Yikes! I haven’t updated this thing in almost a year.
Amy Ray has a new CD due out on August 5. She (or her promotion peeps) seems to have hopped onto the 2.0 bandwagon and are putting out video updates on kyte called “Amy Ray TV.” I like it. Anyway, here’s the most recent “episode.”
Backtrack a few episodes and check out the interview with Julie Wolf and Emily Saliers. Be sure to stick around after the video portion ends. Your tender parts will appreciate it.
We spent pretty much all of Monday driving through Montana and taking little tours of some of the cities.
We stopped at a Target in Bozeman and picked up some snacks, we drove around Missoula (Wendy had spent some time there, so she gave me a quick drive-by tour).
The day was pretty uneventful except for the glorified road sign advertising the “Teste Fest” in Butte. Apparently we were a few weeks too late to enjoy the festival’s offerings, but I’m sure we’ll attend future fests.
We pulled into Spokane around 5 p.m. We had reserved a motel “downtown,” but when we arrived, we realized that it was in a seriously sketchy neighborhood. Yeah, there was a Starbucks a few blocks away, but so was the plasma bank. And the characters loitering around were pretty sketchy, too sketchy for me to feel comfortable leaving “stuff” in my car. And honestly, neither of us was in the mood to unpack the entire car. I’d pre-paid for the motel and was a little nervous about asking for my money back, but Wendy said she would handle it, and she did. She’s great. She can talk to anyone in any situation. Wendy talked to the clerk, got us a refund, and we found another motel on a different side of town. After we checked in, we ran over to Safeway for some cheapo Chinese food, and settled in for an evening of Monday Night Football.
After leaving the wholesome goodness of Mitchell, we headed towards our next entertainment stop. Wall Drug. Yeah, it’s cheesy, but so are we. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of billboards on the South Dakota highway, we pulled into Wall, SD, with glazed eyes and in need of coffee. We parked the car in a shady spot, cracked the windows (the boys were snoozing in the back seat), and headed into the completely over-the-top Wall Drug for kitsch and kibble. Our kibble came in the form of freshly-baked donuts. The kitsch? Well, that was everywhere. So much kitsch, so little time. I bought a lovely garden gnome for $4, and Wendy got us both some lovely South Dakota travel mugs.
We ate our donuts, did a little people watching (because the folks at Wall Drug are definitely worth watching), and then set out for our next destination. Mount Rushmore.
We stopped at a Safeway in Rapid City so I could pick up some Boulevard beer for E, and then made our way down Highway 16 to Mount Rushmore.
We then detoured back up to the Interstate and stopped for a short break in Deadwood. I did not expect South Dakota to be so beautiful! I definitely want to come back for an extended visit.
We drove until we hit Gillette Wyoming, stopped for dinner, and then continued on to Billings.
We got up early on Sunday morning so we could get to the corn palace as soon as it opened (9 a.m.). We left the boys in the hotel, and headed into town. Before we even got into the car, we ran into some Polka folks. Apparently a special Sunday Mass for all the Polka-goers was being held at the corn palace and everyone was dressed up in their Sunday Polka best. We met an elderly couple from Kansas (Thomas and Bonnie), and we spent about 30 min. chatting with them in the parking lot of the Motel 6. They travel to Polka festivals all over the country, and they’ve got the buttons and patches on their garb to prove it. Even their license plate was polka related: WEPOLKA. No joke. These folks are in their 80s! Wendy and I both were quite impressed. Thomas really took a liking to Wendy (he gave her his card), and even they took our picture.
We also met a middle-aged woman and her elderly mother from Colorado. I can’t remember their names (Wendy might, she has way better people skills than I do). Anyway, the daughter was decked out in a peach outfit, complete with petticoat and pettipants. (think Champagne Singers on the Lawrence Welk show). She wanted to show us something, so she called us over to her car and opened the trunk where she unveiled the coolest “yard art” that I’d ever seen. Old yard tools and bicycle parts that had been transformed into animals. Herons, armadillos, turkeys, you name it! I’m kicking myself for not getting photos.
After chatting, we headed into town to experience the corn palace in all its kernalled glory.
We also stopped at the “corncession” stand to pick up a few post cards.
And then we hit the road.
Destination: Billings, MT.
Just a quick post to say that we arrived safely in Mitchell, SD last night. It was a long day. We drove through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and finally arrived in Mitchell about 8:30 p.m.
Illinois was uneventful. The highlight of Wisconsin was a stop at Culvers for lunch (Mmm. Butterburger!), and listening to the local radio station run through the obituaries for the week.
We crossed the Mississippi into Minnesota and stopped to take a couple of photos. After the initial “we’re west of the Missippi and now all the TV and radio stations start with ‘K’” excitement, the rest of the state was endless. Rows upon rows of corn. We saw nothing but corn and roadkill for what felt like hundreds of miles. We stopped for gas at a Sinclair (dinosaur gas) in Blue Earth, and Wendy discovered a huge statue of the jolly green giant. He looked more creepy that jolly, but the statue definitely was pretty huge. And very green. Photo op! (will be posted later). After leaving Blue Earth and our jolly green friend, we headed back to the highway to stare at more fields of corn. Eventually some wind turbines popped up on the landscape. Pretty cool.
Soon, but not soon enough, we arrived in Mitchell, home of the corn palace and Polka Festival. After realizing that entrance to the festival was $12 (too rich for us, we’d rather spend our cash on beer), we headed to the Depot for nachos and pints of Boulevard Pale Ale. Wendy played a little video poker, won $20, and then we called it a night. It was close to 11 p.m. and we needed to get up early to visit the corn palace in the morning. And that’s where we’re headed now. We’ve got an ambitious day planned: corn palace, Mount Rushmore and a long drive to Billings, MT. More to come …
Quote of the day:
Wendy (while driving): I wish we had more room for hitchhikers!
Wendy, Parnell, Dr. Seuss and I made it from Brockport, NY to Evanston, IL. The trip itself was fairly uneventful (in a good way).
When we hit Erie, PA, we stopped in at the Eat-n-Park and picked up a few smiley-face cookies (photos to come). We also discovered that there was a Steak-n-Shake in Erie. I turned to Wendy and said, “Dude. Cheese fries.” A quick trip through the drive-thru and we were back on the road with cheese fries and smiley cookies.
The only “oh, sh*t!” moment came when we rounded Dead Man’s Curve in Cleveland and I looked down and noticed that the gas light was on. I had no idea how long it had been on, and of course there was no gas for a few miles… But it turned out fine. We stopped at a sketchy gas station on the west side of Cleveland, filled up and continued on our merry way.
We drove. And drove. We finally stopped at a rest area outside Toledo to stretch and, well, you know. We picked up a special little gift for J&L (it’s brown and soft, and that’s all I’m saying), and got back on the road. Indiana, here we come.
What can I say about Indiana? Not a whole heck of a lot. We visited yet another rest stop, got some McDonalds “premium” coffee (whatever that is), and I gave the kittehs a chance to use the litter box. Parnell had no interest. All he wanted to do was lay on the floor of the front seat. Dr. Seuss, on the other hand, went to the kitteh box, did his business and climbed back into his crate. Seriously. After he was safely in his crate, Parnell decided to make sure that Seuss’ gift was properly buried. So he dug and dug and dug. I had set up the kitteh box on the front seat (Wendy’s seat), so by the end of the excavation, there was litter everywhere. After a quick cleanup, we set out again.
We drove through Gary, IN. It was pretty depressing, and it reeked. Imagine burnt Spaghetti-Os. It reminded me of what Buffalo smelled like when I was a little kid. The scent of dying industry.
After Gary, we hit Chicago. We drove by the White Sox ball park (insert corporate sponsor name here), and it looked as if a game was about to start. We pressed on and made it to MoS’ house about 30 min. later. I got the kittehs situated in MoS’ office and MoS (Mother of Spike, real name Barb), Larry, Wendy and I set out to Steak-n-Shake for dinner. I had a tasty salad (because I hadn’t had a single vegetable all day) and cheese fries. Wendy had a Frisco melt (no, not Spike’s cat Frisco) and some insanely healthy side dishes. After dinner we headed back to MoS’ to watch the end of the Cubs game. They were up 5-1, but in the bottom of the 9th with two outs, it looked like they might throw away the game. They didn’t, but it was kinda fun watching Lou Pinella go all apesh*t.
The Cubs won, MoS waved her big “W” flag, and we all went to bed.
Quote of the night:
Wendy (in the car, on the way home from dinner): “So Larry, when the Cubs win, do you get lucky?”
I’m moving.
Again.
After a year-and-a-half in Boston, I’ve decided to pack it up and head back to Oregon. I’ve finished the hard part — resigning from my job, packing my belongings and watching the movers take them away. Well, at least I hope that was the hard part, because I’ve sworn never to to do it again! No more cross-country moves. I’ve done my share. Well, for now …
Monday, after the movers left and I cleaned the house, I locked up, got in the car, and drove to my mom’s. Outside Buffalo, NY.
Tomorrow, the cats and I will pick up my pal Wendy, and we’ll head west to Portland.
Stay tuned.
Sunset on I-90 near Utica, NY
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