Minneapolis or Bust

Well, we made it.  I left on Tuesday morning and met David in Lusk, Wyoming.  Poor guy had already put in almost 7 hours of driving at that point, and we still had 3 + hours to go.  We convoyed to Hill City, South Dakota that day and spent the night at a little motel in town.  Next day, we toured Custer National Park, Mount Rushmore, and saw parts of the Badlands.  We crashed again at the Sioux Motel in Murdo, South Dakota and the following day, David's birthday, had breakfast at a small diner before our last leg to Minneapolis.  We pulled up to Culver's (a popular burger and custard joint - a very welcoming sight for those of us from WI) at 5:30pm on Thursday.  After a meal with our friends, the Falter family, we found our way to our apartment on Lake Calhoun.  Now, before I go on, I've worked to try to put this whole thing behind me.  It still makes me upset.  Perhaps this post will allow me to finally let bygones to be bygones.  Perhaps.
Our place is a block and a half from the Lake, which is a very popular spot.  Running and biking trails, a marina, sailing, trendy shops, and beach.  We were also excited to find a 2 bedroom so we'd have an extra room for David to work from.  Needless to say, we picked it for the excellent location and the extra room.  But when our key turned in the lock, exhaustion from the drive and our excitement about our new place soon gave way to horror. 
The place had been inhabited by two girls for two years.  It looked like it hadn't been cleaned in just as long.  In fact, it looked like a frat house after a party.  Just disgusting!  Layers of dirt, old food, and even dried vomit.  Yep, that's what I said.  We dumped our things, packed a bag, and asked our friends if we could spend the night at their house.  When we couldn't find another apartment to rent the next day, we called the landlord and explained the situation.  He generously (sarcasm) took $100 off the rent for us to clean it.  After 6.5 hours of cleaning, including an hour in respirator masks as we scraped mold and dust from the bathroom fans, we called him again, to tell him the garbage disposal was broken and the dishwasher was leaking water all over the floor.  He took another $100 off the rent and said he'd call a plumber.  Maybe we should have had an inkling of the challenges to come when the keys barely arrived in time and our friends were unable to preview the place before we got there.  It's sparkly clean now, and after a little furniture rearranging, it's starting to feel a little more comfortable.  Breathe. 
Despite this, I am looking forward to summer in Minneapolis.  When you're on the floor cleaning someone else's vomit off the bathroom garbage can, it can only get better, right?