new ulm poster

 this was my annual visit to New Ulm for Oktoberfest. during the downtown part of the event i got some souvenirs, including a poster. it says, 'city of charm and tradition' and the Hermann the German monument is in the background. in the foreground we see a gnome with an apple. i will want to get a frame for it real soon. my first stop when i made it to town was to get lunch, at taco john's. then i went to the family dollar, as i saw two men holding up signs advertising a liquidation sale there. i bought three items, an ice cream treat, dish soap, and a box of toaster pastries. i used up some of the quarters at this sale. i parked near the baseball field on German street and saw a park with a sign that spoke of their sister city in Germany. i got some popcorn at the wagon next to the county's museum and went inside the museum as well. i looked at my postcard collection before i departed in the morning and knew what i already had, and for this reason bought just two. i bought a magnet depicting the museum as well, it is in the former post office, and the building is German-inspired architecture. music was everywhere, as expected. a cover band was in the middle of town, and notable from their set was a Miley Cyrus song, 'party in the USA'. i made it to the glockenspiel show, then got some ice cream and a bottle of soda pop. i found the brick i had bought in German park a few years back and rode the gravity rail swing. and i drank a bottle of Schell's beer at Turner Hall, where a server noticed i was wearing a shirt from the Turner festival from two years prior. then it was on to sleepy eye to see the Linus statue. i liked hearing an Alice in Chains song, 'would', on the drive there. during my short time in town i saw a train pass through where i was parked, at the Hardee's, across the street from the library. it surprised me that i was able to catch up with the train and pass it before i made it back to New Ulm, and i was going the speed limit. it was a fairly long freight train, Canadian pacific, with three locomotives. two were in front and one in the back. the evening events were happening by then, and it meant getting to the hotel at the edge of town. i got the evening meal there, the German plate. it was potato salad, bratwurst, and sauerkraut. i had to get the beer, a grain belt, at the bar. there was a break between music acts, but eventually we saw another cover band. the set began with an Eddie Rabbitt song, 'driving my life away', and this seemed appropriate to me. because i had the drive back home in front of me at the end of the night. also notable was more country music, including songs by the Charlie Daniels band, and Merle Haggard. i made one stop during the drive home, at the Holiday gas station in Jordan, where a truck nearly hit me on the way inside. i got some fig newtons and a pumpkin spice cappuccino, and then it was back on the road. there was a grab bag of programs i found on the radio during the drive. there was an episode of the 'green hornet', and a profile about a Vietnam war POW from Iowa. i still like being able to find faraway AM radio stations at night, the latter program was on a St. Louis station. i found some college football as well, and eventually found a baseball playoff game, tigers-mariners. it was in extra innings, and on when i made my only stop. i didn't want to waste any time in the morning after picking up the rental car. i went to the post office to pick up orders, three in all. then after i dropped those off at home i was on my way to the festival.