When I woke up Friday, my schedule was wide open.  The only thing on my To Do list was pick-up my tux for Saturday, and show up for the wedding rehearsal at 6pm.  So, Mom and I picked up Grandma and went to Tavern Pizza for lunch.  Every time I come home I try to fit in as many of my favorite hometown restaurants as possible.  Tavern is at the top of the list with the best thin crust ‘za in town – the right balance of crisp + soft, flowery bottom, sweet tomato paste sauce and whatever toppings you can imagine.  The Italian Grinder sandwiches are also great, so I decided on a Large Grinder Pizza!  Ooooie! Between the three of us, we could only finish half.  The other half was mine for later…

After lunch I had about a five hour window until the rehearsal, and my parents could only play chauffeur / entertainment for so long.  I decided to get out of their hair and out onto the open road!  My dad bought this bike new before I was born, and it’s been handed down to two older brothers before I got to learn on it in high school.  By the time I got ahold of it, it was a little rusty with a bad dent in the tank and a host of other cosmetic war wounds.  In fact, it wasn’t long after I got it that the speedometer broke due to a 100+mph joy ride (with Ellen Bradley on the back holding on for dear life) that broke that camel’s back; and the motor finally fizzled-out in college when I took Lea out for her very first motorcycle ride.  But she’s been in love with it ever since.

About two years ago my brother, Matt, had the old bike refurbished.  They even got the speedometer ticking again!  And she looks better than ever…

I didn’t really have a plan when I set out, except to maybe drive to the end of town and back (which wasn’t far).  Before I knew it, I was on back country roads shifting gears and wiping tears (even with sunglasses the wind makes my eyes water – and it rhymes). I just kept going and going, past the town of Grimes, then Polk City before stopping to fill-up half a tank at Casey’s General Store for $3.47!

Shortly thereafter, I was crossing the Mile Long Bridge (see mile “15” in the diagram above), and took a slight detour over the Saylorville Lake Dam (where it would say mile “25” in the diagram were it not covered by other grey dots).  This first picture is taken on the dam looking North over the lake.

And this one is looking South over the spillway and toward the DSM skyline. See it there in the top right? 🙂

And this one’s just your typical Iowa summer day (taken around mile “30”)…

I made it home in one piece, bug splattered and wind blown, and ready to polish up for the rehearsal!  I picked-up my fellow groomsman, Morgan, and together we witnessed the most confusing wedding “rehearsal” in history.  Apparently this priest is more of a funeral guy and only does about two weddings a year, which makes me quite a bit more qualified in directing this processional.  At any rate, we struggled through it and were rewarded with an open bar and free dinner at Christopher’s – a DSM landmark.

We cleared out around 10pm and Matt urged Morgan and me to take it easy tonight so that we could save some energy for the main event on Saturday.  Mmmkay…

So we called our friends Ben and Kristen Porter and met them at Saint’s, which is a new bar in town with an awesome patio and the typical budget-friendly cocktails one finds around most midwestern towns.  And then to top that perfect sundae with a cherry, our friend Lindsey was able to come by!

Here’s the gang!

Bennie had some home brews he wanted to share back at their house, so it was after-hours at the Porters’! We all talked shop – cameras, beers and blogs – and got caught up on some of what’s been missing in our lives…HOME!

Friends make the world go ’round, and if everyone had friends like these, beauty pageant contestants would have to come up with another goal besides achieving world peace.  The only thing missing is Lea, but thankfully she finally gets into town the next morning!

Cheers