Canadian Buffoon's Semi-EPIC Vacation - 10/29 - Link to new TR!

[pkondz]

This is such an accurate way to describe the process.

Which is unfortunate...

Smile graciously upon the peasants.

I only smile at them when
they bow before me.

I can't believe it. You were in a ride photo!

Just like that!

 

[pkondz]

I love this! Your Elle seems like a bit of an old soul.

She is, a bit.

I keep meaning to do this, too. Maybe you know what I need for postage to send a postcard back home to Canada? I think it's neat that you can actually mail stuff here!

I have no idea?
Okay, Google says $1.15.
No idea where she got the
stamp from.
I vaguely remember her
getting one... but...

Cool! I've never done this. It seems like a neat experience!

It was!
And I had no idea you could!

I like the way she thinks! The trolley show would definitely be a good summer job. Maybe a bit toasty in the summer, but otherwise a whole lot of fun.

They're not outside too long.
I imagine sweat stains
under the arm-pits wouldn't
quite work with the themeing.

 

[afwdwfan]

If you're gonna tour all of Epcot,
you gotta keep your energy up.

That's a lot of walking!

We both love corn on the cob.
And it couldn't be anything but
better with garlic spread on it, right?

No. I've seen people write about this and I can't even fathom the idea of putting garlic spread on corn. But let's see how it is...

First off... I guess the truth is,
really good corn on the cob
only needs two things.
Butter. And salt.

That's what I figured. Good corn only needs butter and really good corn sometimes doesn't even need that!

While pretty much everything looked
amazing, we knew we had an upcoming
ADR and managed to walk out
empty handed.

I still don't know how we did it.
I still don't know why we did it.

What were you thinking? Why even walk in there if you have no intentions of buying anything? Come on!

I reached out and gently nudged
a grain of sand with an outstretched finger.
The grain didn't budge.
The entire display was glued solid.

Now I know why it looked so nicely
raked after a day of having little monsters...
er… lovely children being allowed
to drag their hands through it.

Yeah... "children."

Who was it that tried to move the grain of sand again?

Well... take some photos
while we shake our fist
at our phones which are
being shaken in our other fist.

​

And no matter how hard she tried,
it just would not type letters
corresponding to anything entered.

That's because it's the Imagination Pavilion. She's not supposed to really be typing letters. She's supposed to use her imagination! Just like the email recipients are going to have to do!

Eventually, my head grew heavy
and my sight grew dim.

Taking a bath at the Hotel California...

"Sorry to bother you, but the room
directly below you is reporting
water leaking from the ceiling."

Oh. OH!
Whoopsie.
Well, not my fault you didn't
plumb the tub properly.

I explained that I'd had a bath
and that must be where the water
was from.
They asked if they needed to send
someone to clean anything up.
I assured her that we were fine,
said goodnight, hung up the phone...

@pkondz , No more cannonballs in the bathtub!!!!!

We wandered over to the marina
and plunked down the credit card
to rent a couple of kayaks for half
a day.

It's not camping if they take plastic!

Sorry for the not-so-great photos,
I was shooting with my phone
through a waterproof phone pouch.

Well, better to have not-so-great photos than a waterlogged phone. So we'll let it pass.

Nevertheless, it didn't take very long
to explore every nook and cranny.
(Official count, 2 nooks, 3 crannies.)

5 minutes later...

One can also throw it at people
who make noise in the middle
of the night, but then one
goes to jail, no matter how justified.)

Hmm... sounds like someone knows this from experience.

And... yes. I did ask Kay
if she wanted s'more.
(She did want, and she ate s'more.)

Did she eat s'more before or after rolling her eyes?

It was a big deal as these planes
were still shrouded in mystery.
So much so that it wouldn't be
permitted to even land.
(US rules, not ours.)

I remember how cool, unique and just amazing it was to see these things back in the day!

The show began with a bang!
An F-5 fighter jet came roaring
out of nowhere and passed
right over our heads!!!!

SO. COOL!!!!!!!

And Elle cried out and started
saying over and over...
"I want to go home! I want to go home!"

Parenthood... Fun family activity turns into terrified, freaked out kid and time to leave.

And as I drove away, in my rear-view
mirror... I caught a glimpse of the B2
as it flew manoeuvres in front of
the (presumably) spell-bound audience.

Still haven't forgiven her for that one.

Come on now, forgive.

Don't forget. Use it against her for the rest of her life.

But forgive.

Elle took the opportunity
to mail off some postcards.

She's weird like that.
Who sends postcards?
Old people and my kid
apparently.

Postcards from Disney mailboxes though... that's a different story. That's cool no matter how old or who you are!

They kept having to beep the horn
at people who were wandering
in the street, which was pretty funny.

Just like some scooter drivers trying to leave the park on post HEA Main Street!

I was hoping this time I would
be more successful in throttling Elle,
but she was wise to my shenanigans now
and insisted, for her own safety,
that I sit in front of her.

Man, nobody would sit in front of you! You can't fool anyone.

I will say this.
While the previous ride in the FP
line was smooth and fun,
the standby line side was much rougher.
I did not enjoy it nearly as much.
(And not just because I couldn't
get my hands around her neck.)

I noticed this. We rode it once, and that was with FP, but it beat the heck out of me to the point that I had no interest in riding again the rest of the trip.

Elle decided that this is what
she wanted to do for a living.
I asked her why she was getting
an Education degree then?
She wisely replied that this would
be her summer job.

Well, duh! Teachers are only part time workers! **

**Disclaimer, I know that's not true and my SIL is a teacher who I harass and make comments like this to all the time just to push her buttons. ​

 

[pkondz]

That's a lot of walking!

It's a looooong way around.

No. I've seen people write about this and I can't even fathom the idea of putting garlic spread on corn. But let's see how it is...

Your instincts are right...

That's what I figured. Good corn only needs butter and really good corn sometimes doesn't even need that!

I've been eating corn
(off and on) for about
50 years now...

And I've never found a corn
that can't be improved with butter.

What were you thinking? Why even walk in there if you have no intentions of buying anything? Come on!

I wanted to show Elle...
thinking she'd want something.
Which would give me the excuse
of getting something for me.

Didn't happen, curse her.

Yeah... "children."

Who was it that tried to move the grain of sand again?

Accurate.

That's because it's the Imagination Pavilion. She's not supposed to really be typing letters. She's supposed to use her imagination! Just like the email recipients are going to have to do!

Ohhhh...
Pretty clever, Disney!!

Taking a bath at the Hotel California...

@pkondz , No more cannonballs in the bathtub!!!!!

Then what's the point???

It's not camping if they take plastic!

These days they won't rent
anything without plastic.
"Can I bottle opener?"
"You have a credit card?"

Well, better to have not-so-great photos than a waterlogged phone. So we'll let it pass.

Waterlogged phone = zero photos.

I know this from experience.

Hmm... sounds like someone knows this from experience.

It was someone else. I swear.

Did she eat s'more before or after rolling her eyes?

True story.
I got up to get myself
another one and asked:
"Do you want some more?"
Except it came out as:
"D'ya want s'more?"
We both looked at each other,
wide eyed.

I remember how cool, unique and just amazing it was to see these things back in the day!

So... you got go see one...

Parenthood... Fun family activity turns into terrified, freaked out kid and time to leave.

I am thinking you had recent
experience with this...

Come on now, forgive.

Don't forget. Use it against her for the rest of her life.

But forgive.

Easy for you to say!
You got to see some!!!

Postcards from Disney mailboxes though... that's a different story. That's cool no matter how old or who you are!

Okay. I'll give you that.

Just like some scooter drivers trying to leave the park on post HEA Main Street!

I didn't mention this, but
at one point, I walked up to
a vehicle parked at the hub
and asked for a ride back
to the train station.
I was told "no" because the
"Move it shake it waste of time it"
parade was about to start.
I imagine those things only run
when they know crowds on Main St.
will be low.

Man, nobody would sit in front of you! You can't fool anyone.

They learn too quickly.

I noticed this. We rode it once, and that was with FP, but it beat the heck out of me to the point that I had no interest in riding again the rest of the trip.

Huh. I wonder if they change
sides sometimes between FP
and standby?
I doubt I'll ride it unless
someone I'm with insists.

Well, duh! Teachers are only part time workers! **

**Disclaimer, I know that's not true and my SIL is a teacher who I harass and make comments like this to all the time just to push her buttons.

Without that disclaimer,
you may have had just a
wee bit of push back on that.

 

[orangecats2]

Here’s a comment! Happy?



Ok so yeah I read all the updates.
OKW??? Lucky! If I’d have known you were staying there I might have come down.

When are you going back?

When are you coming to Cleveland?

 

[MeghanEmily]

They're not outside too long.
I imagine sweat stains
under the arm-pits wouldn't
quite work with the themeing.

Good point!! And passing out from heat exhaustion probably isn't in line with the vibe they're going for.

Re: the sweat stains: they also may have little water-resistant/absorbent inserts that velcro in to the armpit areas of their costumes to protect them from sweat. I know this is what we did when I was buds with some princesses and did birthday parties in years past. And when the laundry hadn't been done and there weren't any clean ones ready to go, sometimes we were even told to stick feminine hygiene products along the pits of the costumes, and we went on our way. #uselessfunfactswithmeghan

 

[pkondz]

Here’s a comment! Happy?

I knew that would bring
you out of the woodwork!

And here's your official to the TR!

Ok so yeah I read all the updates.

How do you feel now?
A little light headed?

OKW??? Lucky! If I’d have known you were staying there I might have come down.

You'd have to clear that
with Elle, first.

When are you going back?

September.

When are you coming to Cleveland?

Probably not until next year
or (more likely) the year after that.

 

[pkondz]

Good point!! And passing out from heat exhaustion probably isn't in line with the vibe they're going for.

Perhaps not...
But it would allow a gallant
young rescuer to show his stuff.

Re: the sweat stains: they also may have little water-resistant/absorbent inserts that velcro in to the armpit areas of their costumes to protect them from sweat. I know this is what we did when I was buds with some princesses and did birthday parties in years past. And when the laundry hadn't been done and there weren't any clean ones ready to go, sometimes we were even told to stick feminine hygiene products along the pits of the costumes, and we went on our way. #uselessfunfactswithmeghan

I can see it now.
Disney's live action remake
of Snow White...

"Some day my prince will come..."
"Here I am! Wait... what in the heck is under your arms???
That is not where those go!"

 

[Tracy161]

When?

Huh?

I should've just shoved some
ear plugs in her ears and told
her to pipe down.

Then I could show love and
see the airshow!

You live and you learn I suppose

I have considered that...
And I have done that!

I think this needs to be part of my going-to-Epcot strategy!

I did bestow a regal
nod upon them.

They rejoiced.
I feigned indifference.

How generous of you!

Hmmm...
It was good... and surprising...
and frightening... and interesting...
and scary... and ultimately wonderful.

Oooh, I'm looking forward to the report! Assuming there will be one?

 

[pkondz]

Huh?

Hi! Welcome to the.... wait...
that's not for this, is it?

You live and you learn I suppose

I've done the living part...
When does the learning part happen?

I think this needs to be part of my going-to-Epcot strategy!

How generous of you!

I am a benevolent despot.

Oooh, I'm looking forward to the report! Assuming there will be one?

I'm thinking of posting another
"Real-life-update".

 

[KathyM2]

As usual I'm trying to catch up! Read about your weekend camping trip!! You make camping look so easy and relaxed...I think I'd do it more if it were really like that!

and both of them,
back in '05.

Love that pic of your girls. The rose coloured glasses are awesome!

 

[pkondz]

As usual I'm trying to catch up! Read about your weekend camping trip!! You make camping look so easy and relaxed...I think I'd do it more if it were really like that!

It was relaxing. Really enjoyed it.

Love that pic of your girls. The rose coloured glasses are awesome!

Too kool for skool.
Except... stay in school, kids.

 

[franandaj]

The show began with a bang!
An F-5 fighter jet came roaring
out of nowhere and passed
right over our heads!!!!

SO. COOL!!!!!!!

And Elle cried out and started
saying over and over...
"I want to go home! I want to go home!"

Well. I'm certainly not going to
make her stay.

You are a nice Dad. Not all parents would do that.

Still haven't forgiven her for that one.

I'd brought something along that
Doc had requested.
It came in a glass container.

They don't allow glass in the park.

Yeah, we found that out when the CL at the Grand used to give out sodas in glass bottles. Since then the CL has switched to cans, but a friend of mine brought a Starbuck's chilled coffee beverage from home in a glass bottle and they were happy to give her a paper cup to pour it into so she did not have to discard it.

She's weird like that.
Who sends postcards?
Old people and my kid
apparently.

Yeah, the last postcard I got was from my grandmother, who is no longer with us.

Immediately after, one of them
asked. "Want a ride?"
I'd never taken a Main St. conveyance!
Sure!!

I haven't either!

I will say this.
While the previous ride in the FP
line was smooth and fun,
the standby line side was much rougher.

I'm sure they switch the tracks based on who h line you wait in.

Elle and I got in line for 7DMT around 8:25am
and were on about 20-25 minutes later.

The queue looks fun. I've never been through it, only FP.

One of the biggest benefits I immediately
noticed about having an AP was that
I could get all of the photopass and ride
photos that I could ever want... for "free"!

I definitely use the PP photographers more at WDW since they added that as a benefit.

Geez, Elle! Don't put your hand
in front of my face! Sheesh!
I told her to please be more careful,
and that we'd have only one more
chance of getting a good photo
before the ride ended.

Good thing those things are included in the AP!

And after experiencing what
is arguably the weirdest ride
in MK, we headed for the
front of the park.

Oh come on, it makes total sense, what would make it weird would be if you were on acid.

And...
Did you see it in this chapter?

Yes I did, he was one of the unwashed masses waiting to get in.

 

[pkondz]

You are a nice Dad. Not all parents would do that.

"I then put her in the trunk
of the car, closed it, despite
her screams of terror,
and happily returned to the show."

Yeah, we found that out when the CL at the Grand used to give out sodas in glass bottles. Since then the CL has switched to cans, but a friend of mine brought a Starbuck's chilled coffee beverage from home in a glass bottle and they were happy to give her a paper cup to pour it into so she did not have to discard it.

I'm surprised they'd give out
glass bottles. I guess they thought
no one would want to walk with them?

Yeah, the last postcard I got was from my grandmother, who is no longer with us.

I think... maybe from my sister
when she was traveling in Europe?
That was quite a few years ago.

I haven't either!

I'm finding that not many have!

I'm sure they switch the tracks based on who h line you wait in.

"pkondz is in line... switch
to the rough track!!"

The queue looks fun. I've never been through it, only FP.

I typically wouldn't either,
except at rope drop when
the line's low.
Otherwise it's a definite FP.

I definitely use the PP photographers more at WDW since they added that as a benefit.

Good thing those things are included in the AP!

If not... I wouldn't have paid
for them and you'd never see them.

Oh come on, it makes total sense, what would make it weird would be if you were on acid.

Or designed the ride when
you were on acid.

Yes I did, he was one of the unwashed masses waiting to get in.

 

[Kiotzu]

Ah, all caught up. Life has beeen hectic between starting work and getting my butt in gear for finals I haven't had time to keep up!

 

[pkondz]

Ah, all caught up. Life has beeen hectic between starting work and getting my butt in gear for finals I haven't had time to keep up!

Welcome back!
I believe you when you say you've been busy!

How's the new(ish) job? Still waiting for the transfer?

 

[orangecats2]

Yeah reading all that at once was a chore!
Just kidding. You know I love your TR’s.

So for September are you going with anyone? Where are you staying? Did you get free dining? How many nights? What are your dates?

I hope you stay a little longer around here next time. There’s two restaurants I want to take you to. They’re both outside of Cleveland. Of course I’d be happy to get you to one of them. One is in Barberton and they have the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Really good fries too. The other is in Wooster. That’s the one with the huge soup, salad and bread bar.

Our cruise is the first week of November. We’re going on Carnival. Three friends recommended them. Six nights and three stops leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale. One at their private island in the Bahamas, one in Dominican Republic and one on Grand Turk. Should be fun but it’s out first cruise ever so I’m nervous. And the cost of flights is astronomical. It’s ridiculous! I need some of your flight miles.

 

[pkondz]

Yeah reading all that at once was a chore!

Just kidding. You know I love your TR’s.

Thanks, Carrie.

So for September are you going with anyone? Where are you staying? Did you get free dining? How many nights? What are your dates?

Going solo this time.
I'll be there from September 16-21.
I don't qualify for free dining as you need
a package to get it.
I have an AP, so...

I hope you stay a little longer around here next time. There’s two restaurants I want to take you to. They’re both outside of Cleveland. Of course I’d be happy to get you to one of them. One is in Barberton and they have the best fried chicken I’ve ever had. Really good fries too. The other is in Wooster. That’s the one with the huge soup, salad and bread bar.

That chicken sure sounds good!

Our cruise is the first week of November. We’re going on Carnival. Three friends recommended them. Six nights and three stops leaving out of Ft. Lauderdale. One at their private island in the Bahamas, one in Dominican Republic and one on Grand Turk. Should be fun but it’s out first cruise ever so I’m nervous. And the cost of flights is astronomical. It’s ridiculous! I need some of your flight miles.

That sounds like it's going to be fun!
I haven't done a cruise either, so I totally
get your nervousness about it.
Hopefully it'll be great and you'll have
been worried for nothing.

I won't tell you how much
it cost me to fly to Florida for this
upcoming trip.

 

[pkondz]

Start Your Engines

Another quick real-life update.

Last weekend, I had a small little road trip
to Newton, Iowa.

What's in Newton, Iowa?
Well... not a whole heck of
a lot, really.
But I did have a reason to go.


I didn't go straight there, however.
I instead went straight south
to Omaha, Nebraska, which is
two and a half hours west of
Newton, Iowa.

Why?
Because I collect Harley Davidson
poker chips and going that way
brings me half a dozen more chips.
(A hundred and forty-six now, for those
of you who've been asking.)

I don't normally post much about
those stops, but I did see this
at one of my stops in Omaha:

Thought that was pretty cool.


I overnighted in Omaha
and the next day, before
heading East I took the time
to sashay along the Bob Kerry
Pedestrian Bridge.

The bridge is 3,000 feet long
and spans the Missouri river
connecting Nebraska to Iowa.

The only real question you have
to ask yourself is...
Why would you want to go from
Nebraska to Iowa.


I'm guessing it's to compare corn.


Before I left the massive metropolis
of Omaha (pop. 467,000), I took one
last photo of the fountain at
Heartland of America Park.

That's as close as I got before
fleeing eastward into Iowa.

Did you know there's corn
in Nebraska... and in Iowa?

I didn't see anything else,
so that's all I can comment on.


Corn


Lots of corn


As I traveled eastward
through field after field
of corn, I decided to stop
for gas.
I still had half a tank, but...
If I filled up now, I wouldn't
have to worry about it.

I'm sure most of you know the setup.
There's a sign proclaiming
gas/food/lodging or combination
thereof just up ahead.
You take the exit and right there
are two gas stations, a fast food joint
(usually a McDonalds) and possibly
a chain hotel.

I saw the sign...
I took the off ramp...


And there was nothing.
Just a sign saying there
was a town seven miles north.

And beside that, a sign proclaiming
the Danish Museum was coincidentally
also seven miles north


I hesitated...
Get back on the highway and find
a more convenient source of petrol?
Or take the plunge and drive fourteen
(round trip) miles out of my way.


I took the plunge.


One mile later I saw another sign
for the Danish Museum
(6 miles ahead!)
and a mile later another
(5 miles ahead!)
and then
(4 miles ahead!)
and
(3 miles ahead!)
followed by
(2 miles ahead!)
and finally
(1 mile ahead!)

I admired their persistence.


At this point, it was pretty
much a foregone conclusion
that I'd be going to the Danish Museum.
When I drove into town, the first
thing I noticed (because it's almost
impossible not to) was this:

I mean, it's hard to miss a
bright yellow building, amiright?

Oh, and if you look closely,
there's a windmill too.


And...
That's not the museum.
I thought it was, but...


I got the car fuelled up
and asked about the museum.
The gas attendant was very
enthusiastic about it
and told me that "Terry"
would be working at the desk today.

Armed with that knowledge,
I dutifully followed his directions
("Turn left at the first corner right
over there and go about two blocks.
You'll see the sign and the driveway
goes down and curves around.")
and arrived a minute later, here:

I walked in and saw a woman
at the front desk.
"Hi Terry!" I said. "How are you?"

Too bad it was a different woman.
Apparently, Terry was on a break.


I felt betrayed and lied to.

Which may or may not be better
than the confusion the woman
at the desk felt.


The museum was quaint,
a cut above most small town
museums.
There was of course at least
two or three mentions that Lego
was invented by the Danes.

But (for me) the real prize came in
this discovery:

If you're not familiar with Victor Borge
(1909-2000), feel free to simply put
it out of your mind and read on.
(Or stop reading out of sheer
boredom, frustration or revulsion.)


After spending perhaps 30-60 minutes
exploring the museum, I continued
on my way to Des Moines where
I was going to make my pied-à-terre.

I had a couple of stops planned first, however.
And a "couple of stops" turned suddenly into
a few more...


But I'll get to that.


I'd noticed in the Iowa tour book that
there was a winery fairly close to Des Moines
and not far off from the route I was following.
I thought "why not?", followed by "I did."

I was a bit surprised to see...
no vineyard.
Apparently, that's up the road a bit.
I tried five different tastes of wine
(including a red! which should shock
you if you know my tastes at all.)
All but the last one I tried was quite nice.
And if you think the last one was
the red wine, you'd be wrong.
I went from driest to sweetest.
And the last and sweetest was
cloyingly over-sweet.

I ordered a glass of my favourite
and sat and relaxed for a bit.

While I was sipping, something finally
clicked in my brain.
(If you beat me about the head long
enough, thoughts eventually get through.)

Covered Bridges winery.
In Madison County.

If you've never heard of the movie
(or book) called The Bridges of Madison County...
Well... whatever. The point being I'd heard of it.
And I'd also never seen a gosh-for-real
covered bridge before.
Yay! New goals!
I set out to find one.
I plugged an address into B****ing Betty,
my semi-trusty, mostly nagging, GPS
and set out.


She unerringly directed me to...
a street in the middle of Winterset, IA.


Well... I was going to Winterset anyways,
since it was nearby and is the birthplace
of John Wayne.
I'm not a huge fan of his, but... I have seen
several of his movies and I'm passing right
by it, so...

Why not?

After dutifully snapping the photo
of the house (the museum was closed;
which was fine, I really just wanted to
see the house, itself.)
I got in my car and drove slowly away,
trying to figure out a plan of action.
I glanced in the rear-view mirror
and noticed that there was someone
behind me.
I pulled over into a vacant lot
and tried to figure out what to do.
Just then, a police cruiser pulled up
alongside me.

Uh, oh.
What did I do?
Was I weaving?
Had I made an illegal turn?
I rolled down the window
and the cop, still in his car,
asked. "Are you lost?"
My first instinct was to
immediately say "No".
But my mouth had other
ideas (it frequently does)
and I heard myself loudly
proclaiming: "YES!"

I asked him if he knew where
a particular covered bridge was.
He started to tell me, thought
better of it and instead said.
"How about if I take you there
and you follow me?"
I happily agreed.
Several minutes (and several turns) later,
he pulled into a parking lot.
"It's just over there." He gestured
in the direction of the nearby bridge.
"Hey." He continued. "If you want,
you can follow this road up the hill
and it will take you to a stone tower."
I thanked him, and he drove off.

And now... behold!
My first ever covered bridge.

Okay... so it's not the Taj Mahal,
but it's kinda neat anyways.

After inspecting the bridge,
I followed the narrow lane
up into the forested hills.
After a few minutes, I began
to grow concerned and started
to listen for banjo music,
but eventually found this:

It was interesting enough,
but not exactly a show stopper
since it was built in 1926.
I.e. not really all that old
or historic.
You can read about Clark Tower
if you feel so inclined.
There weren't any bathroom
facilities in the area
(what do people do?
pee in the woods?
I can hear that banjo music
getting louder and louder...)
so I headed out after only
a few minutes.


I arrived in the enormous super-city
of Des Moines (pop: 218,000),
later that day and checked into my hotel.

While I hadn't come to Iowa specifically
to sight-see, I thought it'd be a shame
not to see a couple things.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending
on your viewpoint) for you, I only took
photos of one of those things.
The State Capitol of Iowa.
(The other being Valley Junction,
a quaint market area of town.)


I hadn't researched the Capitol building
other than to see it was one of the top
tourist sites in town.
Who was I to argue?

I parked the car and took a hurried
couple of shots before heading inside.

Hurried, because I didn't want
my rapidly melting shoes to
sink into the bubbling lava-like
concrete.

It was a tad.... scorching out.
(36C/97F)

Once inside the building...
I was shocked at how beautiful
it was!
I expected a fairly plain,
governmentally drab interior.
I was dead wrong.

The place was so full of marble
and glass and statuary that it
would be very easy to lose track
of time.
(Which you can track if you have
a phone... unless you lose that too.)

There was a massive scale model
of the Battleship Iowa.

What I found most interesting
is that the ship was in commission
from 1943-1949, again from 1951-1958
and again from 1984-1990.

I continued my self-guided tour,
paying visits to both the Senate
and House of Representatives.

I left the building thoroughly
pleased with my decision to visit.
Heck, there was so much to see,
I wouldn't have been surprised
if I'd gone back a second time!


One other thing that I finally
was able to check off my to-do list
(It wasn't on my bucket list, but...)
I finally got to try Chick-fil-A.
I won't say it's the best chicken
I've had (far from it), but I will
say that I enjoyed it quite a bit.
So much so that I had it again,
on the drive home.


Saturday morning dawned and
brought the reason I'd made this
trip in the first place.

I made the forty-minute drive
to the incredibly huge, ginormous
city of Newton, Iowa (pop: 15,000).

It was surface of the sun hot when
I got there and stepped out of my
air-conditioned car.

I caught my first glimpses of the
Iowa Speedway, home of IndyCar's
Iowa 300.

I'm an IndyCar fan and they
were racing here this weekend.
I'd been to a few other races
including the Indy 500.
The difference between the two
tracks was immediately evident.
Indianapolis speedway is two
and a half miles long.
The front (and back) straight is
5/8ths of a mile long.
The Iowa track is a short oval at just
under a mile in total length.
(7/8ths of a mile, in fact.)

I've been to Indy, Toronto, Long Beach,
and Edmonton (when they raced there.)
One super speedway and three street
courses. This would be my first short oval
experience and I was really looking
forward to it.


The race wasn't until 7:00pm,
but the venue was open at noon.
I had purchased a paddock pass
(the paddock is really just a fancy
name for the garage area)
and intended to look around a bit
before settling in for the race,
later that evening.

It was scorching hot so I gratefully
accepted a shuttle ride in a golf
cart to the ticket office where I
exchanged my paddock pass voucher
for a wrist band.
I then took another golf cart
into the infield where the paddock
was located.
Apparently, they didn't want people
walking to the paddock.
Just too hot and no shade and
miles of concrete.
Perfect recipe for heat stroke.
I'm sure they had some nurses
around on hot-standby.
(See what I did there?)

There were team members going
to and fro and cars being prepped
for the upcoming race.

I took this photo of one of my
favourite driver's garage.

There were a few relics of
a bygone era of racing on
display and I snapped a
couple of photos.

It was hot with no shade and
I made the executive decision,
once I'd seen everything I wanted to see,
to head back to the hotel and cool down.

I paused to snap another shot of
that same favourite driver's car
as it was being wheeled to technical
for evaluation.

In technical, cars are measured,
weighed and examined to ensure
that they meet all the stringent
criteria that are required of them.

Okay... it's too danged hot.
It was still five hours to race time.
I made the 40-minute drive
back to the hotel where I
showered and changed.
In that order.

Around 4:00pm or so, I headed
back to the track.
The forecast was showing a pretty
good chance of thunderstorms
and I kept glancing up at the sky
as I drove.

I arrived back at the track and parked
the car. I was walking back to the track
when a loudspeaker announced that
lightning had been detected within
twenty miles of the track and all
spectators were to return to their
vehicles.

Well... that doesn't sound great.
As I walked back to the car,
I took this photo:

A couple of comments.
1. The sky was a lot more ominous looking
then the photo really shows.
The sky wasn't just dark... it was dark green.
2. Those jets you see are all owned by
race car owners.
N500PR is Penske Racing while the other
two are owned by Andretti family members.
(All of the well-known Andretti drivers have
the same initials. Mario, Michael and Marco,
hence the tail numbers ending "MA".)


About a minute after I got back to my car,
the skies opened and it poured out.
And the lightning! I've never seen
such a display!

For the next four hours, I huddled in my car
as Extreme Storm warnings blared out
from a tower mounted loudspeaker.
The storm was... impressive.
Here's a screen capture I did
of the race that I'd tried to record:

During my sojourn in my car,
I suddenly realized that my
race ticket was missing.

Great.
I was going to wait hours for
a race that I wasn't going to be
allowed to even see!


Finally, the storm abated, the rain
lessened and the track reopened
to the remaining race fans.
I know some people left, but the
majority still seemed to be there.

I went immediately to the ticket booth
where I was reassured that they could
re-print my ticket for me.

<phew!>

I took this photo once I was settled
into my grandstand seat.

If you look closely enough, you can see
several vehicles congregating
on the bank at the far left.
The track was leaking water there
and they had to repair it before the
cars would be allowed to race.

There was a neat moment when
Gene Kranz, who was the Chief
Flight Director for Gemini and Apollo
space missions (including Apollo 11)
dedicated the race in honour of the
50th anniversary of the moon landing.
(Sorry about the poor quality.
Phone plus dark plus bright TV = crap photo.)

A funny moment on that big screen.
They were showing live tweets from
fans at one point and one
clever wag called the race
the Midnight 300.

Finally, at 10:50pm, almost exactly
four hours after the 7:00pm
scheduled race start time,
the cars started to circulate.

About 20 minutes later, I felt a fat
rain drop land on my cheek.
I was listening to the live TV broadcast.
The feed didn't cut out during commercials
and you could still hear the announcers.
I heard one announcer (Paul Tracy, if that
name means anything to you) say:
"Oh, no. You're kidding!"
And a second later, they stopped the race
for another rain delay.

Luckily, this one only lasted about
half an hour and soon we were back
to racing.


The race turned out to be a good one.
My guy finished second after having
gone down a lap midway through the race,
so I was satisfied with the result.


I drove back to the hotel and shortly
after leaving the track, drove through
heavy rain showers.
They'd got the race finished just in time!

I got back to the hotel sometime after 2:00am.

Tired... but happy to have seen the race.


Coming up: Back to Disney!

Chapter 8. Gonna Be Epic - Part II​

 

[pooh'smate]

How was the drive from your place to Omaha? The next time we go back east to visit family we are planning on driving up there and then over. There isn't much here except corn lol and when you are driving home from the east that stretch between Des Moines and Omaha seems to go on FOREVER!!!! If you ever come back this way you will have to check out the SAC Museum. I think you would enjoy it. When the sky turns green here you know you are in for a good storm.