lawbreakin’!

I’m back!

South Dakota was so much fun. I’m pretty sure I saw all of Matt’s hometown, and his parents are awesome as always. Some of the highlights:

• the massage chairs at the Watertown mall
• the Dakota Sioux Casino, where we played hockey slots and swing-danced to country in the lounge
• the Harbor Bar, where all I could do was sit there saying ‘oh no!’ while watching the dance floor (we went there because we were promised there’d be a fight in the alley after bar close)
• the truck stop known as The Grainery, where i got Cindi a keychain version of Trucknuts
• Shopko, one of my favorite ghetto stores ever (I got camo underpants)
• Staying in Matt’s childhood bedroom, and teasing him about the photos and medals (of which there are many)
• a donkey and a horse nibbling each others’ butts
• the karaoke bar where 4 drinks and 2 shots cost $26, and half the singers were maybe a little bit crazy

I also got a lot done on the Stitch n’ Pitch socks for Matt, which I’m hoping to have done before the game next month. Shouldn’t be a problem. I can’t believe how well they’re turning out, and the Twins colors are perfect! (Speaking of knitting, I’m totally obsessed with Ravelry as of today, when I got my invitation.)

So, I left town right from work on Friday, and headed west on highway 7. I hit rush hour traffic around Lake Minnetonka, and then weather. The rain prevented passing of any kind, so it was very slow going. Once that cleared, I tried to make up some time between Hutchinson and Montevideo.

This was an extremely awesome idea until I passed a Chippewa County Sheriff going the other direction.

I deserve many more speeding tickets than I’ve received (zero, unless you count the municipal ‘exhibition driving’ ticket I got on the Broadway bridge, which doesn’t show up on my record), so I was totally fine with all of that finally catching up with me. There’s a reason I drive a car designed to be a rally racer, after all. Anyway, he clocked me at 78 in a 60 (I had the cruise set at 80: what the hell, Miguel?), and told me the fine would be $190. However, if I should choose to come back out there to the Driver Awareness Class (cost: $75), they’d pretend like my ticket never happened, and it wouldn’t affect my insurance.

I called my insurance agent this morning and he said my rates would go up at least $100, plus I wouldn’t have a clean driving record anymore. It’d be worth it to go to the class. Also, it’ll probably be fun. So that’s my Wednesday night this week! Again, I’ll be leaving right from work, and will have a companion or two on this roadtrip. Also, I’ll probably have to go a little earlier. I can’t speed, after all.

Upon returning home yesterday, we spent much time on the couch, and then went to Lyle’s to have dinner with Cindi and Wendy. We were sitting there playing cards when one of the servers came up and told us we couldn’t. What’s that about, dudes? Is that a gambling thing? I’m confused.

Tonight we’re going to my mom’s house to hang out with the entire familia Ripley. My brother Scott and his family are in town, and I’m looking forward to seeing them!

In conclusion, here are some photos from this weekend. Be good, everybody.
Jenni