maid-rite sandwiches

 i went out of state for the weekend, and for the evening meal i went to a maid-rite diner. when i was growing up in Iowa, i had these loose meat sandwiches every so often, but those are not available in the twin cities. it tasted as good as i remembered them. this location was near the mall in Dubuque, about a mile from my hotel. i noticed how their sign wasn't lit up as it was in the final hour of the day that they would be open. i guess it was a way of trying to discourage people from showing up that late. actually, what i had was a cheese-rite, it was a basket meal, so it included fries. i had a fountain drink as the ice cream machine was already shut down for the night. i made it there shortly after checking into my hotel. then when i was done with the meal i made it over to a high school hockey game a few miles away. the arena was on an island in the Mississippi river. both teams were 'co-op' programs. Dubuque's team had players from four different high schools, and on Sioux City's it was more than that. Dubuque won, 4-1. it was 3-0 at the end of the first, 4-0 at the end of the second. the fourth goal was scored near the end of the period. Sioux City's lone goal was scored during 'garbage time', just over three minutes left, on a power play. a Sioux City player left the game after being down on the ice for a few minutes, and a Dubuque player was hit with a major penalty and game misconduct for 'charging'. i was paying attention to the music being played there, it included not just an Eminem song but also 'the saints are coming'. made sense when Dubuque's team is called 'saints'. i didn't do much after getting back to the hotel, watched some TV including the 'family guy/Simpsons' crossover. and of course, writing about the day while having a beer. i was in town mainly to see a Charlie Brown exhibit at a museum/aquarium near the river. i picked up the rental car in the morning, and after picking up four orders from the post office, i was on the road. i made one stop along the way, in Decorah at a gas station around midday. i made it to the museum with two hours left in the day, enough time to see the exhibit about snoopy becoming a mascot for the space program. the Iowa Hawkeye football game vs. Oregon had just started, i was listening to it on the radio. also saw a display in the museum about smokey bear that included an LP record.