Last morning at Ryan and Amy's place, and our last morning in Wisconsin Rapids before heading to Pennsylvania, dropping Matt Brooks off en route in Madison WI. Eric would be flying out from Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Got to see Ryan and Amy briefly before heading out. Shot a few arrows at the practice target. Packed up and tried not to forget anything. Amy was talking about the little girl with rare leukemia from the benefit the previous night. Turns out there have been several cases lately, all in the vicinity of a nearby paper mill. Yeah. Erin Brokovich type shit. And unfortunately most of them didn't make it. Sad. Again, love and light to that little girl and her family.
One last view of the Wisconsin River
Repacked the van for the trip, making sure Matt's stuff was near the front. Van Tetris, Level: Expert.
Drive to Madison was uneventful until we got to the Perkins parking lot which served as a rendezvous point. Driving into it, had deja vu that I had been to that Perkins years back with The Mother Truckers.
Getting Matt's stuff out of the van in the July sun, a young girl pulled into the parking lot like a bat out of hell, and clipped a new Lexus as she tried to park next to it. She got out to look, and Rick and I had a peek ourselves. "Oh, it didn't leave a scratch."
"Yes, it did. There is your white paint right there on the back fender."
She said she was going to report it and went inside. Her cousin came out as Rick was getting pics of the license plates. Driver girl came back out, Rick asked if she had reported it yet. "Not yet, but I am going to."
Yeah fucking right. She was going to pick up her cousin and get the hell out of there. Rick and Eric went in to report it to management before she could.
As Matt's ride pulled in, his buddy and Matt's wife got out and identified the car as the one that cut them off in traffic a few minutes before. Now we knew we were doing the right thing by getting involved. Fucking people.
Helped Matt pile his gear and luggage into the tiny Ford Focus and said our goodbyes. Been great traveling and playing with him, he's a great guy and hell of a guitar player, even with bum wrists from carpal tunnel surgery. We would also miss the extra Crosby Stills & Nash backing vocals he was adding, the "Oak Ridge Boys note" as he called it.
Adios broham, hope to see you around sometime!
Drive to Pennsylvania was long, arduous but uneventful. Progress slowed thru Ohio due to 20-30 mile stretches of the turnpike being reduced to 2 lanes at 50mph. Be a nice ride if they ever finish building it. That, and the cookie cutter travel oases maintained an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu. Driving all day, and constantly stopping at what looks like the exact same place. Fuck...
Fun with fake mustaches
Crossed into Pennsylvania well after dark. Stopped for a breather at a rest area just inside the boarder and was relieved to finally be at a place that we hadn't just been to 4 times.
Made it to the Hornyak Homestead in the middle of nowhere Western Pennsylvania, somewhere between Greenville and Mercer well after midnight. The three of us got settled into our respective rooms for the night. And I unwillingly stayed up til 7am.
Funny how tiring a 14-hour van ride is. Then 3 cups of coffee en route and heavy things on my mind = no sleep right when I need it the most.
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