The Hayrack Ride

On Saturday Night, Great Adventures Ministries in Omaha had their annual Hayrack Ride out near Blair, Nebraska. It was my first time going on a hayrack ride, and Vivian had prepared me well in advance for what to expect. Mere seconds after the tractor started chugging along down the dirt road, Vivian was grabbing me by the shoulders and shoving a fistful of hay up my shirt. A few minutes later the whole cart was a blizzard of straw flying every which way as we launched a way on the hayrack behind us and started pulling down guys like Hugh and Olin to make sure they had their turn to get the scratchy stuff inside every layer of clothing they were wearing. By the end of it, we were all picking hay out of our clothes, hair, underwear, and even our ears. I had to help Vivian extract one of these the next day.

Afterwards, those of us who weren't completely exhausted from the hayrack ride participated in a swing dance upstairs. The lesson was taught by Eric "Onion-Boy" and Micah "Justsmilechild" in the loft in the old barn. This place had special meaning for Vivian, because it was where she first met the Omaha Jitterbugs back in the fall of 2004. And, of course, if she hadn't met them, she probably wouldn't have met me, so this place had special meaning for me, too.

It was a lovely night, and the rain was thankfully kept at bay long enough for us all to enjoy the night together before heading home. Micah was in for a birthday surprise a little after midnight: someone had filled her car with balloons and cued her CD up player to a favorite song while she'd been away. Happy Birthday, Micah!