Chapter 12.5 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part V – Turn the page..

Sunday September 25^th – Travel Day 3

 

It was a drowsy sunday morning by the lake.. The band was still sleeping and the students in town were taking it easy as the exams were still a great distance away and life was easy.. of course there wasstill the occasional busy bee on his or her way to the library or the universitys study rooms, but most of them weren't to concerned with that yet... Some just woke up, while others were still asleep, and some were on their way home after enjoying what seened like the best night of their life so far...

...and some were hanging around in their dorm showing off their skills to each other with the trick ball. ;)

 

 

Then finally well into the afternoon the band members started to come to life again after last nights concert and drinks at the bar..

The band had to soon get moving again as they now were about to embark on the longest leg of their journey to head further south and back towards the coastline again to play in the city of Wad Nahadau. They had never been this far south before, and as there was such a long journey ahead of them they had planned to spend a night in the small town of Pleasantville, before turning west towards the city.

 

They were lucky to have two bathrooms in the house, which helped to speed up the process of getting ready to a little, but there were still some time to kill while the others were bathing. Sam was already tired of driving and wasn't looking forward to getting back into the car again... Though he didn't like heights very much, he still made the suggestion to Merete that they should just ditch their car and get some plain tickets instead..

 

Merete thought the idea was ridiculous, if not flat out laughable. They had already agreed on going by car, so couldn't make that suggestion now that they were pretty much more than halfway through their tour.. and since it was Gerdas car, she was pretty sure she wouldn't agree to just leaving it behind like that..

 

There was only one thing to do as soon as everyone was scrubbed clean and ready.. to head for the nearest café again to grab a quick lunch and get ready for several more hours inside that tiny box on wheels...

"So this is what the town looks like in daylight..."

Gerda would have liked to stick around for a day more here and there to actually get to know the towns that they were mostly just zooming by, but there was no time for that. All she could do was try to grab as many impressions as she could of everything that she could see from her car window..

 

She found it interesting that a town of this size should have it's own university, as most universitys were located in or adjacent to major cities. It was clear that a large part of the population were indeed students, and this town really had the appearance of being built around the university, and not the other way around...

 

University Life may have fit this band just fine, not because of the learning, but because of all the opportunities to party.. which all of them really liked to do..

 

It wasn't everyday that Merete went into a café on a sunday to watch a zebra and a hot dog leave the premises... "Did you guys see that?" she chuckled to the other band members "I think when we get back home we should make our final concert also into a costume party."

Sam thought about dressing up as a ghost, the most creative of all costumes..., while Gerda still wanted to get into a real bar fight with someone.. Kajsa wanted her band to stop fooling around and focus on getting something to eat, because they had to get on their way soon..

 

The place was starting to get a little crowded, so they walked upstairs to have their lunch in peace, but that was to no avail.. even the paparazzi was now at it again with their flashing cameras and notebooks..

"Where were all these people yesterday when the band played their concert?" Gerda wondered out loud to herself. "Probably at some house party..." she concluded, thinking that the student group was a hard one to win over to become fans.. either because they were picky when it came to music, not wanting to listen to something that wasn't trendy among their equals... or because they were saving money by drinking at home instead of going out..

.and on the topic of drinking, suddenly Gerda remembered having logged on to the computer yesterday after they had gone to their rental house after the concert...

 

    "Kajsa.. did I .. did I chat with someone on the computer last night...?" Gerda already knew the answer to that question, but was hoping that Kajsa would show some support to make her feel better about potentially having made a fool of herself...

    "Yes, you did." Kajsa said briefly without trying to hard to hide her gloating smile before finishing the last piece of her bagel, before getting up from the couch to tell Sam and Metete to hurry up eating.. The road was waiting for them again..

 

It was time to leave this now all of a sudden crowded and paparazzi-ridden place behind and move on..

 

..but where was their vocalist? They couldn't leave without her..

Well of course, she had found another dumpster to bury her head in..

"Gerda!" Kajsa had to shout at her.. "Now is not the time to go looking for more collectibles.. we're leaving... now!"

"I'm coming!" she shouted back to them as she landed her feet on the ground just in time to hear the sound of a car door slamming shut..

..then the closing of two more doors followed by the impatient revving of a car engine...

"...guys? Guys!? You're not gonna leave me here, are you!?"

 

Now, of course they couldn't leave their vocalist and lead guitarist behind.. Kajsa just wanted to prove a point, and to get them back on the road.. She would be much more at ease, once the wheels had started rolling again..

If they were to make it to the city in time... She had calculated that they should be able to make it there in two days, give or take..

So it was time to say goodbye to the Grotto one last time (for now?) as they drove past it again to head south towards the town of Pleasantville, about halfway on the route back towards the west coast, where they would spend the night before (hopefully) making a right turn to head towards the city of Wad Nahadau..

                                            - Metallica - Turn The Page (Bob Seger cover)

On a long and lonesome highway
South of Onebega*
You can listen to the engines moanin'
Out this one-note song
You'd think about the woman
Or the girl you knew the night before

But your thoughts will soon be wanderin'
The way they always do
When you're ridin' 16 hours
There's nothin' much to do
And you don't feel much like ridin'
You just wish the trip was through

Here I am, on the road again
There I am, up on the stage
There I go playin' the star again
There I go, turn the page

So you walk into this restaurant
All strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
As you're shakin' off the cold
You pretend it doesn't bother you
But you just want to explode

Yeah, most times you can't hear 'em talk
Other times you can
All the same old clichés
Is it woman, is it man?
And you always seem outnumbered
You don't dare make a stand
Make your stand

Here I am, on the road again...

Oh-oh, out there in the spotlight
You're a million miles away
Every ounce of energy
You try and give away
As the sweat pours out your body
Like the music that you play, yeah

..and then they, after a few more hours on the road and Kajsa wanting to take over the wheel again they arrived in Pleasantview, where they would be staying at New Old Lake Barret Motel & Bar for the night..

They were still several miles from the coast, and even had to traverse the same mountain chain again to get there. Yet they felt they were getting closer as the weather had already changed from the dry, fair weather most often found on the east side of the mountains to the kind of weather they were most used to from home..

 

They were all exhausted, tired and ready for a big meal and didn't feel like standing out in the rain for to long though.

 

Sam was the first one to rush in through the door to speak to the owner and barkeeper to ask if they had any available rooms and to order a meal.. This was off season for tourism, so getting a room was no issue, and they were lucky to not have arrived half an hour later before he closed the kitchen..

-----

 

While the barkeeper prepared the food, Gerda had found herself a drumkit to practice on. Gerda is versatile and enjoys playing many different interests, but it's really on the electric guitar she shines the most, to put it that way. ;)

 

Kajsa did her best to keep her thoughts away from the rumbling noises in her stomach (and Gerdas terrible drumming....) when the barkeeper finally came out of the kitchen with a plate of spaghetti to share for all of them.. It wasn't anything special, just the regular bar food, but it would do... They could get a more proper diet when they came back home and could finally make their own food again...

 

After having spent several hours with the same people in a tiny car along the road, on stage and almost every waking moment for the past days, Kajsa wanted to sit by the bar to get some time alone before bedtime...

 

Their rooms where on the top floor, and the barkeeper had promised them that all the rooms had a very pleasant view of either the town on one side, or the river and his very own small fishing pond on the other.

 

Kajsa and the band didn't really care about any of that right now.. they just wanted to sleep.. and besides, it was dark. If there was any view to enjoy, they could do it tomorrow.. before it was back inside the car again...

Later in the evenin'
As you lie awake in bed
With the echoes of the amplifiers
Ringin' in your head
You smoke the day's last cigarette
Rememberin' what she said
What she said

Yeah, here I am.. on the road again...

Turn the page..

Good night.. ;)

Previous | Next

* Not the correct lyrics, of course, and there's one syllable to many, but this almost works..