Holidays and Other Shenanigans in Sturgis, SD: 2013

Having stopped at Clear Creek Brewing Company in Buffalo, the Harringtons were ready to continue forth to Deadwood, South Dakota for a nights free lodging, a bit of slot machining and most importantly seeing Grandma and Papa Cushing as well as Uncle Bernard.

The drive through the canyon and onto the interstate was relatively uneventful, although the moon did light up the night sky creating a peaceful journey across state lines.

The couple stayed at the Franklin Hotel in Deadwood where they were guests in "Josephine's" room (don't worry, there wasn't an actual escort of sorts in the room, just a plaque with her name on the door). The duo was a bit bummed to notice that another room boasted their own family name and that the grandparents were housed in John Wayne's room, fortunately, the success of the trip wasn't based on the name of the room...then again, perhaps it was.

Sturgis-bound for Thanksgiving 2012

By far one of the best things about being in one's mother country is being able to celebrate holidays in all the traditional manners without the difficulty of tracking down ingredients for all your favorite dishes and being reminded of just how far you truly are from family. However, don't let these statements convince you that the Harringtons have lost their fondness and love for the land of kimchi or that celebrating Thanksgivings 2010 and 2011 in South Korea weren't absolutely beautiful and memorable, no, not at all. It's just, in the challenge of re-adjusting to the mother land, the holidays provide a kind of stability and sense of home the Harringtons are reaching for. Not to mention, turkey!

With great swiftness, the Harringtons packed up and loaded the car as soon as school was released on  the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. They made the five hour drive to South Dakota discovering that the new Subaru, while boasting seat warmers, failed to play CD's or anything other than radio and cassettes, fortunately, the Harringtons have a love for the radio and were content to make the drive sans Dan Walker and Jalan Crossland (although, the couple is quite fond of both artists...)

Upon arrival in Sturgis, the couple was greeted with warm hugs, a warm fire and a warm bed - can't get much better or warmer than that!