Omaha➡️Saint Joseph➡️Denver➡️Grand Junction (September 19-25)
Our second week of tour started in Omaha. First things first, laundry. We googled "best rated laundromat", as if that's a thing. There we sat gazing upon dirt dusted floors explaining to the person working there why UaZit had a vasectomy. After our brains endured a solid wash cycle, lunch!
Being mall rats at heart, we spent the rest of the evening perusing the local mall. By the time we were ready to settle in for the night, we noticed the batteries from our solar setup were only reading 75%. Which after a solid sunny day of charging, should have been up to 100%. The following morning, the issue continued. Batteries were less than 60% and a little panic set in.
We had dealt with this situation previously and the issue was that a fuse had blown. Being on the road, with no immediate access to repair parts or ability to ship a replacement part, was going to be tricky. The universe always looks out for us though. We by chance found this little shop in Omaha that was half electric/small appliance repair, half solar installation/repair. When we arrived, there was a disclaimer on the door: "If you can bring it to the door, we can fix it." And they sure did, without skipping a beat. Michael at Solar Heat & Electric was one of the most kind humans we have encountered. We learned so much about our solar panel system in that hour, including the detail that we had been using a 10A fuse when we needed at least 15A. Which is why the fuse blew. He replaced it and gave us an extra just in case. At the end of our visit, when we tried to pay for his services, he refused. All he wanted in return was to be put on the guest list for our show that evening.
The remainder of that day was HOT as fuck. Temperatures reached 104 and it was too hot to exist in the van, even with the fan on. We found ourselves back at the mall. We ordered some bombbb vegan sushi and poke bowls then chilled in the common area to work and just exist in the air conditioning. We left there and spent the rest of our afternoon at the local library before our show.
The show was at Beach House Bar & Grill. The sound engineer sounded just like Badger from Breaking Bad. Ha Ha! It was an intimate show but sure enough, Michael showed up with his wife. A sweet topper to a hot and stressful day.
We departed Omaha Wednesday morning for Saint Joseph, MO. We stopped at a local waterfall + park for lunch upon arrival. Explored the grounds and fed the ducks. By the time we were finished eating, it started to rain. It rained fairly hard to so we camped out in the van, napped and enjoyed the down time before our show. St. Jo is one of the more bizarre towns we have experienced.
Our show that evening was at this badass spot called Sk8bar. It is one of those places that you immediately feel at home when you walk in. We talked to a person that night that said "whenever you feel lonely, homesick or in need of uplifting, find the skate scene and you’ll have immediate family.” It could not have rung more true being in that space. Post show included a street skate sesh before we drove two hours to Topeka. We got into Topeka late but we took hot showers at Planet Fitness before crashing.
Thursday was the LONG HAUL across Kansas to Denver. And long haul it was. About 9 hours of driving but we were welcomed with one of the most vibrant rainbows. First on the to-do list for Denver : showers, then dispensary!
Friday morning we drove out to Arvada & visited Book Cranny. We spent the rest of the day lounging in the van until it was time to nom some delicious grub from Illegal Pete's. Their starving artists program is always thoroughly appreciated when we are touring through. Denver showed up with all the love for F-ETHER's hometown tour kickoff show at GLOB. We had a killer time rocking the house together.
Saturday morning was spent picking out/setting up a couple of fresh useless(fuck) decks. UaZit & F-ETHER hit a skatepark in Thornton and got some street skating footage at a local spot. We wandered over to 303 Boards to snag a pair of bearings. Such a helpful group of employees! That evening was F-ETHER's final night home before we shoved off for Grand Junction, so we had a group cookout. F-ETHER is a (fucking) grill master. Kabobs, vegan burgers & dogs, the whole nine. What a beautiful evening of conversation.
Sunday morning was bittersweet. It almost felt wrong to be leaving Denver, which had started to feel like home for a moment. A bit worried about the van, we packed up and hit the road for the Rockies. Thankfully, besides a couple of super steep down grades that tested the brakes ability, the drive to Grand Junction was smooth cruising. Upon arriving, we popped up by the Colorado River to enjoy the view until F-ETHER got to the rendezvous. Upon walking through the door at Copeka Coffee, we immediately felt at home. The owner Kyra hand(fucking)made an entire spread of noms for the three of us, absolutely floored. The plate UaZit was handed matched the set from his grandma's house. Truly at home indeed!
The show was a beautiful way to end week two of tour.