iowa! (looks like owa! in spanish)

dubuque iowa is an interesting place.   this particular hilarious sign (see picture at right) is from a store in a town called galena, just outside of dubuque (and outside of iowa too, actually).  maybe it was the sophisticated smorgasbord of colors and shapes present in this picture, taken out of a moving car by the driver of said moving car (me);  or maybe it was the little things hanging down from the oo's on the sign;  whatever it was, i saw this sign and immediately knew that i had to share this with you all!  you're welcome.  :P

so i got to dubuque at like 4 in the afternoon on a saturday and the place was deserted!  all the stores were closed, but you could tell people had been there recently.  it was like a movie...  (except instead of zombies, it turns out that a couple of nearby casinos were the culprit in this case of missing persons).  i ended up walking around town and hanging out in a really nice park, playing some tunes and enjoying the beautiful iowan day!

eliza blue and myself playing a little duet @ monk's

for those of you who missed the chicago post, i had split a show the night before with an awesome songwriter from minnesota named eliza blue.  after the show (actually during the show... it was kinda funny) she invited me to come play tonight in dubuque, and i, of course, said yes!  so here we are in dubuque playing a little venue called monk's kaffe pub.  it was awesome.  the most interesting crowd in the world, perhaps.  i actually had a gentleman, (complete with high socks and a double-fist full of dr. pepper and coffee... at midnight!) discuss the meanings of a couple of my songs with me for a few mintues during the show.  he is an interesting cat, i must say.  in the end though, the sleep always wins over the caffeine, and we bade him goodnight!

overall it was a great show and a nice first visit to dubuque!  the folks that i met were super nice and welcoming, and were very pumped about their town's mission, to bring some arts and culture into northern iowa.  i left at midnight, headed for austin, texas! 

kansas city at sunrise is beautiful, especially after 5 hours of driving :) 

now i'm at the home of my good family friends, Soc and Emily Rosenfeld, here in harker heights, tx.  i am so thankful to have friends like these; people, who have been so kind to me throughout this journey!  tomorrow is the austin show.  soooooo pumped! (...and sleepy...) 

thank you :)

levi