January 2, 2005

• Icy New Year!!!

  We did something unusual for us for New Year’s Eve. We traveled. Usually, we have a party and stay home, mostly to avoid the rush to see who can accumulate the most DUI’s that always seems to take place on the last evening of the year. Instead, we decided to drive about 250 miles to Des Moines to attend a concert/dance. We planned it all very carefully, leaving early in the day to be in Des Moines around noon (or Noone, as some say). We found our hotel, checked in and congratulated ourselves on our safe arrival for what was sure to be a fun-filled evening followed by an uneventful trip home on New Year’s Day.

  We settled into our room and kicked back until about 3:30. Then we set out to find the ballroom where the evening’s entertainment was to take place. We hung out there until about 6:30, then had to make a mad dash back to the hotel to change and get back for the show.

  Ballroom shows are lots of fun. Not only do you get to hear great music, but you can enjoy it by dancing along or at least watching others do that. This show had an interesting musical mix. First, there was an old fashioned big band playing the hits of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and other greats of the swing era. They were followed by a rock band called the 8 Tracks who played, well, music you might have heard on 8 tracks. There was an Elvis impersonator who definitely represented the grossly overweight Elvis and did it without the need of padding. He did one song and spent his time milling around in the crowd showing off his pretty white jumpsuit and cape. Although they were not part of the planned entertainment, there was a couple completely outfitted in pink who contibuted to the interest of the evening. I had never seen a man in a pink suit, shirt and tie before, let alone one accompanied by a woman all in pink! They certainly turned heads when they danced!

  At 11:00, the long awaited headliners, Herman’s Hermits, came on. They gave a terrific show. Young and old alike were out there dancing and singing along. At midnight, Peter stopped his show, counted down to the end of the year, balloons dropped, and he and the band sang a couple of verses of Auld Lang Syne before resuming their regular play list. After that, there were autographs followed by good-bye hugs and kisses. The perfect end to a perfect evening to be followed the next morning by an uneventful drive home, right?

  WRONG!!!!!!! We awoke on New Year’s morning and looked out at what appeared to be a wet parking lot at the hotel. Rain, we thought. Then Dan took a closer look, and said, “That’s not water on the ground, that’s ice!” I had completed packing and we were just going to get a bite to eat before we headed out, but we decided that we had better check the weather report. There was ice throughout northern Iowa and heavier ice in southern Minnesota. It didn’t look like we were going anywhere! We called the desk and made sure we could keep our room for an extra night, then headed down to eat. After that, we planned to check out the mall and possibly attend a movie. We walked through the door, Dan took one step onto the glare ice, his feet went up and down he went flat on his back! That ended all thoughts of going anywhere, at least right then, so we went back to our room and turned on the TV. I am not a football fan and football is about all that is on TV on New Year’s Day, so I finished the book I was reading.

  Later. we were able to reach our car by crossing the ice in a skating movement without picking up our feet. We got in and turned the defrosters up full blast to de-ice the windows because we were afraid to try to stand on the ice to scrape them. We managed to get to the mall, ate at the food court, and shopped for more books. Then we retuned to our room, grateful to have a place to wait until the ice was cleared.

  This morning, we were able to drive home. There were still a lot of cars going off the road, apparently because they let their wheels wander over onto the shoulder, and we could see where even more vehicles had been removed, but we did not have trouble driving. Our cats were glad to see us. They had no food left and no water, and they let me know they were not happy about it as soon as I walked through the door!

  Was it worth it? Oh, yes!! We had a great time!

  Happy 2005!!!!

  • 5:26 pm
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