Running to the Edge of Iowa
This might come as a surprise to some, but Benjamin and I both have a love for Marilyn Manson’s music. And we both liked his music before we had even met each other, so it was naturally mutual! 🎵 There are a lot of songs we like, but one of our favorites is “Running to the Edge of the World.” It just kinda felt like our old days where we would drive around, find a new adventure, not caring what we were doing as long as it was with each other.
We spent our first night away...like ever.
You know what’s kinda sad? When Ben first proposed the idea of getting away for a night to go to a Marilyn Manson/Rob Zombie concert in Iowa, I cried. He was so confused and I felt bad for jeopardizing his surprise by being upset at his offer.
I didn’t think I was going to be a “bad mom” for taking some time away. I’m just really connected with her, especially at night time. Ben is old school and has never gotten up with her in the middle of the night. So I’m the light sleeper making sure she’s okay, breathing, and sound asleep. (I know we are past the SIDS range, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop checking to make sure she’s breathing.)
You tell yourself it’s going to be good for you (and her), you’re going to have a good time, she’s going to be okay, etc. Either way, I knew she would be well taken care of at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
Checkout her suitcase! It’s Ben’s old one when he would go to HIS grandma’s house! ❤
She wanted to carry it around everywhere!
I will admit 🤦🏼♀️ it was kiiiinda easy for me to leave her in the morning. 🤨 She had a long series of nightmares the night before we left, so I was up all night with her. Her first nightmare started at 11PM when I was loading the dishwasher (my last chore before deciding to pack!) I sang in the rocking chair with her for almost an hour, nothing. I tried to lay her down and let her cry, nah. I resorted to bringing her into bed with me. Everything hurt. My neck. My sides. My freaking eyelids. I was so tired and didn’t get to pack, so it wasn’t a surprise when I forgot like everything the next morning. 😬
Regardless, we hit the road. I forgot to mention that we were both sick on this trip. I was in recovery, but Ben was in the thick of it! His good heart still went on the trip so that I could experience a Manson concert. 💕 Thank you, babe!
We stopped at the World’s Largest Truck Stop…yes, that’s a historical (is that the right adjective?) place!
They weren’t kidding when they said it was the largest! We held hands as we walked around this MASSIVE building. Sometimes I think we forget the importance of just holding each others’ hands. It makes me feel so much more connected to Ben and my heart feels bigger when we do.
We looked at a bunch of touristy crap…the kind you never REALLY need to buy, but you still pick up things and look. Sorry, Waylin. We didn’t buy you ANYTHING on this trip! I’m pretty sure we failed to fulfill our role as parents on our first trip away. We’ll catch you on the next trip! 😂
We had some time before we could check into our hotel, so we stopped at a place called Devonian Fossil Gorge at Coralville Lake. I thought it would be cool, but it was not what we were expecting!
We walked down into the valley area to try to find some fossils. Ben said, “I was really expecting to see a giant hambone from a dinosaur!” 😂 I laughed, but secretly, I also was expecting to see that. A nice couple called us over to a rock they were standing on to show us what kind of prehistoric animal they found. We nodded our heads, but as soon as we turned around and walked away, we both looked at each other like, “I didn’t see shit.” 🤣
We made sure we got to the concert early enough to grab our seats. Since we were both sick, we popped some Tylenol and grabbed a handful of cough drops for our pockets before we left. I laughed, because most people probably took some shots or did drugs before they went to the concert, and we were acting like we were in our 80s. Oh, and Ben brought ear plugs for us too! #seniorcitizens
I actually used Lyft to “taxi” to the concert, which was my very first time using any kind of service like that. We still had to do some walking to find the front door entrance to the arena, but it wasn’t too stressful.
OUR SEATS WERE FREAKING AMAZING!
We had so much leg room and a perfect view of the stage! I couldn’t have been happier with our seats! We were able to stay seated the whole time! There was an older lady a couple seats away from us who had to be in her late 60s that was D E F I N I T E L Y on drugs. There were so many times I worried she was going to fall over the railing. But man, she was rocking out harder than anyone in that place!
Ben and I joked about dressing up for the concert when we first booked the tickets. I told him we should dress like we are going to impress a Hot Topic employee! 🤣 🤘 💀 Unfortunately, we weren’t feeling good, so we dressed pretty normal. It was for the better, because there weren’t crazy goth kids walking around. It was a bunch of middle age people there to enjoy some good music!
MARILYN MANSON WAS AMAZING! I really enjoyed the show and I thought he put on a great performance! We stayed for a little bit of Rob Zombie, but we were exhausted and wanted to make sure we got home before the concert traffic picked up.
I ordered another Lyft to take us home. I’m not sure how but Santa Claus himself in a Mercedes Benz picked us up and took us home! 🎅🚙 Oh yeah, and he was in his pajamas too!
Overall, I am glad we went! It was good to have some time together and we got to experience one of our favorite musicians together for the first time!
