Summer Vacation

Some of my best memories from being a kid were spending summers on the ranch. As soon as school was out, Mom and Dad would pile all of us in the car and we would head off to South Dakota. We would always stop at Brooks' and get penny candy and that's when I knew that we were almost there! In my mind, I remember Brooks' as being a candy store but Mom is quick to point out that it was really a general store and we were probably stopping for groceries... but I just remember spending lots of time trying to decide what I could get for my few cents.

The folks would usually stay for at least a week or two but then they would have to get back home for work and they would leave Dan and I behind for the whole summer! We always had to help out with chores and stuff while we were there but it seemed more like an adventure than a job. And when the summer was over, Grandma and Grandpa would pile us in a car with somebody they knew who was heading to Denver and that's how we'd get home again.