Saturday concluded our two-week Habitat For Humanity volunteer gig, helping build a house in Brookings, South Dakota for a wonderful family, the Khalafs.
Our motivation for this was to make sure that our journey isn’t just about us. Ginny discovered the Habitat Care-A-Vanners, who are RVers who either travel around to do this or do this as they travel around.
Our team included three other couples and three single men. Home states included Washington, Colorado, Minnesota and Florida. For one couple, the Moriartys, Habitat builds are what they do full-time. Bill is a retired general contractor. He has that gene I don’t have for knowing how things work. He didn’t finish high school, but he’s a born teacher – he can tell you what to do, how to do it and why it needs to be done that certain way. He would be the greatest expert witness any construction litigator could ever hope to put on the stand.
Any group the size of ours is going to include some interesting personalities, and our’s was no exception. By the end of the build, we understood why two weeks is the maximum gig for Care-A-Vanners. Nevertheless, we shared many good times and everyone pulled together and got a lot done on that house.
The work was hard, frequently educational and always rewarding. The main reason it was so rewarding is that the family we were building for is remarkable.
The Khalafs are Egyptian. They fled their country about 15 years ago, first living in Germany and now having settled in Brookings. Both parents have post-graduate degrees. They have four exceptional children. All of them are bright, kind and hard-working. They are the type of people who make any country they live in a better place.
After three(!) weeks in South Dakota, it’s time to get moving again. In five minutes Sunday morning, we crossed two state borders – Iowa…
…and Nebraska.
And in a Who Knew geography lesson, we learned there are three Sioux Cities – in South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. 
We’re spending Sunday night in Lincoln, Nebraska. While running errands, I paid a quick sightseeing visit to the most important building on campus, Memorial Stadium.
Monday, we’re off to Abilene, Kansas, birthplace of Dwight Eisenhower and the home of his Presidential library. He’s a fascinating man, full of contradictions. For example, his smile was probably the greatest in the history of American politics, but the Kennedys nicknamed him The Old Asshole, based on their dealings with him during the transition after the 1960 election. More insights await when we tour the library Tuesday!