Neither Mark nor I had ever seen the Sioux Falls of South Dakota. When we made our semi trip to Sioux City, we decided we would try to make a trip back up to see the falls. Mark enjoys a rest and relaxation getaway, and so do I!. With the crops all planted and things settled on the farm for now, we decided to go for a Thursday and Friday evening. We arrived in Sioux Falls where I lined up a massage for Mark. Afterwards, we checked into our hotel and took a walk along the bike path. We ate at Carnaval Brazilian grill restaurant. My friend Jess highly recommended it. She didn't tell me any details, and we really enjoyed it. It was a whole experience in itself. The restaurant was done up so nice and had an interesting and fancy décor. We were seated, our waiter gave us a thorough rundown on the proper procedure and a little history, then we could go through the salad bar. That alone was like a buffet with various choices. The "Gauchos" walked around serving 18 different cuts of meat as much and as often as we wanted. Our job was just to flip our coaster to green when we wanted more, and red when we needed to stop. It was all you can eat steak, pork, chicken, shrimp, lamb, and all were amazing at that. The Gauchos brought the food on a rod and cut it right in front of you. It was amazing. There was also an all you can eat salad, vegetables, soup, charcutier board, and fried bananas. You could not possibly go away hungry. I was mind blown at the people we sat by that ordered dessert at the end of the meal. Impossible for me!
Friday was our full day in Sioux Falls. We planned to ride bikes, see the falls, and visit museums. It was cold, really cold. I had planned for sunny and 70's. It was 40 in the morning with 52 for the high. I only packed one sweatshirt. I piled on several shirts under that and found some mittens in the car. We skipped the bike ride and went to the falls. After just a short time we both agreed we could come back in the morning before we head out of town, the forecast was looking much better. We went to a museum where we learned lots of history of the stockyards, packing plant, city, falls, and native Indians. We then visited a museum of Mr. Richard Pettigrew. The museum was his mansion Queen Anne style historic home of Victorian elegance. We enjoyed learning history and facts of the area. I enjoyed the falls, they were really neat and there was a beautiful area with grass and paths. On Saturday morning, the sun came out and it was a beautiful morning. We returned to the falls and really enjoyed the walk and sights along with many other tourists. The Sioux Quartzite is among the oldest rock exposed in South Dakota. The falls were rushing with water and beautiful to see. We can check that off the bucket list.
With Okoboji being on the route home, Mark came up with the idea to eat at his favorite breakfast place, The O'Halloran Sisters. We don't know how long this little diner will be in existence. It was the first diner in Okoboji (1949)and still going strong with the most amazing breakfasts. We had a late brunch around 12:30 and it was delicious. We also did a little reminiscing and took a walk along pebble beach. We named it that from when Jake was a little guy. He loved that beach and gave it the name one summer when we stayed at the Okoboji Inn. The kids are all grown now, and the Inn has recently been demolished. It was sad to see such a famous iconic Inn go. It was the first built in 1896 with so much history. The 82 acre area of land had both an indoor and outdoor pool, a restaurant, a golf course, 130 units that faced the shore. In 2018 30 buildings were demolished and in it's place, now sits one big millionaire's home. How very unfortunate. We love to remember the days gone by. Sometimes change is hard, but I am glad for the memories!
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