A Travel Edition of … Random Thoughts

I thought maybe I could squeeze in another concert after seeing The Lumineers and Lord Huron last week. On our way home from St. Louis, my daughter and I stopped to visit with a cousin who is my daughter’s age and was spending a few weeks in central Illinois with a relative. That cousin let us know that the Macoupin County Fair was in full swing, so we decided to stop in and maybe see a concert. I was excited to see two possibilities.

Well, it turns out that Open Goat (great name for a band) is actually not a band, and it wasn’t much of a show. Just a bunch of goats in pens. And although it was tempting to hang around for the Beer Tent Band (a very pedestrian name for a band), I did not want to be in central Illinois that late with a four hour drive to get home. I also wasn’t sure if the band was playing in the Smoky Jennings Pavilion or a literally smoky Jennings Pavilion. There’s still a lot of smoking going on in rural central Illinois.

The trip home was excellent as we stopped to see some top notch roadside tourist attractions along the way. However, I sense a scandal brewing at the World’s Largest Covered Wagon in Lincoln, IL. Take a look and see if you can spot the problem.

That’s right, it’s no longer covered. I felt thoroughly hoodwinked and cheated. I would have demanded a refund had I paid any admission.

But the Alton Giant statue did not disappoint.

Robert Wadlow was the world’s tallest recorded human at 8″ 11″ tall. The scouting report on him was that he had some great offensive moves in the post but had trouble defending at the 3 point line. Is it just me, or do you also find it to be very coincidental that the man known as the Alton Giant just happened to be born in Alton, IL? And wouldn’t you like to see a WWE cage match between the Alton Giant statue and the giant Abe Lincoln sitting on possibly the World’s Largest Uncovered Wagon?

If Robert Wadlow was the world’s tallest recorded human at 8’11”, why did this survey I was filling out allow me to choose 9 feet tall for my height?

I discovered ivy encircling my bike this morning. Was I gone that long on my trip?

I had no choice but to eschew exercise and go back to bed.

While I was gone, I was “tagged” in a Facebook post as being in this picture below taken at a birthday party, although I don’t recall being there.

If I am in this picture, which one am I? And did I have a good time? I hope it wasn’t my birthday party, because if it was, I have misplaced all my gifts and the gift receipts I would surely have used.

And speaking of gifts, if a person finds a completely wrapped piece of candy at a hotel poolside, it’s safe to eat, right?

Asking for a friend.