Chapter 12.3 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part III – Rock, paper, scissors...

(...)

Everything you want that is who you are
You can be the sun and the moon and the stars
Or the bass or the drums or the lead guitar

Rock, paper, scissors
Which one is it? It's your decision
And no matter what you choose
You're gonna live it
Rock, paper, scissors...

- "Rock-Paper-Scissors", Katzenjammer

Saturday September 24^th

It was a beautiful, but still a little chilly autumn morning in the small town of Bridgewood.. The band members were still asleep as the town was starting to wake up and the locals who still had to go to work on this saturday was already on their way to the office, such as these unlucky worker bees on the police station right next door to the motel..

Gerda was the first of the gang to wake up, and she could feel a cold brewing after last nights swimming, but was otherwise feeling good as she jammed a little to herself in her room.

 

Merete hadn't forgotten about the old car outside, and wanted to have another look at it before they left. It had definately seen better days, but she was hoping to fix it up somewhat before they had to leave for the next town.. Imagine going on tour in a car like this, an old 1930s convertible. They could be riding into the next town like Bonnie and Clyde, after leaving this one with a real Dillinger escape plan...

Kajsa was downstairs in the reseption waiting for the old woman who ran the motel to show up, so she could hand over the keys to their rooms when she was found by Gerda who started a conversation with her about art. Kajsa was the most avant-garde and interested in art of the band members, and Gerda always loved to have a talk about art with her. Noone else in the band had Kajsas ability to seperate the fine art from the trash, and Kajsa was also the band member who gave their music just that extra little touch of finesse they needed to not sound excactly like your average garage punk band...

Though the morning was fine, some grey clouds had rolled in from the ocean, and eventually Merete understood she had to give up on trying to fix the car.. It was just to much work, it would take way to long.. and she didn't want to get soaked. All her dreams of riding with style was washed away like a piece of chocolate paper going down the storm drain.. atleast for now.. if the band made it big, and they sold enough records, maybe one day she could enjoy having a garage of her own, full of old vintage cars...

 

Kajsa was still missing the keys to Sams room, and had told Gerda to go upstairs to check on him.. He had just gotten out of bed when she walked into his room, and welcomed her with the most polite bow. It was not in jest, this was just who he was – always placing manners first and sticking true to his own gentleman's code – especially when his room was being entered by a Lady..

After playing in a band together for a few years already Gerda knew him well enough to know that he wasn't always such a knight, but was also quite the jester as she answered his bow by thwacking him with a pillow across the head...

..something which the jester found very amusing. "Oh, my dear lady... that is not how one properly handles a pillow.. here, let me show thee!"

 

When the kids were done playing around, and Kajsa had finally handed the keys over to the old woman, it was time for a late breakfast before they would once again hop into their car and turn their noses inland, hopefully driving away from the rain, and towards their next destination.. Sam of course, had to dress up for their last meal in town. A little old fashioned, very green and bright, and with a slight modern touch..

Just one last little prank on the Lady while Kajsa and Merete also filled up their bellies to prepare for another car ride...

Bye bye Bridgewood... next stop, the Appaloosian mountains! The skies are looking a little clearer in that direction already...

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..and that held true, because after driving over a couple of mountain passes and through what appeared to be an endlessly long, narrow and twisting valley, finally the landscape opened in front of them and there wasn't a cloud in sight...

On the way to Lake Onebega they had to drive past the small community of Ravenswood, one of many quaint little towns tucked away among the mountains and valleys of the area..

 

Located about halfway between the shore and the lake, it proved perfect for a short pit stop to grab another bite and to relieve oneself in the bathroom before driving on.

Kajsa brought the gang in to order a meal of spaghetti for them, but it took a little longer time than necessary because Sam, upon noticing a local beauty in the bartender, just had to try and flirt a little with her first.. I suppose he just couldn't resist that beautiful ravendark hair of hers..

After finishing her meal and listening in on Sam sharing some thoughts he had about their next record already, Kajsa went over to Gerda and Merete saying she thought it was one of theirs turn now to take over the wheel.. She didn't want Sam to drive as she secretly thought of him as a bit of a coward and didn't trust his ability to keep his head cool and focus on the road without being to jittery and jumping in his seat at the smallest thing.. well, that and she didn't want to get car sickness now while driving along these narrow and twisting mountain roads..

Map of what they have left behind, and the road to their next destination.

So it was up to Gerda and Merete to settle it among them who would be driving, while Sam in the background decided to chat up another local woman... Gerda wasn't looking forward to possibly be the one to drive again, so she suggested to Merete that they should decide it with a game of rock, paper, scissors.. loser after three rounds would take over the steering wheel..

 

"One, two, three... rock, paper, scissors..."

 

The first round ended with paper vs. Paper. Meretes strategy – if strategy works in this game – was to go for paper one more time, whereas Gerda thought it would be wiser to to switch to going for the scissor from now on, which for the second round proved to be a good choice..

 

Third round Merete went with the rock and they were now even, should she know continue to roll with the rock, go back to using paper, or maybe try the scissors..? Merete didn't feel much like driving, she would rather sit back and continue to enjoy the view.. Of course, there were mountains and hills also by the coast, but this landscape up here was still very different from what she was used to having lived her entire life on an island... These were mountains, real mountains, that was for sure..

Fourth and fifth round ended the same way, with Merete thinking she played it wise by going for paper, and Gerda tearing her dreams apart twice with the scissor..

Kajsa thought they were a little silly as she watched them from the other side of the café. She wanted them to get moving, after all, they had a concert to reach – a concert that they should be playing at... They were nowhere close to be big enough stars to keep an audience waiting.. they had to do their best to be punctual and to deliver.. and not waste time playing mindless childrens games...

The sun was already setting, which meant they had to get moving.. Being the oldest and most responsible member of the band was a chore at times. As Merete drove along, Kajsa was sure that if it wasn't for her keeping them in line, they probably would've ended up spending the night in Ravenwood and completely missed the concert..

"Which way do I go now?" Merete asked as she approached yet another intersection on their way out of town, but nobody gave an answer before it was to late and she had to make a desicion on where to go.. so she quickly turn right at the crossroads, because in that direction she could see mountains.. but then again, there were mountains pretty much in all directions, so which ones were they going to..?

After making a couple more right turns, it was Sam who discovered that they were both wrong as he pointed out that the school they were now driving past looked just like one he had seen before..

Of course" Kajsa said from the backseat "We drove past that school building on the way into town.. we need to turn around! Maybe I shouldn't have let you guys drive after all.. we're gonna get late now! And we have to do soundcheck and get the gear ready too!"

Well, Merete had no choice but to turn around and drive through town once more towards the mountains on the other side of town..

"Should I make another turn at this crossroad?" Merete wondered as they drove past an area of town with vacant lots. "No no, just go straight ahead! The one to the right is just a dead end, and the left road will only take us back into town.. " Kajsa sighed from the backseat...

 

The mood in the car was getting a little tense now, and increasingly claustrophobic too, as the night began to fall and they got ever closer to the mountains and back stretches of road climbing their way up through narrow valleys once more...

Let's hope they can make it to their next concert venue in time! ;)

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Chapter 12.2 – The Bushweeds Autumn Tour 2023: part II - Motel rooms and bridges, life out here is raw...

Friday September 23^rd

 

The following morning, as should be expected, the band slept until atleast past noon before there were any signs of life beyond snoring, occasional slurred 'talking in your sleep' speech and a random fart or two...

 

The streets of the city were already bustling with cars constantly rushing by leaving a small clank everytime one of their wheels passes over a manhole, or honking at slow drivers at every traffic junction. There's people shouting and talking while a jackhammer is heard working in the distance over the slow hum of a cruise ship waiting for the last passenger to come on board again before departure to more southern waters.. If only the band could have afforded to go on a cruise, that would've been something, but here they are crashing at a fellow musicians house while he is away in another town to promote his own music...

 

Kajsa and Merete was a little grumpy this morning, with Merete not saying anything as she crawled down from her bunk bed to go take a shower. Kajsa only muttered something about breakfast before she followed suit and walked out of the bedroom to open the refridgerator to check for anything to eat.. It was only Gerda who was in a pristine mood this morning, as she decided to take out her guitar and play another tune..

"Give me a break" Kajsa said as she passed her by "I need quiet...", but Gerda didn't understand what she meant.. she was still elated and on top of the world from yesterdays concert and night out...

  Sam wasn't feeling to bad either and a quick shower did wonders for Meretes mood as well, so she went back to join the little bedroom party to have a dance with Sam to Gerdas music, while Kajsa after having finished eating, went to occupy the shower for a while..

 

Their musician friend, of course, had no coffee machine in his house, so she hoped the shower could wake her up enough until they could find some café or coffee house on their way to their next stop...

 

Kajsa was disappointed to still hear guitar music and laughter from the bedroom when she come out of the shower.. she had to hold her band in the reigns now.. she was getting a little worried they wouldn't make it in time if they kept dancing and playing guitar like that, so she had to walk in there again to let them now that they would be leaving in five minutes... which ended up being more like half an hour, but if she hadn't said anything who knows how long it would've taken...

Also, Kajsa thought it was best to drive the first stretch until she thought Gerda had sobered up just enough to be able to legally operate a motorized vehicle... just in case.. They had no time for trouble now, one way or another...

 

There was no discussion, they had to go now to reach the next concert venue in time.. and Sam had to go down through an elevator again..

Map showing how far they've gotten and who was/is driving.

Cyme Ixotic was now left behind and they were on their way to Bridgewood1), one of many typical small west coast towns on the way, surrounded by redwood forests and mountains...

 

"If the next place has bunk beds, I want to sleep in the top bunk..." Sam said as they approached their next destination after several hours of driving and bickering over what music to play in the car.... "Yeah, sure.." Gerda said, "but I think we need to find a gas station. We're running low..."

 

"We're approaching the town now, so there should be one in there.. just make a right here and I think you'll find one" Kajsa said from the backseat from the backseat after having checked her phone. Their car was, of course, just old enough to not have pre-installed GPS telling them about sights and things to be found along the road...

"Yep, I can see it now.. we'll make a quick stop here before driving into town and finding our motel..."

 

The motel they were staying at was the cheapest lodging in town that they could find. It was an old run down building that once used to serve as an overnight stop for truckers in the 1950s and 60s on the coastal route between Cyme Ixotic and Wad Nahadau before the railway was built and more goods could be transported by train.

It was then closed in the early 1970s and remained closed until it was bought and reopened by an elderly woman after she lost her husband in a car accident and became a widow. Nothing had been done with the motel since it closed, apart from some sporadic cleaning whenever the old lady felt like it. Everything in an outside was the same as it was some 50 years ago, and it both looked and smelled like it, too...

They weren't supposed to do much in there besides sleeping, and perhaps taking a shower while holding their breaths to not breathe in to much of the moldy spores that were pretty much guaranteed to be floating through the air...

Gerda thought it would probably be better for them to just go directly to the pub where they would be playing to have a meal. She didn't really feel like even going inside the motel.. it's derelict facade was more than enough for now..

Merete and Sam had spotted one of the rusty old cars outside and wanted to take a closer look on it. "This looks like it might be worth something if we can fix it" Sam said, not really knowing anything about cars, especially not old ones. "Yes, probably" Merete replied "...maybe we can start a career as car fixers if our band fails..."

    "Yeah, maybe.. do you know how to fix it?" Sam asked, hoping she knew more about cars than he did.

    "Not really, but I've seen dad fix cars in his garage..."

    "Ok... well I'll leave you to it.. I'll be inside checking out the rooms..." he said before getting up and making his way around the car and past Gerda and Kajsa who now found themselves in a discussion about the mix on their album....

The rooms of the motel were all on the second floor, and Sam felt he had to tread a little carefully as he walked towards the door of his room. The wooden planks felt a little 'soft' in places, and definately had the appearance of having seen better days..

 

He didn't know much about wood either, but it wasn't hard to tell that these planks were almost literally screaming out for a coating of stain paint or two.. or three... and had been doing so for decades.. probably...

The room was.. not much to speak of. Grey-brownish walls that may have been white at one point, and sparsely furnished with a single bed, a chair, a dresser and a mirror. The brown stains in the ceiling also implied that there had been a water leak at one point, one that hopefully had been fixed, as well as a certain sweet, but pungent half-rotten smell of.. something.. Best not to think about what it was! It was probably best to sleep with the windows open in this one... but hey, atleast it had a mirror to play with, so it wasn't half bad..

After a while Merete gave up on tinkering with the car to instead admire some of the, in her opinion, very elegant pink flamingos the elderly woman had placed out among the wild weeds and rusty trash to welcome any guests she might have, which, in all honesty weren't all that many.. Most people shunned the place and then some after checking in with its reviews on TripSimAdvisor....

 

It was nice to get a slight break from being on the road, but they couldn't hang around there outside the motel for to long.. they had to head over to locate the bar they were set to play at, do a soundcheck and play through a couple of their songs to warm up before the concert..

 

This was their first meeting with this bar they were playing at for tonights show. It was simply called Waldemanns, named after a fictional character, Røder Waldemann, featuring in a series books by local crime novel writer Joe Capefarm.2) It looked like a decent enough place from the outside, but what about inside?

 

Both Sam and Kajsa were excited about the bars interior – it had just the right amount of that countryside watering hole atmosphere that they hoped for, with it's wooden walls decorated with old license plates and typical good old pub couches with a fabric stenched with plenty of old bar history...

 

Then it was time for the warm-up. Some local creepy dude had already showed up to stand and stare at Merete while she played her keyboard, and this time even a paparazzi or two was present to take notes and pictures. Word must have gotten ahead of them already since their first concert in Cyme Ixotic just the night before...

 

The bartender was definately pleased about what he heard, and with the paparazzis there taking notes and pictures, this looked like it could another good stepping stone for the band towards fame and fortune... now they just needed the locals in town to find their way into the bar to enjoy their show for the night...

 

Gerda as the frontwoman was sure enjoying her new found fame as she basked in the flashing lights from the paparazzis camera...

Then the band had time for a meal and a few drinks to boost their spirits a little more before the concert would start. After all, it's not a good idea to go to work on an empty stomach..

Sam knew when they summed everything up by the end of the tour that they probably wouldn't be making big bucks just yet, but he still hoped they would do so one day in the future..

While the rest of the band enjoyed some slightly below average typical bar food, Kajsa was over by the dance floor and warming up by having a little dance party there all on her own..

Though eventually hunger got to her as well, but as she approached the bar to wait in line she was accused of cutting in line by the same creepy local that had been stalking Merete during their rehearsal...

"I was not!" she said "what's your problem?"

"What's my problem?" the creepy dude shouted "What's YOUR problem!? You out of town people just barge in here and think you can do whatever you want! Well I'll show you!" he said before jumping on to her, instigating a fight..

 

"Oh no, don't you dare, I've fought bigger guys than you!" Kajsa said as he grabbed onto his neck and put him in a chokehold. "Give up?`"

"Yes! You go Kajsa, show him whos boss here!" Merete cheered enthustiastically for her band mate, while Sam, who was probably just as fond of bar brawls as he was of elevators decided to leave the premise entirely..

 

This wasn't looking to good now, just moments before they were about to hold a concert! Playing in these small countryside towns on the mainland might just be a little tougher than they had anticipated...

As it looks like Kajsa is about to win the fight, Merete decides to go for a bar to have another drink when the man then manages to get out of her choke hold and get the upper hand..

"No, never! A true Bridgewooder never surrenders!" the man said, before tackling her to the ground and giving her one last whooping, leaving her defeated and sore...

 

..and of course, the paparazzi was there too, having taking pictures of the entire event.. Kajsa could picture the embarassing headlines already "Drummer of out of town band took a real beating by local hero at Waldemanns!" This was much to embarassing..

..but then, in spite of feeling like she wanted to disappear behind the curtains instead of performing, she had to head over to the drumkit, count to four to establish the rhythm and get the band playing, because that was their job now, that was the promise they had made to the bar owner, that's what they came here for, and the money they would make here would be necessary to get them to the next town to further spread their music..

Her hands were a little sore and something felt not quite right with her elbow, but she was still able to produce a steady beat, and just like on their last concert the rest of the band atleast gave it their all...

It was just to bad that the bar fight had scared away everyone but the bar owner and the paparazzis and they literally played for an audience of zero the entire night...

This was even worse than their first concert, but thanks to the paparazzis they atleast got some publicity out of it anyway.. Their love for playing music was strong and they really enjoyed what they did, but it couldn't continue like this if they wanted to make it big enough to actually make a living...

 

As usual Kajsa, who was now taking care of the bands finances too, went over to the bartender to get paid for the gig, and the from the coverage they received from the paparazzis the band climbed as little higher up on the celebrity ladder... somewhat bruised and beaten, but not defeated, the band had to soldier on...

 

Well, Gerda loved playing so much she couldn't put the guitar down, and Kajsa felt she could need a drink or three to deal with her wounded pride and drown out the sorrow and shame of being beaten up in public like that...

Sam and Merete was in a splendid mood and went back to dancing with each other, just like they did this morning.. It was still a rainy day for Kajsa and the drinks she just had weren't helping to much yet, as she went for Gerda to seek some comfort and consolation...

Then after a while the drinks must have kicked in, as she went to dance all by herself again, while Gerda went to practice pool and Sam and Merete went to the bar to have a few more drinks.. they still had the bar to themselves, so it was a little questionale how lucrative this deal really was for the bar owner.. but the band didn't care anymore.. they had gotten paid and done their job, fair and square... It wasn't their fault the locals proved to be a bunch of uncontrolled belligerents!

They stayed at the bar having drinks and conversations in between one another about everything, nothing and anything at all until the bar was about to close.. Gerda remembered the state of the motel and ordered a meal for herself... she wasn't to keen on cooking in that kitchen there, she didn't want to get sick..

The rest of the band kept drinking until closing time until they realized they were hungry too, but then it was just to late to order a meal... but Merete had a solution, because she was sure she had seen a food truck somewhere out there earlier and told everyone to follow her lead to where she thought it was..

..and of course, she was right, luckily, or she might have ended up with a bunch of sour band members, but instead they all got to order their big fat delicious juicy burger to satisfy their hunger..

 

Well, everyone except Gerda who had already eaten and decided to go look for some treasure or lucky charms in the nearest dumpster that was just around the corner instead..

While they were eating Kajsa noticed that there was a swimming pool nearby and thought she didn't want to leave this backwater of a town without breaking the law a little bit and suggested to the gang to go skinny dipping....

 

Merete was very enthusiastic about this idea, so she quickly followed suit to go for a swim in her birthday suit. Gerda would follow them soon enough too, once she could get her nose out of the trash, since she figured she would probably need a bath anyway.. and skinny dipping is always exciting, so why not? ;)

It was only Sam, being the more formal and appropriate band member, who was a little reluctant to to the idea, but peer pressure always wins in the end, so he went along to get his feet a little wet too...

Splish, splash, splosh, into the water they go. The girls all jumped in from the side of the pool, but Sam took it a little more easy, deciding to go into the water using the ladder, and everyone but Sam got their wish fulfilled to go for a late night swim with nothing on. ;)

When Gerda felt she was clean enough from the chlorine in the pool, she decided to get up and called for the others to head back to the hotel. Merete and Sam followed to quickly get dressed again. The autumn air was getting a little chilly at night and it didn't help that the town also lowered the pool temperature outside of the regular opening hours.. but Kajsa still felt a little hardy and wanted to swim around for a few more rounds before returning to the motel...

 

This town wasn't going to get the best of her, and she wasn't going to quit that easily... she was still a little pissed off from getting her ass kicked earlier, and this only made her more determined to go on her own way.. she wasn't going to let anyone beat her down or tell her what to do.. she had made a vow to herself already a long time ago to never give in and to go against the grain... and the harder the grain tried to push, the harder she would push back.. getting beat up was only adding fuel to an already burning fire...

Back to the filthy old motel again to get some rest, sleeping until early morning and probably then some.. It had been another interesting day for the band.. It was clear that the road to success was going to be long and hard, and one can only hope that the rest of the band now will be as eager to see success as Kajsa now appears to be... and hopefully their rest will be good, because tomorrow it's time to hit the road again to travel away from the coast and up into the mountains for their next destination...

 

Good night.. ;)

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1) Bridgewood at The Sims Catalog. I have done some changes to the town before playing, such as editing the gas station, adding the motel and the bar they played at.

2) Totally not a reference to Norwegian author Jo Nesbø and his Harry Hole book series.