28. All Good Things (1/2)

28 – all good things

felicity sighed in resignation as they drove past the sign leaving yellowstone. she'd made some amazing memories there…she and ben. "i'm going to miss this place for the rest of my life."

"that much, huh?"

"yeah."

"i guess we'll have to come back some time."

surprised, she looked over at the passenger seat to find him grinning as he crunched into an apple. "really?"

"yeah, why not? we're veteran travelers now. the open road. whitman, and all." he unfolded the map in his lap as if to illustrate.

she beamed and turned her attention back to the road. "i want to head toward blackfoot. which way?"

"what's in blackfoot?"

she dimpled at him. "the world potato expo."

"the what?"

"idaho is famous for potatoes, right? so they have a whole expo on them. it's basically on our way, anyway, so we should go. just for fun."

ben gulped down a chunk of apple. "you want to go see a potato thing?"

"the world potato expo," she repeated haughtily. "potatoes are a big business in idaho. it's all in the travel book."

he started to laugh. "between that and the roller skate museum, i don't know what's weirder. next, it'll be roller skates made of potatoes."

felicity giggled.

- - - - -

"what's more pathetic? the fact that people actually pay to see these things, or that we're doing it, too?" ben chuckled. they rolled into the parking lot and parked beside a giant styrofoam replica of a potato.

"see what you would have missed if i didn't come with you on this trip?" laughed felicity. she turned the engine off with a grin.

ben didn't reply. curious, she glanced up to see him watching her, but he looked away immediately and opened the passenger door. she shook it off and got out of the car.

"give me your camera," ben said as they walked toward the building.

felicity dug it out of her purse and handed it over. with a laugh, he held it up and took a picture of the giant styrofoam potato. "no one's going to believe this place exists unless we get pictures."

"hey, they do free baked potatoes for visitors. it can't be all bad, can it?" she shrugged.

"all this and free food, too? let's go," he laughed again.

the expo proved to be the most exhaustive tribute to potatoes either of them had ever seen. it did include some serious material regarding idaho's farming history, but that was quickly eclipsed by the more tongue-in-cheek things on display. they chuckled their way through exhibits of mr. potato head, a giant potato chip, and clothing made from burlap potato sacks. by the time they got around to their free baked potato, both of them were laughing so hard they could barely finish eating.

"i am picking the next stop," ben declared, shaking his head.

felicity sniffed in mock derision. "you learned something, didn't you?"

"i learned that your taste in roadside attractions is a little scary."

she swatted at him, but he dodged it with another laugh.

- - - - -

they finished up their trip through idaho with a stop at the shoshone ice caves, a volcanically-created natural underground cavern that remained partially frozen even in summer. the chilly air was a refreshing change from the early-summer heat outside. "see, didn't i tell you this place was going to be better than potatoes?"

felicity smiled. "well, i guess natural air conditioning is a big plus. i wasn't so sure when i saw the cheesy dinosaur statue outside."

"looks can be deceiving," ben smiled, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat, which had been provided at the start of the tour.

true, she thought.

- - - - -

it took them two days to get to reno, and even though they were almost to california, they stayed there an extra day. it was as if, by unspoken agreement, they weren't ready to call an end to their trip. ben wasn't.

they took even more time in san francisco, staying two nights in the city before returning the car to mickey. sunday morning dawned