NKOTB

Many moons ago, when I was just a wee lassie of age 13, my best middle school friend was Ali Mae. Quite fitting for a southern belle. We were typical teenagers - sneaking over to the all boys boarding school to check out the hunks. We were in love with a new scrawny teenager every other week and made tapes of our favorite songs that reminded us of them. And then there were the phone calls. I think we must have collectively purchased one of the pay phones they had in the dorm hallways. Those were the days of slumber parties, Tiger Beat, and posters on our walls of New Kids On the Block, or NKOTB as they have evolved.

When it came to our favorite boy band, we were silly little teenage girls. I was in love with Joey, of course. And Ali Mae drooled over Jordan. I think we listened to the tapes and The Right Stuff until they no longer would play. The NKOTB never came to do concerts anywhere near where we lived because we grew up in the small city of Asheville in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The closest they ever came was Charlotte or Atlanta, but that was too far. So we never got to see our dream guys. I secretly had dreamed that we would get old and they would lose their fame and I could have Joey all to myself. Then, a few months ago, Ali Mae emailed me to let me know that our teenage fantasy boys had gotten back together and were going on tour. We both knew then and there that we had to close the loop on this outstanding lingering unaccomplished desire from our past. She booked a ticket to New York City and we got tickets to the concert at Madison Square Gardens, the mother of all concert venues. If you are going to do it.... do it right!!

We arrived at Madison Square Gardens to find a sea of 20 thousand women who were also re-living their teenage years. The screams at the concert were deafening...it was as if they all shed their suits and doctors scrubs and were back 20 years in the 80s with their girlfriends sneaking off to the boys boarding schools.

The concert was surprisingly phenomenal. To be completely honest, I was going more for the fun of it and had no expectation that it would actually be a good concert. But it was. When they sang my favorite bygone song "I'll be Loving You Forever". I feld a surge of my old teen emotion come back to me. And then I realized: I still love Joey and I always will.

So my dream that they would lose their fame never came true. But I decided that night that my old-age wish is going to be that my kids will search out the nursing home where Joey McIntyre ends up and put me in the same one so we can at least play some bingo together in 2060. Hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Toilets Again

Ok, I do realize that this is at least the second time I have featured a picture of a bathroom on my blog...but it is a good reason. So, you know when you go in the bathroom and there are the pull down trays. WHAT ARE THESE FOR?????? I mean really? Does anyone use them for anything? Am I supposed to sit on the commode and do my taxes? It's too high for that. I dont trust putting my purse on it. Afraid it's going to snap back up and drop it to the ground. Please... if you actually use these trays, reply and enlighten others of the use. I took a survey and no one I ask actually uses them.

Worlds Largest Truckstop and Corn

Today Fernando and I began our Iowa vacation. Here is how the last few weeks have been for Fernando and I - "We're going on Vacation!" Friend: "Where?" Us: "Iowa". Friend: "Why Iowa?". The standard answer to that question was that my mom was getting married and my other side of the family was having "Christmas" early because my brother and I were coming to town. But, there is much more to Iowa than just those things!

As we pulled out of the Airport with our spankin new orange Saturn Vue (I loved it, he hated it - It matched my cell phone!) our first stop was to get something to eat. Lucky for us it happened to be a very historical place - the Worlds Largest Truck Stop. You just don't see something like that every day. We stopped in for some food and I introduced Fernando to Cheese Curds. We then visited the trucking museum and paid homage to the truckers of yester-year.

On day two of our Iowa adventure, we went to my mom's wedding in a park. The leaves were changing and it was a very nice day for an outdoor wedding. Then, Fernando and I were invited out to a dance in a stable with my aunt and uncle and cousins. We learned the Barn Dance, Western Cha Cha and the Watermelon Crawl.

Day three - we headed up to Mason City Iowa to celebrate my dad's family "Christmas". Fernando walked through a cornfield for the first time ever. He insisted on doing horror movie remake photoshoot in the corn - and we have way too many action shots trying to look scared in a cornfield. After wading through corn, we returned into the house to play cards and Fernando was surprised to find that corn kernels were used as the "money" for texas hold em. Thinking about it, I guess that does seem a little strange. I mean, its not like you would go to Raleigh and play cards using cigarettes for ante. OR WOULD YOU???? hmm.

Day Four - we attended the Mennonite auction. They auction off tons of produce from their farms.

Day Five - we headed up to Minneapolis, my old hometown. We rode the rollercoaster in the mall of America, the log flume, another roller coaster, nascar simulators. In the evening I met up with old friends from middle school for a 20 year reunion.

Day Six - Back in Iowa, Fernando and I took a trip with some farmers out to pick the corn on their high tech combines. Its way more complicated than it looks. The temperature and humidity of the air determine whether the corn needs to be dried before going into the grain elevator for holding. I felt like we were on our very own Nova or How things Work show.


Day Seven - headed to Dubuque Iowa where Fernando ran 15 miles along the Mississippi while I secured a room for the night. 15 MILES! Better him than me! A librarian convention was in town so there were no rooms and we ended up having to stay at a bed and breakfast which was fantastic! Its funny the things you end up doing out of circumstance that can enrich your vacation.

Day Eight - Flew into Chicago for a layover before heading home to New York. Ironically, Fernando's very good friend Vince was also on the same flight back to New York AND it was his birthday. We celebrated with drinks in Chicago. Weird.

So there you have it. So much to do in Iowa, so little time!