little rubber ducks

 i began the day in ankeny, iowa, at my hotel. of course it was nice to get continental breakfast there. i confirmed the driving directions to the event before checking out as i prefer the larger keyboard on the computer in the common area. i made one stop along the way, at the hy-ee in johnston as i wanted to drop off cans and bottles. one of the redemption machines was down so i had to send the glass bottes inside, after i got discounted candy bars and some transparent tape. i missed the turn on the first try to the event, at a park in waukee, so i went on to the dairy queen and decided to figure out the directions in their parking lot. as expected, easier to make it there when it is a right turn as the street sign was hard to see when turning left. it was scheduled to begin at 12noon but i arrive before then and some others did as well. i asked my niece if she was warm enough, while still at my car as she didn't have a coat on, but she didn't hear me. i got the cards ready for both of my nieces and then i went inside. there was plenty to eat, some varieties of little smokies in crock pots, as well as some meatballs with pineapple chunks. on top of the cup cakes were little rubber ducks as i am told my great-niece likes ducks, and monkeys. so the little rubber duck became my souvenir from the event. my gifts were a book, clothes, and a target gift card. i had some decent conversations while i was there, with my mom, dad, and stepdad. before i got started with my dad i had to say to a sibling, who was known for interrupting us, numerous times, 'please don't do that'. the sibling said nothing, then moved to another table, giving me what i wanted. so 'the gentle art of verbal self-defense' worked. it sounded like my nephew wasn't going to make it, but he did, wearing a quik-trip shirt. this would be the convenience store he works at. i got started on the drive back to the twin cities shortly after the event ended. i made a stop early on at the rest area north of des moines, wanting to get my duffel bag out of the trunk and to take off my coat. inside there was something about 'don't drive while tired' with a pac-man video game theme so i got a picture of it. then my next stop was in clear lake, to get a bottle of coca-cola as i was getting tired. the final one was the hy-vee in eagan to get groceries. not sure how much spare change i picked up throughout the day but it was at least 25 cents as i did claim a quarter i saw under the vending machine in the morning.