new ulm battery, hermann fest

I went to new ulm and saw Hermann fest this evening, largely due to knowing they fire civil war-era cannons at this event. I saw a facebook video from the town's tourist bureau and had to ask when they fire the cannons, as I usually just make it for Oktoberfest. I found out it was a month earlier. the organization in charge of the cannons is called 'new ulm battery', though a journalist for the local paper said there are some cannons that arrive from other states for this event. it sure was loud, no surprise there. but since I was expecting it this didn't startle me at all. they were fired in a park next to a baseball or softball field, down the hill from Hermann heights where the Hermann the german statue is located. I saw how somebody was in charge of what cannons were fired and when, seeing his gestures. thankful I saw it, aside from fort snelling I am not sure where else I have seen cannons. on my way there after parking my car up the hill I heard 'lonely people' by America. and I liked the 'silver cup' line, a reminder of hearing it in a class when watching a film. a cover band was playing country music, but when I heard 'chicken fried' by zac brown band I said there should be a fiddle player as well. I liked making it to town just before 5pm, in time to hear the final performance of the day at the bell tower. I also made a brief visit to german park in the middle of town, where I arrived just before a wedding party did for their photos. it became part of my photos for the day. after the cannons and cover band, there was a fireworks show nearby. then I started my drive home, stopping at the Hy-Vee at the edge of town for fuel and a candy bar. I made just one stop along the way, in st. peter to get a can of Coca-Cola. I did start yawning eventually, but I was nearly home by then.
   it worked well as usual to bring CDs for the drive to and from there. the four were: 'up in the air' movie soundtrack, Charlie daniels band 'decade of hits', 'essence' by Lucinda Williams, and 'no need to argue' by the cranberries. on the drive there I also stopped in st. peter, to get a candy bar and go to the bathroom. it was at a grocery store on the way down, at a holiday gas station on the way back.
  I made two visits to mcdonald's, first was a breakfast sandwich in the morning, my usual thing on the weekend. the other was in the afternoon, when I met Ronald McDonald. I ordered a strawberry shake on the second visit, and had a feeling I knew the actor playing Ronald from the comedy circuit. since that event started at 1pm I knew I had to delay starting my drive to new ulm, but no big deal as I still got to what meant the most to me. there was also printing some emails at the library. I added a few more things to my album about this year's fringe festival. I was getting annoyed with the road closures due to construction, be it in the twin cities or around new ulm. between Mankato and new ulm it meant being on a 2-lane highway for much of the way, not a fan as there is little or no margin for error.