Nebraska ... the good life!

Today was our longest driving day so far - 370 miles - plus a concert in the evening in Norfolk, NE. We got a reasonably early start which meant that Ryan dug into his emergency case of Starbucks "doubleshot" espresso drinks. None of us Claremonters drinks coffee on a regular basis. Even though I like the taste of good coffee I find it makes me jittery and I avoid it especially on concert days. Also, with a 6 hour drive ahead, who wants to feel really awake?

Around lunch time we decided to seek out a non-chain restaurant and drove a little ways into the town of Walnut, IA - "Iowa's Antique City" - in search of Aunt B's Restaurant and a little bit of local color. We were rewarded with a cozy place and a great waitress who convinced Aunt B to make us pancakes and eggs even though it was 1pm! She asked about our instruments (my cello in particular makes quite an impression in a small restaurant) and we told her about our tour. She was excited to tell people that she had served famous musicians in her restaurant.


After all that time in the car it took a little while to warm up in rehearsal but we got into the swing of things and worked out some trouble spots from last night's performance. This was our third concert day in a row, which is very unusual for us, and it took a real effort of concentration to reenact the drama and discovery in this music. However, in playing this program over and over we have a rare chance to experiment individually and as a group, to try new things, take risks, and push the envelope.