Heather woke up UNDER Chauncy and it was truly a sweet moment. Rawr. We took our hosts’ recommendation and hit up The Hub for breakfast – amazing mint tea, amazing… I don’t remember WHAT it was… breakfast taco thingie! Cilantro goo! So delicious.Driving through southern Indiana we’ve often seen signs for Santa Claus and Holiday World – so with time to kill on our way to Belleville, we figured it was time to finally stop in. I kind of wish there was more remant of the old 30’s and 40’s roadside America feel to the place …Sigh….(Santa’s Candy Castle is apparently the first themed attraction of any sort in the US, built in 1934 – Santa Claus Land, which sprung up 12 years later was the world’s first theme park!) – Hell, I wish there was ANY of that aesthetic left to the place – the amusement park has blossomed into a pretty stereotypical thing filled with roller coasters and automated noises (you can hear some sort of repeating wolf howl from about a mile away) – but there is a tiny little museum dedicated to the history of the place and we got to see some real Santa Love chronicled there. Weirder things too though – in the video showing the history of the town there’s a moment where it’s flipping through old photos including one purporting to show how they recreated genuine scenes of the American Indian – briefly pictured : a circle of cartoony Red Injun type sculptures surrounding a white man tied to a stake, apparently about to be cooked! Ah, America – though we’ve got a long way to go, you can’t say we haven’t come pretty far! Also – fascinating articles on animals that have been “brain-washed” by the “new scientific method”!Santa’s Candy Castle! We HAD to buy spicy cocoa and ALMOST bought a lot more, fortunately we were forced out by the almost dangerusly concentrated ssmell of sugar – still, it was nice to hear Christmas songs again!In Santa Claus, IN Heather proceeded to ride reindeer that I’m SURE she wasn’t supposed to ride – and then proceeded to find a four-leaf clover. I guess she can’t be ALL bad…#SantaSelfie. No really. It’s a thing! 22′ tall sculpture of Santa from 1935.Apparently when it was dedicated they tried to pass it off as solid granite – it wasn’t till it cracked 10 years later that it was revealed to be concrete… sigh… Santa wasn’t real.Heather in Santa Claus, IN.
Killing time on the road can often be a problem, as we’re usually at the mercy of other peoples’ schedules. Still, there’s worse things than having to check out the Lego displays at Target… seriously, how did I not know this existed?!
Eastbound and down… I65 just gave us a little adrenaline rush with a trailer hauling a motorcycle coming unhitched in front of us and careening into the median. Thank you IDOT for not being interested in concrete barriers here – as it was, the trailer just skidded down into the grassy ditch and kicked up a lot of dust. Kristen didn’t even cuss much!
We’re headed through Illinois past green fields and brown fields and golden fields – but definitely not much but fields. Might have to get off the highway in a bit just for a change of scenery.
and yet for all the time we had to kill, we also didn’t have ENOUGH time – this is as close to the City Museum as we were able to get this time round!our friends Thom and Katie had both been ilyAIMY fans for a long time – and EVENTUALLY they even met one another! ilyAIMY – bringing fans together since ’99! Or something. (at Evangeline’s Music Bistro in Saint Louis, MO)Justin McMahon opening for ilyAIMY at Evangeline’s Music Bistro in Saint Louis, MO on July 3rd!
ilyAIMY playing our little hearts out!
Thursday night we drove to Belleville to meet up with Susan and just had a Lovely night off and in. We listened to some music, watched some television, played with some animals and went to bed! I know – we’re naught but high octane excitement round here! Friday it was back to gigging and though the owner was worried about ANYONE coming to see us during the 4th of July weekend we pretty much had a full house at Evangeline’s. That weary feeling hasn’t left me and though the crowd definitely didn’t seem to notice I felt like I was dragging a little bit. Food was stunning as always – and may I recommend the pork chops? Because holy crap!
I recommend the pork chops.
Kristen doing what she does fifth best : cat whisperin. No matter how much Callie Loves Kristen, there shall be no whispering of Karma and Rafiki! They just won’t stand for it. Plus, when they’re around, you can’t hear plain old whispering!
beautiful sunflowers at Susan’s house in Belleville, IL.
We had a good time though and Justin McMahon, our opening act and Heather’s ride on to Reno, NV, packed up our Lloyd and jetted west* as we packed up to head east and home. More late night snacking and animal affections and a dream-filled sleep involving bomb shelters and social media…
The 4th of July would normally find us watching fireworks in Takoma Park or at home in Catonsville, but being away from home we were at the mercy of benefactors and though we actually DIDN’T set out to see fireworks, we did gather with friends for an afternoon of jamming, feasting and watching the Grateful Dead 50th
Anniversary webcast. We eventually settled out on the porch watching fireflies, bats and a low-swooping owl while LISTENING to fireworks displays in the distance… I can only imagine how THAT screwed with the bats’ sonar…
On the drive back home we did pull off and watch some fireworks, but then it was back to the house for cat molestation, custard and Princess Bride. Truly – this part of the tour has fallen into vacation and I take no issue with it at ALL.
And so it’s Sunday. Driving to Louisville, KY after bidding our farewells to Belleville, IL. I’m eyeballing Points of Interest along the way and we’ll probably hit a couple of open mics here and there – but mostly we’re just eastbound and down, homeward headed and enjoying the drive.
Huh – just passed a car spun out into the median ditch… Illinoisians are having trouble with this whole clear visibility clear roadway beautiful day thing….
As opposed to fireworks for the 4th of July we watched bats instead! I didn’t get ANY good shots because… bats. It was fun to watch them go nuts with every sonic shock from the celebrations in the distance… below… we got to just hang out with friends on the Fourth of July and jam! Joyous musical sharing! Whee!
Roscoe Beano in the house.Driving back to Susan’s place after Fourth of July gathering we DID manage to pull off and catch some fireworks here and there. the next morning the sunflowers played host to BRIGHT YELLOW golden birds that were just a joy to watch. after passing this van, theoretically the tour vehicle of the Motorcycle Prom Dates, we googled them, streamed a couple of tracks and then tried to figure out more about them and where they might be going… strange in our modern world: absolutely NO social media or web presence other than the soundcloud page. No way to contact, tag… no nothing. Le sigh.the house band at the New Vintage open mic in Louisville, KY.
Kristen and I playing at the New Vintage open mic. Killer house band which unfortunately didn’t then get to play again for the rest of the night! What’s up with that! I’d wanted to invite the drummer up but he ended up running sound during our set (July 5th in Louisville, KY)
