I was up much of the night texting Trinity as our insomnia seems to be somehow linked. In the early morning, around 4:00 I found a classical music station on my Bose Wave Radio. It sounded great and was very relaxing. I’ve noticed that birds start singing in the summer at the first hint of sunlight. It’s like Mother Nature flips a switch. At 4:20 the birds began. The blend of music and singing birds was heavenly and put me finally to sleep.
I got up around 9:00. My mom called and asked if I’d like to join her and my dad for lunch at Whiskey River for her lunch break from the bank. Of course I said yes. I was a bit rushed because I was headed to The Taste of Minnesota in Saint Paul with my Friends Cesar and Becky from Rochester. Before lunch I wanted to get those maple saplings transplanted from the riverbank into a pot. I grabbed a metal serving spoon from my kitchen drawer to use as a trowel and rushed down to the river. The soft sand was easy to work with and I had two saplings in a pot in a matter of minutes. I met my parents for lunch, had a walleye sandwich and headed north to meet my friends.
I met Becky at TJ Maxx in Burnsville where she is a manager. I couldn’t find her, but then recognized her voice as the woman making the announcement over the PA. Cesar was late so when Becky was done working we grabbed a drink at the Roasted Pear across the street.
When we got to Harriet Island we we’re pleasantly surprised that the crowd was not too big. I smuggled in a flask of vodka, got a big smoothie in a tiki glass and mixed it in. It was a clever jump start that helped with the expense, long lines and runs to the port o potty associated with festival beer.
I was there to see Judas Priest later that night. I’m not a huge heavy metal guy, but was very aware of their skills and stature. It’s the same four original musicians. They’ve been touring for thirty five years and are excellent musicians. It’s like they’re brains are connected. They play flawlessly and have mastered showmanship. Before Judas Priest was Whitesnake. We got up close to claim and hold our spot for later. Whitesnake seemed to be a cheesy hair band still stuck in the 80’s. I was dancing and cheering sarcastically with a quirky fun girl in the crowd. She was with a friend who was taping both shows in there entirety. After about fifteen minutes of hilarity we realized that our sarcastic remarks were unappreciated commentary on his tape and we laughed and laughed. He really did a fantastic job taping the shows. I watched his view finder often. By the end he could barely lift his arm. Throughout the night Courtney and I had a blast and quickly became close friends. She was worried about not being able to find her way back, so we’d make beer and port o potty runs together. I promised her that “I can always find Cesar”; we have been to so many shows over the years. I’ve lost him in a blurry sea of people so many times, yet we always find each other.
Judas Priest rocked! They were even better than I imagined. There were many true fans there and many people who had just come to the park. By the end they were all Priest fans. The intensity built all night. By the end, everyone was shouting; PRIEST, PRIEST, PRIEST, PRIEST! They did a double encore and ended with, “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”. My little words can never come close to capturing the energy. After the show we enjoyed fireworks as we walked to our car. We drove to Burnsville and then had one last goodbye.
My MP3 player died on the way up and the radio in my Jeep was fried from rain leaking through the dash months earlier so I had no tunes for the long, late drive home. Trinity called me which was nice, but it’s so hard to hear in my rag top Jeep while flying down the highway so we didn’t talk long.
I hadn’t done the Twin Cities to Saint Peter run for fifteen years. It went by much faster then I remembered it.
I wound up texting Trinity much of the night again as we seemed to be awake every two or three hours on the same schedule again.
I got up around 9:00. My mom called and asked if I’d like to join her and my dad for lunch at Whiskey River for her lunch break from the bank. Of course I said yes. I was a bit rushed because I was headed to The Taste of Minnesota in Saint Paul with my Friends Cesar and Becky from Rochester. Before lunch I wanted to get those maple saplings transplanted from the riverbank into a pot. I grabbed a metal serving spoon from my kitchen drawer to use as a trowel and rushed down to the river. The soft sand was easy to work with and I had two saplings in a pot in a matter of minutes. I met my parents for lunch, had a walleye sandwich and headed north to meet my friends.
I met Becky at TJ Maxx in Burnsville where she is a manager. I couldn’t find her, but then recognized her voice as the woman making the announcement over the PA. Cesar was late so when Becky was done working we grabbed a drink at the Roasted Pear across the street.
When we got to Harriet Island we we’re pleasantly surprised that the crowd was not too big. I smuggled in a flask of vodka, got a big smoothie in a tiki glass and mixed it in. It was a clever jump start that helped with the expense, long lines and runs to the port o potty associated with festival beer.
I was there to see Judas Priest later that night. I’m not a huge heavy metal guy, but was very aware of their skills and stature. It’s the same four original musicians. They’ve been touring for thirty five years and are excellent musicians. It’s like they’re brains are connected. They play flawlessly and have mastered showmanship. Before Judas Priest was Whitesnake. We got up close to claim and hold our spot for later. Whitesnake seemed to be a cheesy hair band still stuck in the 80’s. I was dancing and cheering sarcastically with a quirky fun girl in the crowd. She was with a friend who was taping both shows in there entirety. After about fifteen minutes of hilarity we realized that our sarcastic remarks were unappreciated commentary on his tape and we laughed and laughed. He really did a fantastic job taping the shows. I watched his view finder often. By the end he could barely lift his arm. Throughout the night Courtney and I had a blast and quickly became close friends. She was worried about not being able to find her way back, so we’d make beer and port o potty runs together. I promised her that “I can always find Cesar”; we have been to so many shows over the years. I’ve lost him in a blurry sea of people so many times, yet we always find each other.
Judas Priest rocked! They were even better than I imagined. There were many true fans there and many people who had just come to the park. By the end they were all Priest fans. The intensity built all night. By the end, everyone was shouting; PRIEST, PRIEST, PRIEST, PRIEST! They did a double encore and ended with, “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”. My little words can never come close to capturing the energy. After the show we enjoyed fireworks as we walked to our car. We drove to Burnsville and then had one last goodbye.
My MP3 player died on the way up and the radio in my Jeep was fried from rain leaking through the dash months earlier so I had no tunes for the long, late drive home. Trinity called me which was nice, but it’s so hard to hear in my rag top Jeep while flying down the highway so we didn’t talk long.
I hadn’t done the Twin Cities to Saint Peter run for fifteen years. It went by much faster then I remembered it.
I wound up texting Trinity much of the night again as we seemed to be awake every two or three hours on the same schedule again.
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