Eventful Weekend

 Saturday, I got out and did some adventuring on my own. Spent some time at Gray's Lake Park off of Fleur Dr in Des Moines. Lauren had told me about it when we drove by on our supply trip on Friday. I walked on the path all around the lake. It was a beautiful afternoon for a walk. I saw people out on kayaks and paddle boats, which made me want to go rent one sometime. This is a nice little lake, and they even have a little beach.

Then, I walked around a little sculpture garden near the public library downtown.

Amid my walk in the sculpture garden, my camera battery died, but I wasn't ready to be done adventuring yet. Yet, I don't like to go adventuring without my camera, so I went back to Ankeny to charge it up for a while.

Now, the other day I had been reading through a paper and found an article about the Capital City Pridefest and advertisements for this year's events. Well, I love cultural events, and it just so happens that the Village People would be performing Saturday night. At first, I wasn't sure if I would want to go by myself, but after letting my camera charge for a bit I figured, when else am I going to have a chance like this, so why not. I could picture my dad's Village People record, and was hearing their songs in my head. So, I loaded back up and headed to the East Village area of downtown Des Moines.

First, I walked around a few shops down there, and then ate at a Greek Restaurant called the Olympic Flame. It was a cute little place. I had a Falafel Pita Sandwich. which was pretty good.

Second, I spent some time at some of the vendors lined up for the festival. Then, I watched some different singers in somewhat of an American Idol contest. Ended the night with a phenomenal performance by the Village People! I am so glad I decided to go. They put on one great show.... and yes, for those of you who are wondering, they do still exist. At least 3 of them are still from the original group - the cowboy, and the biker. They opened with "Macho Man", then sang a good number of songs, were constantly moving around up on stage, and just having a good time. I really enjoyed the show and singing along, which ended with none other than "the YMCA".  I was right up toward the front. 30+ years later, and they still got it.

Sunday, ate brunch with the Renz's, and practiced reading some stories and doing action songs bout dinosaurs with the girls this morning, which was fun. Then, headed back downtown to watch the Capital City Pridefest Parade, which felt really powerful. It was a cool experience to see all these people come together. A really great experience for me. I almost had goosebumps at times. I know that probably sounds weird, but I'm not sure how to describe it.

Next, Averee and I spent some time at the zoo printing off memory activity books for our campers this summer, and setting up our classroom finally after a birthday party. I think we done a good job. Then, I went and saw Averee's house outside of Indianola, which is where I will be moving to in about a week. Averee and I also went and saw a movie in Indianola before going back to my car at the zoo, where we drove up to a locked gate. Crap!!.... Well, a security guard (very kind security guard) happened to come up, and he let me go get my car. That's one way to learn what time they lock the gates at the zoo. hahaha

All in all, another fine weekend, with some unforgettable experiences. Funny thing, I did a lot of things on my own, which Averee told me today it's cool that I'm still willing to go try things even when I can't find a wingman. Yep, that's right. I'm not going to let opportunities pass me by just because I'm not willing to get on the train by myself :-) Definitely worth it... I mean come on I did the YMCA live with the Village People!! If you can't tell by now, I really enjoyed that, and now I'm off to bed for my first day of camp! Hopefully, my excitement doesn't keep me up all night haha