I made a new friend!

I got back to my desk earlier this afternoon after a quick meeting with a coworker. To my surprise there was a cricket on my desk. I couldn't understand how he got up there... I've never seen them jump vertically before.

Note: yes, that is a Taco Bell chihuahua. "Yo quiero Taco Bell"

I accidentally startled my new desk mate as I was examining him up close. He tried to make a getaway by climbing the fabric covered owl bookend on my desk. Bingo! The little buggar must have climbed up me to get ontop of the desk.

I had no choice but to relocate him back into the outside world. After a quick ride on my hand, Coolio the Cricket found a new home in the flowers outside my window.

Denver Bound, Yet Again!

Lately most things have been falling under what I would call the Better Late Than Never Clause. In that spirit, about a month ago I boarded a plane headed to Denver to visit my college roommate Emily. Thanks to some credit card points I had a direct flight from Peoria to Denver. The only problem was that I got into Denver mid-morning and Emily was at work in Boulder.

Thankfully, Emily has always been willing to accommodate my travel plans. In this case, I was provided clues to finding her car at a metro parking garage in Westminster. It was like a mini adventure, a treasure hunt... the perfect want to start my trip.

I found the car without a hitch and then headed to lunch and quick stop at the local sporting goods store to get some frisbee golf discs. There are two odd things in the photo below. One is quite obvious, the snake skin. That's the first one I've ever found a disc golf course. The second thing is the wet ground, which wasn't located in a low spot. The worst decision I made during the trip was attempting to play disc golf a day after the Denver area had torrential downpours and flash flooding. I'm still shaking my head over that one. I suppose it was good that I had on black shoes.

After one of my most frustrating attempts at playing frisbee golf, I stopped by a local coffee shop for a refreshment (salted caramel, so good) and to read a bit. Shortly after I did a bit of shopping for some sandals, so I could let my shoes dry out. 

At some point I rescued Emily from the metro bus stop and we did some chillaxing before she had to work the next day.  And somewhere along the line we headed to Arvada for dinner and some window shopping. Doesn't Emily just look smashing?

I was entrusted yet again with Emily's car on Friday when she had to go to work. My goal was to make it to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg. Needless to say, I took a wrong turn somewhere along the way.

I was quite irritated by the time I found my way. And for the record, I was using a GPS to get me there... apparently County Road 3 isn't traveled much nowadays. Anyway, I got to see most of the animals moving about because it was such a beautiful. Below shows a portion of the mile-long walkway with one of the resident bears hanging out below.

Note: I was not able to see my adopted bobcat, Rufus, as he is housed in a smaller enclosure a fair distance from the walkway.

Once again I rescued Emily from a metro bus stop, but this one was closer to Golden, which we would pass through on our way to the Amos Lee concert at Red Rocks! I've hiked around Red Rocks a few times, but hadn't seen a concert there. Amos Lee, accompanied by the Denver Symphony Orchestra... well, I couldn't pass that up. It was wonderful!

The photo above is from our seats. I opted to have us sit at the very top, close to center. I didn't want to feel smushed further down where people were trying to get a prime spot (seating was all general admission with no true seats, just tiered seating, or the longest benches ever).

Other than not being able to get a good pic of the stage, I really liked the seats. To either side of the seating bowl is a beautifully shaped and colored rock wall. Too bad the red doesn't translate at night. Gotta love having fun with friends when passing time in between sets.

And now for the post show glowsticks. I have to credit Emily with the idea of hanging glowstick rings off my hoop earrings. Just brilliant! Windows down, music blaring, while interpretive hand dancing to songs like Katy Perry's Fireworks. I like to think I was the post-show entertainment for some of the passers-by.

Over the years, my visits to Denver never overlapped with one of Emily's chorale events. The stars finally aligned and I got to see The Arvada Chorale perform at History Colorado Center for Colorado Day. They did a wonderful job, and I learned the Star Spangled Banner has more than one verse. 

On our way out of downtown I got to see another bear behind. Whoda thunk I'd see such a sight outside of the Wild Animal Sanctuary or zoo. But then again, this one was extremely large and blue.

On this trip I had 4 copies of Kristen Johnston's book Guts on hand to spread throughout Denver. They were distributed at a Starbucks, Ziggi's Coffee, Emily owned dwelling (she hadn't read it) and a Little Free Library. I had no knowledge of the Little Free Library until we saw one in downtown Denver. Upon returning to Emily's I looked up the nearest location and we took a stroll to go drop off a copy of Guts.


On the way back we passed through a little nature reserve and met a new friend. Say hello to Mrs. Mule Deer. Her kiddos didn't stick around for a photo.

On my last day in Colorado we headed back downtown to the Denver Botanic Garden. In addition to never visiting before, they also had a Chihuly exhibit I didn't want to miss. Below are a couple of my favorite pieces.

I still can't fathom how these sculptures are shipped and what kind of "paint-by-number" instructions accompany them.

So, that sums up the goings-on of yet another trip to Denver. The only downside is that I'm left with the feeling of wanting to visit more often... if only I could.

A Sugarland Reunion

Kristian Bush
Jennifer Nettles
Travis McNabb
Brandon Bush
Annie Clements
Scott Patton

Folks, those are the people that make up my Sugarland. I'd be floating on cloud 9 if/when they get back together again.

In the meantime, I've had to create my kind of Sugarland Reunion this summer. How exactly does that work? Well, grab some friends and then head out on the road to see some shows.

Kristian Bush & Brandon Bush - Nashville, TN

I technically saw Kristian twice when I headed to the CMA Fest earlier this year. I had breakfast with him one day and caught his performance at the Riverfront Stage. Now I'm patiently waiting for his album to come out & for Peoria radio stations to actually play Trailer Hitch!

 

You may have guessed already, but I'll fill you in anyway... Brandon is Kristian's brother. He played keyboards when I saw Kristian at the Riverfront Stage. Whenever he's sporting the handlebar mustache, I can't help but smile!

 

Travis McNabb with Gavin DeGraw  - Cedar Rapids, IA
I got to meet Travis briefly at a Starbucks across the street from the concert venue in Memphis, TN a few years ago. I love to watch drummers and wish I had the talent to be one. I know he's toured with Better than Ezra before, but was pleasantly surprised when I got to see him with Gavin this summer.


Annie Clements with Amos Lee - Red Rocks in CO
I had this concert booked back in January. I couldn't pass up a visit with Emily and seeing Amos Lee at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony! As the tour approached I'd learn that Annie Clements would be playing bass. It was such a fun highlight to hear her sing more than backup with Amos that night.

NEXT UP!

Jennifer Nettles and Scott Patton - Aurora, IL
Once upon a time I had the chance to meet Scott Patton in Denver, CO. At the time I was looking for the "Key to Sugarland" (remember that contest?) outside the Pepsi Center where they were scheduled to play that night. It appeared Scott had enjoyed some relaxation in the city, since I saw him strolling back to the bus with a book in his hand. I was too chicken to interrupt his peace and quiet. Assuming all goes right, I'll see Scott playing guitar with Jennifer Nettles.


Last, but not least, is Jennifer. Mom and I will be headed up to Aurora for the show later this month. With the help of friends and family, we may very well be VIP guests. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Please check out the scoop below and if you have the time to help, please do. It is greatly appreciated!

Click this sentence... is a link to the Jennifer Nettles VIP soundcheck contest I'm trying to win. If I can get and stay at the top of the leaderboard then Mom and I will get the VIP treatment at the concert! 

I get points when you watch the video all the way through. If you have additional time, please click on the "Listen" button.

You can help me get additional points by:

1. Clicking through all the photos - takes just over 2 minutes

2. Hitting play on the first song and letting them all play through - takes 5+ minutes to run through them all

3. Watching the videos all the way through

P.S. For the record, I did win. I'll work on posting the adventure after the event.

Iowa Road Trips

It's finally time for me to recap a couple trips I took to Iowa last month. I might make it to the Quad Cities once a year for a concert, but to continue driving over an hour past that, twice in a month is unheard of!

But then again, when you have a chance to visit the World's Largest Truckstop and witness their Truckstop Jamboree, then why the hell not!

You may have inferred from my 1st paragraph that I drove. That would be incorrect. I'm truly sorry to have misled you. Thanks to my gas guzzling SUV (I still have it because it's paid off and hasn't died yet), I usually end up in the passenger seat of a friend's car on a road trip. For any newcomers, please meet Theresa.

Theresa and I were headed to Cedar Rapids for Mary Lambert, Gavin DeGraw and Matt Nathanson. Mary Lambert was like a breath of fresh air... such a beautiful voice and chatty gal. She was so excited and having a great day. Gavin DeGraw closed out the night with what seemed like one encore performance after another. I look forward to catching each of them again.

Those two made a Matt Nathanson sandwich. I'd seen Matt and his hips a few times, so I knew I was in for a good show. Little did I know that his showmanship has skyrocketed and venturing out into the crowd was not beneath him. I've always loved his music and sense of humor, but I wasn't prepared to be blown away. Bravo!

After 3 stellar sets, Theresa and I hit the road for a 3+ hour drive home. We hit the Truckstop on the way back, but the Jamboree was closed down by that hour. I was able to snag some popcorn, but with only a sliver of a moon in the sky, I had to eat it by glowstick.

Fast forward a couple weeks and I was headed back to Iowa... Des Moines, Iowa. Little did I know that our hotel was just beyond the city limits in Johnston. I think I know someone with that last name.

Anyway, the goal for Tom, Vince, Craigers and his kids, was to attend 3 Iowa Cubs baseball games in two days. The weather was gorgeous the whole time. We lucked out! Even though this was my second time to Principal Park, it was my first time to actually see a game.

Why hadn't I seen a game my first time around. Well, after two hot days at the Iowa State Fair a few years ago, my Mom and I couldn't handle anymore heat. The main goal was to get a Ryne Sandberg autograph for my brother as a surprise. After that mission was accomplished, we retreated to the air conditioning and ride home.

The Iowa Cubs put up a few runs in the first game, but couldn't come out on top. Trying to experience all aspects of the ballpark, we decided to head out to the bleachers for 2nd game. As I strolled the concourse, I came across a ticket to one of the suites! I then proceeded to dare Tom to crash the suite and he took the challenge! Check out his experience here.

The next day our plan was to play a little disc golf, then head to the ballpark in hopes to catch one Iowa Cubs win. I regret I don't have a video instead of the photo below. Tom's disc landed in a hole with water and overgrown grass across the top. He couldn't flip the disc out with his foot, so he had to reach in a mystery hole to get it. I was in the mode to snap a picture of whatever animal might run out. Craig was poised to make a hissing sound at the precise moment that would guarantee the highest cat-like springing back jump Tom could ever muster. It was EPIC! Like I said, wish I had done a video.

Even though the Iowa Cubs couldn't pull out a win during our time in Des Moines, it was a fun weekend with my brother and friends. We headed back to Peoria in the daytime, so glowsticks would have been a waste. Within a half hour of reaching home I totally lost it. Here's the random 73mph panorama photo I took.

One Hell of a Week!

My extended birthday week was pretty awesome! July 28th was the actually day, but thanks to friends and family, I got to enjoy more than one day.

Sure, some of the things I might mention weren't truly birthday related, but being with friends and family is what matters the most. I got to hit a Peoria Chiefs baseball game with Kristin and Little K. And with a Chiefs loss on a guaranteed win night, there will be at least one more game before the summer's over.

Had a pre-birthday weekend road trip with Tom, Vince, Craigers and his kiddos to Iowa. I have a few worthwhile tales to tell from this weekend, so stay tuned.

Once back in town, I had to work on the big day. My coworkers helped the Monday fly by and we had a terrific lunch out. Along with that, I reached my Whitney's Walk goal because of all the people who wished me a Happy Birthday via social media.

How's that? Well, I decided for each well wish, I would donate a dollar towards the cause. Some people I even poked or prodded.

Why is that? My Mom once told me that if you want to hear from someone on your birthday, then reach out to them. There's no reason to let yourself be disappointed when you can easily contact them.

I made it through a short 3-day work with the goal of enjoying a 4-day weekend in Denver. I'll simple leave you with... It was a Success! No doubt, there will be a post on some of the happenings.

Now I'm back in town yet again and the stars aligned for the family to get together this evening. No better way to end a Monday than time with the family. Can you picture the smile on my face?