#Carrindiewedding Part 2

As time goes on, my recollection of this glorious weekend seems to be getting phoggy. I will try to quickly follow this blog with #Carrindiewedding Part 3.

JOHN 1:46

"Kansas! Can anything good come from there?" Nacho asked. "Come and see," said JohnxCarr.  
(The Message: Midwest Remix)

My eyes shot open as I felt the bus slowly jar to a halt. Aisle lights lazily flickered on, and the bus' inhabitants started to stir and mumble. I looked out the window. We were in a desolate wasteland, with only one freestanding building in sight over to our right. Denny's. I looked at my watch and saw it was 5:45 in the morning. I growled low beneath my breath, and stretched my arms. Most of the girls had somehow managed to stay asleep through this change of momentum and lighting, and were just now awaking. I sat back down intending to go back to sleep when the bus' doors opened up and Willie the bus driver climbed inside after his quick smoke break. "Ya'llwantbreakfastdon'tcha?" He yelled in his peculiar drawl to us all. Across the aisle, Dan Griffin nodded his head in agreement and said something to the effect of, yes, he did want breakfast except with more expletives. Lester silently arose and lumbered off the bus and the rest of us soon followed, in various forms of consciousness.

Once inside, we overwhelmed the understaffed Denny's with orders of Grandslamwhiches, coffee and other laxatives. They bravely rose to the challenge, quickly and courteously bringing us mounds of processed food to the numerous tables. We plunged into heartily  and then much like cattle were herded to the cashier and then back to the bus.*

The next ten hours or so passed in a flurry of sleep, Friday Night Lights, dirty truck stops and the reek of the gag-inducing on bus restroom. Next thing we knew, we were pulling into the Best Western of Lawrence.

This was our first interaction with the mysterious man known as Dr. Stuever. A hush passed through the bus as his powerful voice asserted itself. Willie, cowering in fear and awe, huddled in his bus seat gazing up at the Father himself. The good doctor then explained what the evening would consist of (checking into the Best Western, Rehearsal Dinner, home etc.) With a flourish, he officially welcomed us to the Midwest, encouraged us to take a shower before the rehearsal (the bus was pretty pungent at this point), and told us that we had 45 minutes before we had to be at the bus, or it would leave us.

After quickly changing, the whole crew loaded up and embarked to the Garden of Stuever, where we were greeted with BBQ, Free-State Drinks, and the Colonel. The hours passed quickly with laughter, tears, and two old dogs who loved to be pet.

Later on, the females all headed back to the hotel, and the fellas hung out having a semi-bachelor party for John Carr. For hours we sat around a few fires sharing stories, recounting events and encouraging John in his soon to be marriage. Everyone then hopped in some cars and were driven back to the hotel.

Most people went to sleep at this point, but James Thomas Tetsuo Lopaka Tworek and myself both decided to explore Kansas a bit more. Two hours later, we headed back to the hotel, and joined our comrades in blissful sleep. Tomorrow was wedding day, and was sure to be filled with surprises.

*side note: Throughout the 40 combined hours of being on a bus to and from VA, there were no sightings of Willie or his partner in crime ever consuming any food. As far as I could tell, they were running purely off tobacco and their passion for driving.