Last week, I found out JMC's Des Moines show as a sunday, and not a saturday as I had originally though.. so.. yeah, I headed up there for another show. Des Moines is only about a 4 hour drive... normally.. LOL
Had a choice of driving up a shorter route, that was likely not going to be, due to river flooding, and a slightly longer one which were on roads that I know better... as I've driven them for years while in school. Took the better known roads. Didn't want to mess with flooding and detours.. yeah.. more on that later..
Car was being a bit finicky, going through transmission fluid kinda fast so I stopped periodically to check it and make sure everything was ok. Listened to Good Charlotte, Glen Templeton, and Adam Lambert most of the way up. LOL Have to say.. listening to Adam's songs (especially Strut!) in the middle of rural Missouri almost-towns is a weird experience. Had the urge to stop at Hasting's in Kirksville - and so glad I did! Finally found a Living End CD (an Aussie band that a really good Aussie friend introduced me to). Also picked up a couple of other things (Green Day rubon for the car window, note pad, and a Scott Cunningham book - there were several more I would have liked, but I didn't have that much money.)
One minor difference in roads was to use highway 149 in Missouri. Not a road I'm very familiar with, but it shave about 30 miles, so what the heck. Not too bad until I saw this:
{And noooo before y'all start yelling at me - and as I've said before! - I never take my eyes of the road! I point the camera in the general direction of what I want a picture of, take a couple of shots and hope for the best. LOL It's one of my favorite things about having a digital camera! Can delete all the really bad pictures, and they don't cost anything or waste film!}
So anyway, I think the sign was designed from this road. Because first it went this way
and then it went this way
And then the roller coaster fun started!
Yep, that's all the same road... LOL {and no, I wasn't crazy enough to get pictures in the middle of it LOL}
Ended up driving through some of my old stomping grounds. Made me think of Rick, who was a very good friend... and found several years ago murdered in his van {unfortunately, they never figured out who did it} Kinda made me sad to think about all those fun times we had - he was definitely a good ol' boy.. Was also very sad to see several of the places in Corydon were closed - my favorite gas station (though I would have had to boycott them, since they were bought out by BP before they closed down) and the Windmill Cafe.. nice little restaurant that made some of the best food.Drove up through Chariton.. where part of Hwy 34 was closed, and they had a detour. Well, apparently, DETOUR in Iowa means "Include part of every road in the county." Turn here, turn there, yet another road that was NOT 34.. it was crazy. Longest freakin detour I've every been on.
Got to Des Moines about a half an hour before the show was to start. Got directions from a gruff little old lady at the gas station. She said a lot of people were leaving early because of all the mud. Not a big deal for me.. I was wearing old jeans and my old ratty shoes anyway LOL Found a place to park - behind the stage incidentally.. lol nice.. and locked the doors.. headed up to get a ticket.. realized I forgot my hat, so went back to the car.. and realized that yes, the keys were sitting right there in the front seat. *facepalm*
Ended up spending most of JMC's show trying to get back into my car. Checked with security - they were very nice, but could do nothing. They called over one of the cops.. who could/would also do nothing. "Call a locksmith." (to which I replied - "great, do you know one, I don't live around here!" wandered over to Jiffy Stop - nope, no coat hangers. Got a banana, since I hadn't eaten anything all day, and nothing else appealed. Even asked a guy with an RV if he had a coat hanger. I'm sure he thought I was a lunatic. Stopped at McDonald's to get a cheeseburger.. wasn't really hungry but figured I'd better eat something. Told her I wanted a cheeseburger with no onions... "oh, and I don't suppose you have a coat hanger?" She looked at me, a little blankly, like she thought I was joking. So I told her what happened, and she asked the manager. Who not only found me a coat hanger, he actually came out to my car to try to help me get into it. Wasn't very successful, but man, talk about great customer service!
Was rather bummed. Didn't want to get a ticket til I knew I wasn't going to have to call a locksmith (since I only had about $65 on me). Then these two good looking, half dressed cowboys came over to see if I needed help. Nice. Did I get a picture? Of course not. They were cool, and luckily managed to get me into my car so I could get my keys. I was grateful. There was something to like about Iowa after all. LOL. Started walking up to the gate... singing along with Jason the whole time. He had a shorter set, since he wasn't the headliner. Sang Where I'm From, George Strait Cover Band, Hurry Home, Drinking to Drink, Meet Me in the Barn.. and a few others. By the time I got to the front gate he was singing Stray. I was a little unsure about getting a ticket - really had not planned on staying for anyone else (since I had that lovely 4 hour drive home!), so I waited a minute. And then he started talking about Brittany.. and that was that. He said he thought that Brittany was the reason for the beautiful weather, then starting singing Livin Our Love Song. I snapped a couple of quick shots (I did actually see him.. lol he was about an inch tall! and can't be seen in the pictures because I was so far away.) So I started walking back to the car. Got razzed a bit when I got there, but oh well.
Went to Target afterwards (since we don't have one around here) Picked up a couple of new books, something to eat, and a Journey CD... seemed appropriate.. Took a different way home.. ran into some flooding, but nothing bad enough to block my side of the road (at one point, the other side was closed). But several fields were simply covered with water.
I don't know if this bridge is normally used, or if it is just an old one... but it was under water. Yep, there's a road down there somewhere too.
Saw this cloud on the way home... made me think of a flying dragon.. The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. Stopped a couple of times to check the transmission fluid, but everything went well, and I got home around midnight. Long day, but worth it.
Would I do it again? Hell yeah... already have 2 shows lined up in September.. LOL
Spent one day out in the yard with Rhi.. just being lazy. Was chatting with Chris (my Aussie friend - isn't the internet great?) while we were outside.. One of the things I love about my new phone (a droid) is that I have internet outside. So I sat out there for a bit. Started out by the sandbox and the mint garden, but that wasn't very comfortable, so went to lie down on the front porch for a bit. Which was fine.. until I moved the black grass barrier thing and a skink ran out from under it. Now, I realize he was just looking for something else to hide under.. but the something he picked was me.. which startled me, and I screamed. Silly skink.
This was my view.. the first picture is the porch ceiling - the house is old, and the paint is peeling. The windchimes have been there for a couple of years, they are really beautiful when it is breezy. The second one shows how lovely the sky was.
Sat up when Rhi said she wanted to take some pictures.. so here's a pic of me messaging on the phone.. lol. Yeah, I know, the porch is a mess.. we were going to work on the flower garden.. but we didn't.
Lost the connection after a bit, so moved under the tulip tree, which Rhi kept trying to climb.
She took some more pictures.. LOL yep still messaging..
me and Rhi
lazy barefoot kind of day
Room for one more... lol
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