On the road again with Hula Boy

Hula Boy has been with me on every road trip I’ve taken in the past decade, including travelling from D.C. to Minnesota four years ago, so it is only fitting that he be in view in my rear view mirror while I finish the trip from Minnesota to California.

We finally finished cleaning the house (the realtor left a message saying how impressed she was with how clean it was.  She’d better be!) and left Minnesota around 3pm on Thursday.  We hauled ass to Grand Island, NE.  Hint: there is no island.  Not much time to write a detailed post, but here’s a few quick thoughts from my travels the past two days.

- Omaha reminds me of Kansas City, except flatter.  And not as pretty.  And without the BBQ.

- There are a lot of cops pulling people over the last 50 miles of I-80.  This is because a lot of people just want to get the HELL OUT OF NEBRASKA.

- Whoever set up the state line between Wyoming and Nebraska walked up to the first interesting landscape feature and drew a line.

-We drove through Laramie, WY.  Every time I passed one of those fences I thought of Matthew Shepard.

-People in Wyoming stare a lot.  I guess it’s obvious we’re “not from around here” but based on the number of truckers on the road it can’t be the first time the locals have seen out-of-towners.  The staring is somewhere between rude and threatening.  All in all though, people are better looking and less overweight than in either Iowa or Nebraska.  Not as attractive as Missourians of course.

-I dig the electric speed limit signs that change with the weather.  It has already snowed up here and is (can’t believe I’m about to say this) colder than Minnesota.  I am learning there are many worse places I could have lived.

On to Winnemucca today.  Winnemuccawinnemuccawinnemucca.

Hula Boy says… forget the GPS.  Follow the sun and when you reach the water turn left.

Today in Latin Hip Hop

Today’s Latin Hip Hop was the Best Class Ever.  Amazingly I was on time, having rolled out of bed at 10:14.  I wanted to skip but I’d given grief to Hayley about attending after having run 5 miles so I couldn’t be a no-show.  Hayley and Marcia had staked out places in the 3rd and 4th row so I joined them instead of taking my preferred spot with the Second Row Shorties.  There wasn’t room anyway as there were seven Second Row Shorties crowded together, none of whom were willing to step forward and fill the gap left due to a mysterious absence of  Front Row Divas.  The front row was comprised solely of one reluctant pregnant latecomer.

Meanwhile, also in the third row was a girl in jeans and a long-sleeved pink hoodie who apparently skipped high school to come to the Y and practice for an American Idol audition.  She was really really skinny and the instructor kept pointing out how great she was so I’m pretty sure most everyone hated her.

By far the greatest joy of class was the Enthusiastic Retiree in front of me.  She was having such a great time it was practically contagious.   I enjoyed her happiness in much the same way I appreciate someone wearing an outfit of all crushed velvet.  If you love something that much you should just go for it.

I continued my campaign to keep moving between songs, an instruction most others in class don’t follow.  The only other person moving with me was Enthusiastic Retiree, thus dropping my cool factor even lower if possible.  But I stopped worrying about that when the whole class of Bachmann District voters starting chanting along with the refrain, “I’ve got what you’re looking for Daddy.” Except for British Hayley, whose expression I wish I had as an accompanying photograph to this post.

Back to the Y on Wednesday for BodyPump, although that’s never nearly as entertaining.

Princess Peep of the Milky Way

Just want to give a shout out to one my favorite peeps – Carrie - who has crafted a tasty little diorama featuring Princess Peep of the Milky Way at the Minnesota State Fair.  For those of you who had not had the pleasure of attending The Great Get Together, we elect several princesses whose likenesses are then carved out of giant cubes of butter.  Yes, that’s right, their heads are carved out of butter.  Each day one princess poses in an air conditioned rotating glass display while an artist releases her image from butter.

Last year Princess Kay of the Milky Way was a young woman who was the third in her family to be carved in butter.  Her mom has all three butterheads in freezers in the garage.

Carrie has brought the scene to life for you, complete with fair goers with pickle-hats and food-on-a-stick.  If you MUST vote for someone other than me, I guess vote for her.  But you really should vote for me.

Sweet Martha's Cookies

Pickle Hat

Peep Crop Art

The Moo Booth