Our journey to Iowa started easy enough. Our Covid tests came back negative. (Not required, just respectful). Both of us were able to disentangle from work close enough to 5 on Thursday that it didn’t lead to any additional stress. Fibs was dropped off at the kennel without any problem. Surely the journey won’t be this easy!
On Friday, we both woke up at the normal time for a workday and worked out. Nathan did a Pilates video in the basement and I did my jogging intervals for PT. We showered, ate breakfast, readied the house a bit, and drove to DIA.
Traffic was no problem (seriously, something is wrong with this journey) and we arrived at DIA to find out that the shuttle parking lots are still Covid closed. The garages and economy ($17 a DAY!) lots are open, we managed to find a spot in the last row of the joint, and we walked into the airport.
The line to drop bags was a little long, yet it moved quickly and before you knew it, we were in the TSA Precheck line. The TSA Precheck system seems to have gotten a whole lot more efficient since the last time we have flown and again, we breezed through without any problem.
We got to our gate, boarded on time, and the one-hour up & down flight to Sioux Falls was as quick as it could possibly be. We even arrived 18 minutes early.
Jumped in the car, drove to church, and a priest gave Deb & Phil’s marriage (50 years!) a blessing. Hilarious moments ensued while listening to the priest, but those are for another forum. Back in the cars to Lake Okoboji, with Deb & Phil in one, and all us kids; Nathan and I, Donna, and Dennis in another following just behind.
After a few wrong turns, and several circles around the neighborhood, we found our VRBO. Donna pulled up the keypad code to get in, entered it, and the lock beeped twice and flashed red. Hmmm. No bueno. Phil, Donna and Dennis proceeded to try, try and try again, all with the same results. Donna pulled up the VRBO confirmation to call the owner, and … no phone number. Hmmm. Donna sent the woman an email through the app and we waited.
So, the five of us are all jammed up on this little porch, with a melting DQ cake and full bladders, trying to figure out how to get inside without breaking windows to make it happen. The little voice inside my head was whispering that something about this situation is not quite right and this vacation could end up being a whole lot more uncomfortable if we can’t reach this lady. I didn’t say it.
Phil and Deb made friends with the neighbor, so the DQ cake was saved and Dennis was able to use the WC. At least now the neighbors don’t think we are breaking in. One even offered to reach out to the owner of our house via Facebook to let them know we couldn’t get in.
Donna and Phil drove over to the resort that is associated with this neighborhood to see if they could help us get in, and the news that came back was that they could rent us a 3-bedroom suite at $700 a night. Hmmm.
We moved our waiting party to the back deck of the house and between Dennis, Donna, Nathan, and I, we were able to Google the woman, find a phone number and get a hold of her. She gave us what must have been the master code to the lock and just like that vacation saved.
By now it was 6:30, and we were all in need of dinner and an attitude adjustment. Donna and I handled the pizza delivery, Dennis and Nathan ran for the booze, and the rest of the evening was spent on the back deck enjoying each other’s company.