Lunch at the Car Dealership/Bus Mystery/Nitrogen in the Wind/Follow Me

Mike and I know how to have fun dates. We spent hours together Friday at a car dealership. See Mike smiling? That is rather a misleading photo of him as he HATES that negotiating spent buying a car. Why does it have to be such a hassle? Do you know what I mean? From the time you decide to buy until you actually finish up is ridiculous. Neither of us appreciate the fine art of negotiating.

It wasn't really unpleasant this time. We both liked our salesperson.  He was more knowledgeable about the cars than many we've encountered. He offered us pizza for lunch. I realize that was so we wouldn't go out to lunch and possibly not return but still, I had skipped breakfast so was quite grateful.

I entertained myself taking photos on the sly.  See Mike in the background? See my nonchalant expression? Sneaky, huh?

This photo was taken AFTER all was said and done and we thought we were just going to drive off. Our sales guy, Dwight, went above and beyond at that point. He asked for a few minutes to show us a couple of things. I actually think he spent about an hour showing us the fun features in our new vehicle.

I have always said that I don't care much about the looks of a vehicle, just want one to get me safely and dependably from point A to point B.  I do, however, really enjoy modern technology. The newer cars are so much fun! This one becomes an extension of our cell phones when we are in it. There are voice controls and everything.  Do you all have cars like that?  I had believed those features were just in the real pricey vehicles but they were even in a lot of the smaller ones. We really enjoyed the lesson from Dwight to teach us all the gadgetry. I'm sure we have more to learn but he really helped us get started.

As I said, Mike and I know how to have fun dates. That evening we were in Fort Collins, CO. We'd planned on doing something fun but after going out to dinner we just pretty much stayed out in the vehicle playing with the buttons, listening to Sirius Music and making car/phone calls. That new car smell really added a nice ambiance!

We weren't trading in a car this time so we had two vehicles to drive home. Unfortunately, it was a day with high wind warnings and we had to traverse an area where the wind has frequently blown over semis and such. The gusts were over 50 mph. I was following in the old car (lightweight) and my arms were sore from the experience of trying to keep from being blown off the road. For the record, Mike offered to have me drive the newer one but I chose to let him break it in.

While driving along, we passed a bus. Not just any bus, but a city bus. That is not something you often see out in the boonies. The side of the bus said "Duluth Transit Authority." After I passed it I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that the signage on the front of the bus was lit up and said, "TO DOWNTOWN".  What? We were a long, long way from downtown Duluth, or any downtown for that matter! I looked it up and we are about 1000 miles from Duluth, MN. Does anyone have an hypothesis why that bus was blowing around in the wind in Wyoming,... driving on a highway with flashing signs telling discouraging high profile vehicles from proceeding? For the record, the wind was not blowing from the direction of Minnesota to Wyoming, but rather the opposite.  I thought about that Sandra Bullock movie, SPEED, and wondered if they needed rescued. Do you remember that movie? Maybe we should have tried to rescue them!

Later down the road, with Mike and me both driving about the speed limit, we were passed by some trucks pulling trailers with nitrogen tanks secured on them.  The speed limit was 80mph and they were going faster than that... in the middle of a high wind warning... with NITROGEN. Does that sound like a smart idea to you?

This following photo was my view most of the way. That is Mike up there.  Taking a photo while driving in the wind would be stupid as well. I confess nothing. For all you know, I stopped in the middle of the road when I pushed that camera button.

Anyway, I had the following song running through my head much of the way.

Follow Me

I have been following that man for many years now!

John Denver Tribute

Last night was fun! Mike recently received a sweet gift of two tickets to a John Denver tribute concert by singer, Jim Curry.  This man is not an impersonator but he did seem like he could have been a brother to John Denver. He sounded so much like him!

A special bonus to the evening was the addition of John Summers, who sang with John Denver in the past and was the songwriter of 5 songs recorded by John Denver. He is the one who wrote "Thank God I'm a Country Boy!"  

The best part for me was this smile! I realize this is a grainy photo but I took it on the sly, in the dark. It still makes me happy, grainy or not.

Weird Question Number Two

In case you missed yesterday's post, my wonderfully weird husband texted me 10 odd questions as his way of interviewing me for my own blog. Additionally, he suggested the questions are so good, they each deserved their own post. 

Well, I love him so I am giving it a go. Here's today's thought-provoking question.

1. Do you consider yourself groovy or far out?

Well, both of those labels are rather a flash back in time, don't you think? Hmmmm... As I pondered this, I thought maybe I should take my own trip back in time to help me make the choice.  I looked through old photographs, hoping for any hint of groovy or far out qualities in myself.

My Mom took this photo of me. I was 19 years old, probably at my peak of groovy.

 Oh, but then there is this one.

I look pretty back-to-nature here, surrounded by mountains and trees and all.

John Denver himself would have declared

I was far-out!

 But here's the tie-breaker.

Or is it?

Actually, I kind of have a  Beverly Hillbilly look going on.

Hmmmm.....

I think my groovy, far out days are so far gone, I really can't answer Mike's original question so I'm going to change the question to this...

Are you a little bit country or a little bit rock-n-roll?

Country. Definitely Country.

Joining in on 5 Question Friday

One of the blogs I enjoy reading is My Little Life.  On Fridays there I see the 5 Question Friday link up.  I always think, "Someday I will try that!"  So, today I am going to give it a try.  It's a blog hop!

If you don't know what a blog hop is, read this definition directly from the Linky folks:

"What is a blog hop? A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS. When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the exact same list appears on each blog. Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list. The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides. Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!"

If you have a blog and want to join in, here are the rules for 5 Question Friday (5QF):

"Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!"  

Here are the questions as well as my answers.  Even if you don't have a post, you can answer the questions in my comments section if you'd like!

1. What were you scared of as a kid?
     I remember that I was pretty frightened by rattle snakes.  We lived near a place called Rattle Snake Hill for awhile and we saw plenty of them.  Even after we moved from there I had scary rattle snake dreams for years, even into adulthood!

2. Do you sleep well in a hotel?
     I absolutely LOVE sleeping in a hotel!  Really, I love it.  I admit that all the stories about bedbugs has been a bit off-putting but I still love it.  I don't know that I really sleep all that well but even when I wake up in the night, I enjoy just knowing that I'm waking up in a hotel, a place where I am not in charge of making the beds, doing dishes, etc.  OK, sometimes I still make the beds but it just looks nice that way.  I don't want the maids to think we are pigs.



3. If you could meet any celebrity, dead or alive, who and why?
     I long wanted to meet John Denver.  My husband was a big fan of John Denver music so I paid attention to him as well.  Listening to his music, I started thinking that John Denver was searching for something, some kind of forgiveness and peace.  I thought we could point him in the right direction for that.  I wanted to bring him home for dinner and let he and Mike get to know each other.  Maybe Mike could have counseled he and Annie and they could have stayed together, filling up each other's senses with sunshine all over their shoulders in the Rocky Mountains... HIGH in the Rocky Mountains.



4. It's a hot summer day. Do you prefer to be pool side or at the beach?
     Absolutely the beach!  I enjoy a nice pool and love the smell of chlorine (not kidding), but watching the power and the beauty of a natural body of water is by far my preference... the bigger the body of water, the better!  Take me to the ocean any day!

5. What is your favorite summer dish?
     No particular "dish" came to mind but a fresh, juicy peach makes me all happy!  I don't want an imposter peach!  You know what I mean, the kind that look delicious, maybe even have lots of juice, but no flavor.  Nope.  I want one that is sweet AND juicy AND pretty.  I want to eat it while sitting on a wrap-around porch with the juice running down my arm.  By the way?  Do you eat the skin on peaches?  Not for me.  I tried and tried because I think that seems all mother earthy but I just don't like the fuzz. 


There!  I finally joined up for 5 Question Friday and I'm kind of proud of myself!  Join me if you'd like, or just click on some of the other blogs in the list.  Have fun!

Dorothea and John Denver

Last week Mike and I were in Colorado Springs.  As I mentioned earlier, he was attending a church conference and I was pretty much just coming along for the ride.  I wasn't a part of the meetings so I spent some time waiting around in the lobby.  I realize some may think that was miserable for me but those would be people who don't know two things about me... 1) I love to people-watch.  2) I love to crochet and I can do that just about anywhere. So, watching people AND crocheting at the same time makes for a lovely event as far as I am concerned.  A hotel lobby isn't quite as good as an airport, but it is pretty close to being as much fun for me.

It was our last evening there, and I was again in the lobby crocheting, when I met a lady named Dorothea.  She was a bit older than me and was not with the church group.  She came out of the hotel bar with her wine and sat near me.  We started visiting and I learned some things about her.  She was on some sort of wildlife board and they would be meeting at the hotel the next day.  She'd driven down from the mountains early and was just spending the evening relaxing.  I liked her right away.

Dorothea mentioned a display she'd seen, associated with our conference, that said something about feeding the children.  She made a comment, "It's like John Denver used to say, it's not that there isn't enough food but it isn't distributed fairly."  Well, that caught my attention.  You see, I am, by association, a John Denver fan.

Before I even dated Mike I knew he loved John Denver music. 

The guys in our class in high school teased him about it as many of them were more fond of the rock bands of the 70's.  Mike, however, is very musical himself and John Denver had been a big inspiration to him as a teen.  I think Mike can sing and play any John Denver song, and he does it quite well. 

Mike writes songs himself, a lot of songs, and some are kind of in the same category of style I guess.  Actually, Mike's appeal to me even more, but it is possible that I may be prejudiced.  Even so, I think most people would agree they are very, very good.

Do you remember Annie's Song?  Isn't it one of the most beautiful love songs of all time?  Well, my middle name is Ann and on our second date Mike played a diddly he'd thrown together called, Sue Annie's Song.  Neither of us really remember that song now but I do remember the idea of it and it was sweetly silly.  I was charmed!  That was the first of many songs Mike wrote for me.  I will tell you more about Mike's music another day.

Mike and I were able to attend 4 different John Denver Concert's over the years.  It was a lot of fun and he really was a great entertainer.  By the 4th one I kind of hoped he'd notice us and invite us into his hotel or bus or whatever to visit with us.  It is my belief that John needed some help with his theology and I think Mike could've helped him a bit.  After that, they could've got out their guitars and sung together.  Now THAT would've been a great blog!

One Christmas I was pretty proud of myself when I found an autographed John Denver photo on E-Bay.  Of course, I couldn't tell you if that was actually his autograph, but Mike accepted the gift graciously.

Anyway, back to Dorothea...  She wasn't just quoting John Denver from some PBS talk, she'd known him personally as she'd lived in Aspen for 25 years.  She spoke of what a great human he was.  She was on the school board and sometimes he'd come to speak to the kids, elementary as well as high school, about world hunger.  She told me he made her promise to keep a scheduled talk a secret.  He just wanted to speak with the children without parents (and publicity) showing up.  She really thought  a lot of him.  It was nice to hear that side of his story. 

I was so happy when Mike came out into the lobby so he could also meet Dorothea.  I didn't want to make too big of a deal about it because I didn't want her to think we were weirdos, even though maybe we are.  I even dreamed once that I invited John Denver and Annie over for supper, so I guess that officially qualifies me as a weirdo.  We are aware John Denver had some things in his past we didn't really want to know, but for that night, we only got to hear good things about him.  It was lovely.  I am glad to have met Dorothea.

Are there celebrities, dead or alive, that you wish you could meet?  What would you want to talk about?