are hard to explain. I will have to think on it more and try to give a better answer.
Lots of Love until next time :)
Nicole, Joel & Mel
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