What an awesome experience here for the kickoff in Sgt Bluff. We hosted 84GRAD's Kum n Go group. We didn’t know what to expect. What a great group. We had them pull up in our driveway since our neighbors had busses in the street. We sat in the garage and talked for several hours. Really enjoyed 84 and the bus driver Craig but all 14 or so of them were so nice and apprciative. For dinner I grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and my wife made cheesecake minis for dessert. It rained hard for half an hour so they asked if they could just put their sleeping bags in the garage and sleep there so they wouldn’t have to put their tents up. It had gotten really humid so we told them to just come in the house and plop down upstairs and in the basement. They were all asleep by 9 pm while our neighbors said their groups partied to 4-5 am. We sat in the kitchen and talked for awhile. They really were just friendly normal people but the couple who owned the bus (Steve and Lori) have bought land in Costa Rica and plan to build and move there in a couple of years. Steve works for Kum n Go. There was also a couple from England. Steve told me they visited them in England awhile back and while there, they rode their bikes to Stonehenge and had pics to prove it. He said the English couple (Chris was the husband) have biked all over the world. I asked him what they do for a living. Steve told me that when Windsor Castle burned down Chris was the Project Manager to rebuild it. When it was completed Chris was the one who carried the pillow with the key on it to present to the Queen. Chris and his wife were great. They were impressed with our house since they are so much smaller in England. He asked if we would come visit them but it wouldn’t be like this as he pointed to the kitchen layout. When they left it was like family leaving. We have since learned that next year since it will be RAGBRAI’s 50th they are going to take the original route that started in Sioux City. We are hoping they will return to stay with us again. Next year we will be pros. Sgt Bluff recieved many kudos and I've heard many expect their groups to return again since we are so close to Sioux City. Certainly hope so. It truly was one of the coolest experiences I've had. Hope to see you again 84!
