after going to my post office box this morning to pick up orders, I drove to my native state of iowa and attended an iowa cubs baseball game in des moines tonight, against Memphis. on the way there I found a cemetery where some relatives are buried, a small town in northern iowa near interstate 35. I wanted to see a classmate while I was in town, but it was not to be.
since I had to wait until the post office opened, which is 9:30 am, it meant that I didn't get started on the drive as early as I wanted to. but it was no big deal, as all it really meant in the end was having a little less time to rest at my hotel in west des moines once I arrived. I stopped at a shell gas station in Eagan to use a gift card I received recently in the mail. it was activated once I got an insurance quote. if the tank wasn't topped off by then, as it was $20, it was really close. after this my next stop was the welcome center at the rest area just south of the state line. I wanted an iowa road map, in order to make it easier to find the cemeteries. then my next stop was at the casey's in clear lake, as I like the pizza there. my next stop was in rowan, at the first of two cemeteries to find. I figured it was best to do the other one on the next day, since it was much farther off the interstate. it didn't take long to find where my great-grandparents are buried, it helped to bring a photo of the tombstone with me that I found online. I sent a text message to my classmate as I was about to leave, and got a response fairly quickly after that. he said he was still on the bike trail and probably would be for most of the afternoon. I wasn't that far down the road by then, so I decided to go into the town of rowan and look around for a little while. the population is under 200, so the business district is small. and it looked like all of the businesses were already closed for the day. this included the post office, and library. i got plenty of photos while there. I didn't say a word while there, as nobody spoke to me. I saw a woman about to get onto a john deere riding mower, and few other people while in town.
once i arrived at my hotel, i did fall asleep for a short time. when i got up i knew i needed to get to an ATM, and did so before arriving at the stadium. i didn't have an advance ticket for the baseball game so i had to wait in line for a few minutes to get one. i had reserved grandstand, 3rd base side, something my dad taught me. he said the sun is at your back if sitting there. the game was scoreless for a while, but the iowa cubs got a solo home run in the 7th. Memphis went ahead 5-1 in the 8th, including a 3-run home run. the iowa cubs got another solo home run in the 8th, and this score held up, Memphis won 5-2. after the 2nd cubs run the Memphis pitcher threw a 'purpose pitch' at the next batter, and was warned by the umpire. attendance was just over 8,000.
after the game i found a karaoke bar to perform at, near merle hay mall. this was a place i also performed at in October, when i was in the area to see a Charlie brown corn maze. i did one song, it was 'dirty laundry' by don Henley, a swipe at the news media. this was something i proved i could sing with passion. the man in charge of karaoke enjoyed it, and i said i was no stranger to the stage as i do stand-up comedy. songs performed by others on this night included 'friend in need', will have to look up the performer on that one. the other notable one was 'cocaine blues' by johnny cash. i found a convenience store after leaving the venue that was still open, so i got a can of beer and some peanuts that i could consume back at my hotel room. it is something i often do now, have a drink at my hotel at the end of the day while writing about my travels.
since I had to wait until the post office opened, which is 9:30 am, it meant that I didn't get started on the drive as early as I wanted to. but it was no big deal, as all it really meant in the end was having a little less time to rest at my hotel in west des moines once I arrived. I stopped at a shell gas station in Eagan to use a gift card I received recently in the mail. it was activated once I got an insurance quote. if the tank wasn't topped off by then, as it was $20, it was really close. after this my next stop was the welcome center at the rest area just south of the state line. I wanted an iowa road map, in order to make it easier to find the cemeteries. then my next stop was at the casey's in clear lake, as I like the pizza there. my next stop was in rowan, at the first of two cemeteries to find. I figured it was best to do the other one on the next day, since it was much farther off the interstate. it didn't take long to find where my great-grandparents are buried, it helped to bring a photo of the tombstone with me that I found online. I sent a text message to my classmate as I was about to leave, and got a response fairly quickly after that. he said he was still on the bike trail and probably would be for most of the afternoon. I wasn't that far down the road by then, so I decided to go into the town of rowan and look around for a little while. the population is under 200, so the business district is small. and it looked like all of the businesses were already closed for the day. this included the post office, and library. i got plenty of photos while there. I didn't say a word while there, as nobody spoke to me. I saw a woman about to get onto a john deere riding mower, and few other people while in town.
once i arrived at my hotel, i did fall asleep for a short time. when i got up i knew i needed to get to an ATM, and did so before arriving at the stadium. i didn't have an advance ticket for the baseball game so i had to wait in line for a few minutes to get one. i had reserved grandstand, 3rd base side, something my dad taught me. he said the sun is at your back if sitting there. the game was scoreless for a while, but the iowa cubs got a solo home run in the 7th. Memphis went ahead 5-1 in the 8th, including a 3-run home run. the iowa cubs got another solo home run in the 8th, and this score held up, Memphis won 5-2. after the 2nd cubs run the Memphis pitcher threw a 'purpose pitch' at the next batter, and was warned by the umpire. attendance was just over 8,000.
after the game i found a karaoke bar to perform at, near merle hay mall. this was a place i also performed at in October, when i was in the area to see a Charlie brown corn maze. i did one song, it was 'dirty laundry' by don Henley, a swipe at the news media. this was something i proved i could sing with passion. the man in charge of karaoke enjoyed it, and i said i was no stranger to the stage as i do stand-up comedy. songs performed by others on this night included 'friend in need', will have to look up the performer on that one. the other notable one was 'cocaine blues' by johnny cash. i found a convenience store after leaving the venue that was still open, so i got a can of beer and some peanuts that i could consume back at my hotel room. it is something i often do now, have a drink at my hotel at the end of the day while writing about my travels.
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