2017 08 11-17 Our life in Sioux Falls and a few pictures

Thursday, August 10 arrived at our apartment around 5:30 pm.  Did a quick walk through. Quite a difference from an 8 room house to a 4 room apartment. We were heading to the hotel (since we had no furniture yet), but first stopped by Rent-A-Center for a bed and box springs. Again, it's been awhile since we had to do that. At least the driving was over.

Friday, August 11, So busy. First the internet installer arrived and voila we have Wifi.  Can't survive without that.  Next our 2 pods arrived and Dale, the maintenance guy, told us where to have them deposited.  Then we did a bit of shopping for a mattress pad and sheets. We spent the rest of the day unloading the pods. By late afternoon, we didn't think we would be able to get everything unloaded because we were so tired.  Fortunately, Jane on the first floor volunteered to have her husband, Dave, to help us when he got home from work about 5 pm.   Unfortunately, that meant we had already hauled the washer/dryer up the stairs, hence the reason we were so tired. So we were able to unload both pods in one day.   Last but not least, our queen mattress and box springs were delivered early evening.  We did not spend Friday night is our apartment as we did not unpack our mattress pad and sheet and we needed to be sure of a good nights sleep in preparation of sorting through all the boxes the next day.

Saw this pair of garages and thought is was so cute(HERS and HIS). Much better than just vanity plates.

Saturday, August 12,  We started unpacking some of the important items from the boxes and organizing the apartment.   Kitchen stuff for eating, bathroom stuff, bedroom stuff for sleeping and the TV for entertainment. Did not take us long to figure out that cabinet space in the kitchen was going to be at a premium. We left 17 cabinets and a full pantry in Ohio. Now we have 10 cabinets. Thankfully our RV comes with a pantry and lots of storage space. In the interim, we have resorted to absconding with half the linen closet for kitchen items. And we still have stuff in boxes. It's one of our projects to sort through everything again and make sure we need everything we brought with us.  So everyone knows, the pups were great on the two day drive and were very concerned about the constant in and out while we unloaded our pods. As a well-deserved reward, we took the dogs for a long walk along the path by the Big Sioux River, the nearby park. They really needed it after being cooped up for more than 4 straight days.  

Bob made a friend on our walk with the dogs. A somewhat quite fellow, but is always there.

Neither of the dogs see the attraction.

Sunday, August 13th. More of the same, sorting through boxes, with a little free time to wander around the neighborhood shopping for a few necessities. We quickly discovered that a single A/C wall unit just couldn't reach to the opposite end of the apartment back in the bedroom. Right across the street is a Kohl's, Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond. What more could we want. Two fans circulate air very nicely.

Monday: August 14th. Drove to the dealer and picked up the truck.

 It looks black in this photo but it's really a very dark brown. Ram 3500 Cummins diesel turbo, 8 foot bed, towing package (see below). Going to take some miles to get accustomed to driving this beast. Thanks to our son-in-law, Dave, for valuable information about diesel engines. Our dealer salesman said that diesel's need to have a break-in period so "drive it like you just stole it". We assume that means take some long trips and open it up on the highway.

Fifth wheel hitch already installed in the bed of the truck.

Tuesday: August 15th.  More shopping, had to return one fan and get a different one that puts out more volume. We have been holding off on grocery shopping but ran out of food so dinner was at Olive Garden. Don't you just hate it when you have to dine out. A dreary and rainy day. 

Wednesday: August 16th.  We have located the local grocery store. Our first foray a couple days ago was for eggs, milk and bread. Now shopping was for standards like meat so we didn't have to eat out again. We walked through every aisle just to see what was available. We are going to have to start trying a lot of new products or find a second store as some items we are used to buying are not available. As it rained on and off all day, it did not make for a pleasant shopping experience. The one upside is a store employee fills you bags, puts the bags in the cart, pushed the cart to your car and puts them in the trunk for you. Now that's service!

Thursday: August 17. The sun came out and so did we. First, we took the dogs out for a short walk while some laundry finished drying. There was a possible specialty store where we thought some our our favorite Trader Joe's items might be procured. Alas, the prices were not Trader Joe's worthy and will not be on our shopping routine. We decided to take the truck out for a spin on the highway to get a feel for the ride. Bob did the driving while I played with some buttons just to see what they did. On our way back, we decided to take a detour and ended up in Falls Park, downtown Sioux Falls.   

Bob at Falls Park which originally was a prison quarry for the pink Sioux quartzite, also known as Jasper quartzite. The river was diverted to allow the prisoners to mine the stone for their prison walls and cobblestones. It is some of the oldest and hardest rock in the world. The local communities have many buildings constructed from this material that are still standing today, including the Sioux Falls Courthouse.

The Queen Bee Mill - this small building held the water driven turbine. It was attached to the shaft of the grist machines in the building behind which was a seven story building before burning down. The wheat was not ground by stones but with steel machines, the height of modern milling. It was only open for two years as there was frequently not enough water or wheat for production and the company went bankrupt.