| 9/23/2008 |
THE WEEKEND
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The weekends are important to me. Since Mark and I don't live together yet, this is the time that we spend together. Even on the weekends that I work, Mark is there. On working weekends it's rare that I'm up to doing much more than dinner and crash on the couch with him. So when I have a weekend off I like to enjoy it as much as I can. This was one weekend where there was a lot going on and I didn't feel rushed or like I couldn't' have a minute to really enjoy it with Mark.
It would be known as the weekend of waiting in traffic.
Friday night was the local production of Into The Woods at the Bellevue Little Theater. One of Mark's friends played Lucinda, Cinderella's wicked step-sister. It's definitely a comic role and she was never on stage enough for me. We both think she could've played The Witch. Not that the actress who played The Witch was bad. But Mark's friend definitely would've brought more of a personality to the role. In such a big cast of characters we each had our picks for hits and misses.
I didn't get home from work til 630pm. The show started at 8pm. This didn't leave any time to have dinner. About half-way thru the first act my stomach started growling. Loud! The sound of it was only eclipsed by the noisy children behind us. Granted, parents can obviously bring kids. Even though it's based on fairy tales and their characters, I don't think Into The Woods is meant as a kids show. It has it's adult moments that aren't suitable for 4 year olds who can't resist constantly kicking the back of my seat. By the time we got out of the show it was 1115pm. As we made out way home we ran into construction. Five lanes of interstate traffic reduced down to one lane... It was 'fun'. We were in a hurry only because we were hungry. By the time we got home with drive-thru food it was midnight. After food and a couple Ti-fauxed shows we were fast asleep.
Saturday was going to be another big day. After a morning assault on McDonald's to pillage every form of sausage they had, we headed out to Nebraska City. It was Applejack weekend, a local holiday in my hometown. There are a ton of crafty type activities going on. Nebraska City was always known for outlet shopping. To put that on top of a couple hundred craft fair tents set up at various spots in town, it'd be busy!
The drive to get out of Omaha had it's delays. Two places had traffic reduced to one lane. What normally would be a one hour drive was a two hour tour. But surprisingly enough neither of us were really in a hurry. We had the windows rolled down and just enjoyed the ride. I've driven that road a few hundred times, but it's interesting to see it when you've got time to stop and look at the scenery on the roadside. Plus to see it through Mark's eyes was fun.
We arrived in NCity just in time to find a parking spot opening up close to the parade route. The parade was slated to last from 1-3pm. Two hours for a small town parade? Seriously? Like every parade in history of NCity, they started off with fire engines, ambulances, and other various rescue vehicles. Every. Single. One... not just the entire hometown arsenal, but a few vehicles from other communities that were nearby. Even after 34 years I don't understand the need to have them in the parade. And even if they are... why have their sirens blaring? Who enjoys that? There was a kid in front of where Mark and I were standing that was screaming bloody murder with the passing of each screeching rescue vehicle. Mom eventually packed up her kid and left. She had to be from out of town. Poor kiddo...
After an hour of high school bands, marching veterans, and political candidates Mark and I made our way to the side streets in search of a cold beverage and some air conditioning. There was a couple shops that I wanted to expose Mark too. They always stuck out from my childhood as being somewhat freaky places. Small homes that had been converted to shops full of knick knacks and curious goods. There is always a room with dolls of some kind, which you know I 'love'. The shops were full of middle-aged to elderly women and 'family'.
Oh... And things like THIS!!!
I was a bit disappointed in the visit to the orchard/Arbor Lodge. I knew there'd be a ton of people. I knew the traffic would be hellacious. In addition to the downtown shops this was the main attraction of the town. Why not have more set up there? As it was, there were only a few vendors with their home crafted items. The Morton Orchard was charging folks to get in to their various Tree-themed tours. Are you kidding me? I mean, I'm not really surprised on the desire to make a buck or two, but really... they aren't making a shit-ton on the sale of apples and every apple related food known to man?
Mark and I braved the melee to actually go INSIDE the main orchard building. This will be known as Mistake #1 for further conversations. We talked about getting some apples, but did we need to go inside to do so? Probably not. We ventured deeper in that just the few couple of tables that held bags of apples. Why? I don't know... About ten minutes in a sudden dislike for crowds in small places kicked in and we needed to move back outside. As we made our way back outside a local mother prodding her two kids summed up our feelings nicely. "This is insane. What are we doing here? We're FROM here. We can come back when there isn't a million people wandering around."
While I might be inclined to question her population estimation, I fully agreed with her sentiment.
Mark and I took in the historic ground of the Arbor Lodge before declaring our tiredness and heading back home.
What we decided from the day is that we need to come back when there isn't as many people. It's kind of like Mardi Gras. You can experience the same things when it's not a holiday time. You don't have to deal with the crowds and you still get to see all the 'sights'.
Until next year...Labels: holiday, home town, mark |
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I posted this @ 9/23/2008 05:06:00 PM.............Need a link?..........
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