The Kee

Did you know Colorado is so far away?  1,137 miles to be exact.  I had no idea it would be eighteen hours (not counting Cracker Barrel stops) of driving when I asked Whitney to come along.   Even then, I didn’t fully grasp how long we’d have to sit next to each other until we were halfway through Iowa.

Luckily, the way out had lots of exciting stops:  Joanna!  Shannon!  Creepy Motel!  Wiener Dog Puppies!  All carefully archived here: Here I Am.

Waiting in Keystone was a “rehearsal picnic” that was just a ruse for a fierce game of Keg Kickball.  When the keg ran out it became a Boxed Wine-fueled game instead.  It was around this time that I pawned off the alarm clock responsibility onto W.  There would be no rafting for us in the morning.  Only a lonely, hungover hike.  At the end of this video you can see my despair.  

Luckily there was an amazing band ready to funk their way into my heart waiting at the wedding on Sunday.  I like to think we were the best dancers out there but we may have just been the tallest/most visible people on the floor.  I’ll go with the former.

When it was finally time to head home, the ride was saved by an incredibly satisfying round of ABC Geography.  The tightly contested battle of geography knowledge lasted over three hours.  A really good distraction when your NOS runs out and the dangerous side effects kick in.

In the grand scheme of things, the trip was a major success.   Sleeping through a pre-paid rafting trip was a small sacrifice for all of the quality dancing and juggling that took place along the journey.  I rate it nine Ks out of a possible ten.

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FRIDAY / Opening Day

Lyn lets Mike Pauls Mike Pauls know what’s up at Miller Park

Kay protects her jumpshot rep with a Snuggie picnic table leap

After the game, I ran into a former acquaintance.  I think I’ve only mentioned Dale once before.  He’s friends with my old Albion craps-playing neighbors.  We headed to the the Landmark for some hand-scored bowling and to decide what the rest of the night should look like.  I made friends with some exiled Amish bowlers [how did I not get a pic?] and Kay embarrassed the rest of us with her skills.

Dustin uses his cell phone calculator to help with high level bowling math

This is about the part where dramatic decisions came into play.  Ready to blow his tax return, Dale asked if anyone wanted to go to Boston.  I casually answered yes and thirty minutes later we were on the way to pick up Danny [new friend #2]  in Chicago.  Dale & Dan are no longer acquaintances because since Friday we’ve spent thirty six hours in a VW Passat together and I’ve upgraded them both to provisional friend status.

SATURDAY / SUNDAY

Malice gets prettier every time I see him

Zombie Parade on Easter Sunday.  Jesus was a zombie, right?

Zombie leftovers

Tim & Matt anxiously await the day’s first trip to Redbones

I had texted Tim to meet us to “eat a meal.”  Since I didn’t proofread the text predictor results I had actually asked him to “eat a neck” with us; he came anyways.

The Duck Tour employees [new friends #3 and #4] loved us so much that one of them ninja kicked Tim

Niagra Falls stop @ 7:00 am

We stayed in Chicago last night before the final leg of the trip back to The Kee.  Over a BYOB Thai food meal I befriended  #5 [Louis],  #6 [Nick], and #7 [Brian].   All in a hard weekend’s work.  It’s now 4:17 pm on a Tuesday and my Pizza Shuttle just got here.  BANG!

Total trip time: 81 hours [Car: 36, Boston: 30, Niagra Falls: .2, Chicago: 14.8]