Monday, May 28, 2012

Day Two. On Route to Wakarusa

Closing in on Arkansas one state at a time.  We left a little rubber on roads in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri before settling in St. Louis for the night.

An early morning wake-up call because we wanted to get to Restaurant Depot and stock up up on food and equipment.  Well what do you know it looks as if the folks at Restaurant Depot get Memorial Day off.  Well that throws a bit of a kink in things but we quickly adapt.

Here's the initial gang of young thangs ready to hit the road first thing.  Just waiting for the Donald to finish his bagel.
Monica on the left. Isn't she pretty?  Sasha in the middle. Isn't she pretty?  Shawn on the right. Yes Shawn you're pretty too.

After a good solid hour in the car the young thangs were very tired.
Sasha and Monica still pretty.  Shawn? Not a good look.

Traveling through the midwest is strange.  They have billboards all along the highway.  The advertisers are very concerned about where I am spending my days after death.  Thus  we passed things like "Hell is an awful place to spend eternity because you made some poor choices."  And "do you know how you are spending the afterlife?  Jesus does".  And what I think is a little shot at the Jews, "Jesus IsReal".    

At the other end of the wackometer spectrum are billboards advertising adult stores and fireworks.  There must be more adult stores and fireworks shops per person in Indiana than any other state in the union.  I suppose this cvombination makes sense.  If the adult toys don't do it for her you set off a couple of Roman candles.  Oh baby baby.  You big cowboy stud.  I think I felt the earth move.  Let the church say, "Amen".

The Donald is great.  We get to Restaurant Depot.  It's Memorial Day.  We know they are closed.  There is not a car in the parking lot.  No answer when we call.  And yet he walks around peering in windows.  As if there is an entire crew inside waiting to open if someone happens to show up.  So we decide to head to St Louis and hit stores tomorrow.  We get to meet up with the crew that is on route from a festival in Illinois headed for Wakarusa.  Hugs all around.

The Gang of Young Thangs gets bigger.

Dinner tonight at a Mexican restaurant and then to bed.  Early try tomorrow at the St. Louis division of Restaurant Depot.

I'd like to introduce clockwise starting on the left: Scott, Sarah, Maddy, Sasha (you've already met), Orion and Dave.

We should be arriving on sight tomorrow afternoon.  No more Mexican restaurants.  No more hotel rooms with hot showers and toilets with doors on them.  No more internet.  Plenty of great food, music and fun people to watch.  Amen.

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter


Summer '12 Adventure Begins

I left Middlebury yesterday with my friend and landlord Donald, owner of a ragtag enterprise called Crescent Foods.  He travels to music festivals during the summer making burritos, quesadillas and other vegetarian fare for mostly very stoned young hippie wannabees.  The thing that's great from a food entrepeneur's point of view is that very stoned translates into a lot of hunger and a complete loss of what a $20 bill is worth. "$12 for a small flour tortilla, a piece of cheddar and 4 leaves of spinach?  No problem.  And you'll melt the cheese?  Oh wow man, cool."

Right now we're in Ashland, Ohio.  Traveling with Donald and three young thangs named Sasha, Sean and Monica.  The young thangs sit in the back seat of the pick-up and chatter constantly.  Mostly all at the same time.  Donald doesn't want to listen so he turns up the all Bruce Springsteen, all the time radio station.  The young thangs can't hear each other so they start talking louder...so Donald turns up the radio..."What did you say?"   I said, I WAS BORN IN THE USA!"

It's about 5:00 AM in Ashland.  By the way, Ashland was named by its early German settlers from the word ashelaxelschaftekberg which roughly translates as "because the wagon wheel broke and we don't feel like going any further".  Donald wants to be on the road by 5:30 at the latest so I won't dilly dally.  Hope to see you in Arkansas at Wakarusa.  Wakarusa. It will be interesting to discover where that name came from.

Love you all.  Peace.  Peter