The fourth day of our LHOP Adventure was both sad and exciting. As I mentioned in my post about
Day 3, we had to leave De Smet early in the morning to make it to Walnut Grove, Minnesota on time.
Not sure whose camera this is from. Photo snapped by the B&B owner.
After a couple days in De Smet, my fellow Divas and I were truly comfortable with each other. Did I mention that three of us had to sleep in one bed? While driving around town and hanging out in the parlor and dining room of the
Prairie House Manor Bed and Breakfast, we learned the story of the owners and met some fellow Laura fans with whom we became fast friends. We had also explored downtown and met some nice people.
Not being a morning person, eating breakfast at 7 a.m. to be on the road by 8, was not the highlight of my adventure. But it was all worth it once we arrived in Walnut Grove.
We arrived shortly before noon and the
Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and grounds were packed. If I didn't know how popular Laura, her books, and the
Little House on the Prairie show was, I did the minute we drove up.
The town and museum staff had everything organized so well. Autograph sessions were taking place in three different locations. In the park were several activities, local authors and artists, and food vendors. Being members of Dean's Divas, we decided to head over to the area where Dean Butler was signing autographs with Lucy Lee Flippin (his TV sister, Eliza Jane Wilder) and the Greenbush twins, who played Carrie Ingalls.
Here is where it gets exciting. Though several of the Divas had met Dean before, I never had. I'll do my best to paint this picture for you, because it is one of the highlights of my trip.
The morning autograph session was just about over by the time we made it to where Dean, Lucy, Lindsay and Sidney (real names Rachel and Robyn) were signing autographs and chatting with fans. Lindsay had gotten married just a few weeks prior under the oak tree at the Ingalls farm where the show had been filmed. Her husband, Danny, was also in Walnut Grove. When he caught sight of six ladies in pink shirts with Dean's picture on the front walking up, he immediately started calling to Dean to get his attention. Dean looked in our direction and waved. Lindsay, however, got the biggest kick out the Divas in their pink shirts.
Not sure whose camera this is from, but Diva Beth and Honorary Diva Dorothy are missing from this shot.
As soon as the autograph session ended, she walked over to us and insisted upon having her picture taken with Dean's Divas--many of whom she had met before. Then Dean came over to greet us and we got pictures with Lindsay and Dean. Not only that, a multitude of complete strangers took our pictures because two LHOP stars were standing between us. Talk about making a grand entrance.
We visited the museum quickly and made it over to the park to get some food. Later that night, we attended the Laura Ingalls Wilder Pageant, which was preceded by a
Little House on the Prairie cast reunion. All the stars in attendance fielded questions from the audience. For once, I didn't ask any questions.
Thanks to Diva Lorrie for this shot.
The Divas had bought their tickets early--plus we were traveling with an Ingalls relative--so we had fabulous seats. After the cast reunion portion of the program was over, the stars sat in the audience to watch the pageant. Lucy Lee Flippin, Hersha Parady (Alice Garvey), and Radames Pera, who played John Sanderson Edwards (the love interest of Mary Ingalls) sat in our row.
Thanks to Diva Marilyn for this shot: she is also the one taking the picture.
It was late by the time the pageant was over, and we knew we had another long day of fun ahead of us, so we drove back to our motel (the worst part of the trip because the motel was disgusting) to get some shut-eye.
