| Thursday |
(all
pictures are thumbnails) I packed my parents' trusty Impala LS and hit the road. Destination: Rock Island, Illinois. Occasion: Jamie and Eric's wedding reception. This is what southern Minnesota looks like along I-35. Fortunately, I brought along plenty of CDs. |
 I drove through Des Moines so I could visit Court Avenue Brewing Company, one of a couple things that I miss about DM. Um, upon further reflection, it's the only thing I miss about DM. |
 When I arrived in Rock Island, Eric, Jamie and I went to this fine establishment for a bite to eat. Jamie's cousin Wendy joined us. I had a Hollywood burger. |
 This is where Eric and Jamie live. He's the Resident Director of a residence hall at the college where Jamie is an archivist, or librarian, or whatever she is today. I stayed with them. |
| Friday |
 Jamie and Eric bought a car identical to their old one, but with fewer miles. Jamie and I switched all four tires so they could keep the good tires and sell the old car. Eric was lollygagging in Macomb, IL the whole time.  But he eventually returned and vacuumed. Here's the proof.  As you can see, Jamie's list of things to do before Sunday evening required an entire notebook. We ran errands. 
I spotted this in one of the stores we visited. The Fun Food People! Ah, fond memories of the 18C. Then three of the Eastside Catholic High School, Bellevue, WA crew showed up. Alicia arrived Saturday.  ECHS representatives Derek, Bess, Michelle and Alicia. |
| We went
out to eat. Then Eric mentioned a place in Rock Island's entertainment district. It called
to us like a Siren. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...  The Thirsty Beaver! -featuring-   dancing (check out that floor) and  both kinds of beer. (Bud and Bud Light) |
| Saturday |
There was
still a lot to do before the big night. Like sewing. I ran to the grocery store for some food for dinner. When I returned, I set the bags on the kitchen counter, but one of the 2 liters of Coke rolled off and hit the floor. The cap broke and it exploded all over the kitchen. I'm pretty cool. So we mopped the ceiling and the floor and wiped down everything else. I didn't manage to get a picture. Fortunately, everyone was kind and helpful and it got cleaned up quickly.  Eric and his dad Walt (and others?) made fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Delicious. |
Then we
went out to play with all of Jamie and Eric's friends who were in town. Ruth and Pat were there. Pat reads the TL. We met by way of Emily and then Jamie. They live in Kewanee, but I think they might get to Peoria quite a bit. Pat works there. Yeah. Peoria, Illinois. I think they'll be OK, though. After we left this (Bear-loving) place, we went to... |
The
Thirsty Beaver! There's a cage at the Beaver. Look at Pat, Jamie and Bess go!  Pat and Wendy!  Alicia and some Rock Islanders! |
| Sunday (the big day) |
| I got up and went to Sports Fans Pizza in Bettendorf. A bunch of other Vikings fans and I watched the Vikes lose to the Giants. I got over it pretty quickly, as I do these days. |
It was
the day of the reception and when I got back to Jamie and Eric's, there was still a lot to
do. So I ran a few more errands and got to the reception on time. It was held in a big
hall at Black Hawk Historic Site. Foot-Notes provided the music. Nice pic, I know... So we ate
and danced. Yeah, some call me Fred. After the reception, we attempted to go to the Beaver but were thwarted by the fact that it was Sunday. |
| Monday |
| Jamie and
I bid adieu to the ECHS folks, ran some errands and eventually made it back to Jamie and
Eric's apartment. Eric wanted to show me the Fryxell Geology Museum and coincidentally enough, I wanted to see it. Eric found some blue corundum (sapphire) in Kenya and loaned it to the museum.  It's the one closest to his head.  Look what caught my eye! Fossilized turds! |
Then it
was time for me to leave. So I drove to Iowa City to visit Ross. Ross is a transit coach
operator, too. He drives for Cambus and Iowa City Transit. Ross likes pickles. |
| We went out and got a bite to eat at the Vine and then visited the Dublin Underground, where we annoyed the regulars with back-to-back Cult songs on the jukebox. SOUL SHAKER! |
| Tuesday |
Ross gets
up early for work. I slept a little while longer, then went downtown and hung out for the
day. Ross and I were going to go to a movie in Coralville after he got out of class at
9:00. He had a quiz and couldn't remember what diplopia was, so he got out a
little bit late. We went to Kill Bill in the downtown theater instead. This is me waiting for Ross. The main University of Iowa library is in the background. |
| Wednesday |
| I got up
just after Ross left for work, around 6:00 AM, and headed home. I stopped in Mason City
for breakfast. My choices were pretty much Big Boy or Denny's. Kind of a lose-lose
situation, really. The Denny's is in a much newer building, so I went there. It was
probably the worst breakfast I've ever had. The pancakes were terrible and the hashbrowns
were way too greasy. But the waitress was kind of a babe. I got just over the border into Minnesota and pulled into a rest area to take a fifty-minute nap. Then I drove home.  The road home. |
| postscript |
Pat
claims this is the explanation for the look on his face...
|
