Natalee Fuller

Waldo @ KC Rockfest 2012

2012-05-19T00:32:43Z

I had to drive 482 miles to find him!

All the way to the Kansas City Rockfest 2012! CS and I made a helluva road trip for the nation's largest one day concert. The line up was too enticing to pass up. Some bands we've seen a few times and a few I've been dying to hear live. The concert kicked off at 12pm, but we weren't interested in the first few bands so we grabbed some lunch at Johnny's Tavern.

I immediately experienced deja vu as this was the same restaurant I was at after the 44 mile death run from last year. Crazy coincidence. We popped in because it was the most convenient place for us to be at in the Power and Light district.

First band up for us was Rev Theory. Since we'd seen them before, we decided to start in the back to gauge the mass of 55,000 people we were with. But they had huge big screens and speakers everywhere to project the sound. The stage is way back in the horizon. You can see a guys shoulder and guitar cutoff on the far right side above the red hat in this photo.

They had set up 2 stages in the park and alternated bands on them. When one stage wasn't playing, the big screens and speakers were blaring the active stage's music. So you didn't have to leave your area if you didn't want to. Cavo was up on the side stage. We didn't know them, so we didn't move over, but moved up for a band I've been waiting for, Theory of a Deadman!

I know lots of hard core rock fans think they are "the new Nickelback", but I enjoyed them. And this random shot I got trying to take a pic over the crowd.

I hope she had fun. Next on the back stage, Trivium. I wasn't interested in them, but to honor B, I went to check them out.

Observation: Matt likes to spit when he sings and stick out his tongue. Strangely, as I drove through Broadripple tonight, Trivium is playing at the Vogue! During the next set (Chevelle) the electrical went out on the main stage. We were walking around taking in the scenes at this point. But the crowd was not happy until Johnny Dare started to bring up girls for an impromptu hooters contest. It really wasn't even a contest. He'd grab 1 girl. The crowd would count to 4, the girl would raise her shirt, shake, put shirt down, and the crowd would chuck beads at her. Classy.

Next on the main stage was Slash. I didn't care about his music. Wasn't a big Guns N Roses fan. But cool to see him since I feel like he's probably an 80s legend. Or something.

Volbeat was up on the back stage. I like their music, but their stage presence (that came across on the screen) sucked.

There was 1 tall building next to the park, where this dude showed up randomly on top 30+ floors up.

I bet that was an awesome view! The last band I really wanted to see was up next, Five Finger Death Punch.

With this band, the crowd was getting fiesty. The event warned this was not a place for kids, but some fabulous adults decided to bring theirs anyway. Ivan didn't appreciate the kids in the mosh pit and called for each of them to be helped over the fence to the stage.

We were treated to a killer drum solo that included an rising stage. I enjoyed their set the most of all! Becoming a bigger fan of them over the last few months. Now a solid favorite of mine.

Final band on the back stage was Hellyeah. They drew quite the crowd!

Shinedown was the headliner. CS and I had seen them twice already but were still looking forward to the show. Unfortunately the overwhelming stench of 54,998 people smoking and drunk juveniles was too much to take after a long day on our feet. We left during the Shinedown set to find this in the truck parked next to us...

Even though we left, we found a prime spot for the Fireworks!!!

My favorite pic of the day...

It was a one-and-done. Don't need to go back to this unless they make a non-smoking area or put in a VIP section. It was well worth the distance even though my lungs need a month to recoop.

Where's Waldo?

2012-05-15T01:23:46Z

Can you guess where I found Waldo?

Mini 2012

2012-05-10T23:39:18Z

The 3 C's and me lined up to take part in the 2012 Mini Marathon!

Can't believe it was my 11th (in a row) and Mom's 5th! We were warned all week about the heat. Email after email. They up'd the number of water stations, spray stations, etc. It was a hot one, but we were still prepared with an umbrella just in case. Momma always needs a little food during the race so this year I opted to carry a banana in my shirt, not in my pocket.

The 3 ladies making strides at the yard of bricks!

My walk-mates didn't care to kiss the bricks, but I had to. Still think its pretty cool to be able to do that. It was pretty hot at this point, so I started pouring water down Mom's back. By the end of the race, we were all 2-fisted with cups of water pouring it on ourselves. I've heard reports that they had a record number of participants get treated for heat exhaustion. Regardless, I was really pushing Mom to try for 3:30, 3:31 a PR. My Garmin was acting up the night before, so I had to rely on a $5 digital CVS watch to keep pace. Not easy. With 3 miles to go, I started in "Let's go woman! Let's PR!" Mom's response "You're not the boss of me!" The crowd around us seemed to enjoy our banter so I stated "I am today Mother, let's get moving!" We ended up a little short at 3:34. We are one year older, and only 1 minute slower than last year. We'll take it!

Lovely Brightroom photo of me. Took me some time to figure out why this guy was in my group of pictures.

Afterward, we hung around my company's post-party tent to find Mr. Shorter there! Had to have Mom get a signature and a photo op.

Pedicures and garden shopping wrapped up our wonderful day together! Will we be back next year?!

TWR 2012

2012-05-10T00:47:48Z

I swear I didn't walk the Talk Walk Run, but this pic sure looks like I did.

2nd in my age group and no prize. It poured 5 minutes after I finished. Most of the field got drenched.

Movie Review: Rescue 3D

2012-05-07T01:37:56Z

The movie's own website says it best:

Rescue plunges audiences into the hard, but inspiring work of saving lives in the face of a natural disaster. Behind the scenes, the film follows a Canadian naval commander, two pilots, and a volunteer rescue technician as they train for action. When an earthquake strikes Haiti, creating one of the biggest humanitarian disasters of the century, the audience is swept along, joining with the massive effort that brings military and civilian responders and hardware from around the world. Rescue is a journey of real-world disaster and emergency response captured (in 3D) with unprecedented scale and impact for the giant screen.

The film was pretty good. Very interesting about the concrete structures and how they have no reinforcement inside so everything just crumbled when this disaster happened. Enjoyed the view from each volunteers own role in the rescue effort.

Olympic Star

2012-05-04T18:01:53Z

I just missed meeting this guy last year, so today, when I went to packet pickup, he was my first stop! Meet Frank Shorter!

Cool part about this is he won the very first Indianapolis Mini Marathon back in 1977!

Earth Day 2012

2012-05-03T01:27:13Z

Headed over to this year's Earth Day Festival to check out the newest free swag around. We were right on time this year and with the shitty weather, the vendors were happy to have people to talk to. Check it out...

Scored a lot of cool stuff. Plenty of reusable bags to add to my collection. Some cool coasters, water bottles, turtle tattoos, light bulbs, even a tomato plant seed with soil and a pot! What I wasn't expecting to score was so many new mascot photos!

Bolty the IPL Lightening bolt

Random Turtle in the animal & kids tent

Radon Bee

This poor little kid in an grown up costume slipped by me til my fellow fest-mates pointed out the shorty.

Holy Moley from the Call Before You Dig campaigns

And finally, a recycled mascot from 2010, but it was worth another shot to show off how well we two girls have aged!

Back in 2010

I call it a day well spent celebrating ways to the save the great planet we live on! I am proud to report I lived up to my 2010 pledges and I do recycle! I can't believe how little trash I actually put out on the curb now.

Taste Test

2012-04-30T23:32:12Z

Really?

A Day At The Derby

2012-04-27T04:01:19Z

Since the Thunder Over Louisville kicks off the Kentucky Derby count down, we figured it'd be a perfect fit to head over to Churchill Downs for some more culture.

They have a museum attached to the race track filled with all sorts of interactive games and trivia. To get in, you went through the gate which helped me understand what the horse-helper-guys stand on after the horses take off.

Good thing I wore my "riding" boots because I had a horse to race! My competition didn't stand a chance!

The rest of the gang got in on it too!

With the museum admission, you get a walking tour of Churchill Downs. That was a surprise to me! Pretty cool to actually get to step foot there since I may never on the real day. The Mini Marathon is always on that weekend.

The famous Twin Spires...

Official Finish line pole...

Our tour wouldn't be complete without a stop at the gift shop. Who doesn't need a $139 hat?!

Thunderstruck

2012-04-26T03:49:55Z

Thanks to my Dad, I got to experience some really cool events in a new city this past weekend, Thunder Over Louisville. He and Mom had been to it before, but missed last year due to the weather. He and I had been watching the radar 2 weeks and decided even though it would be a bit chilly, we would bare the elements to make some great memories. First stop, the world's biggest baseball bat.

CS and I tried to get it in the trunk, but no luck.

Next we made our way down to the Ohio River where the air show was taking place.

Starting at 3 pm til 9:30, dozens of different planes graced the skies performing extraordinary maneuvers, tactics, and tricks to entertain the crowd. F22s, AV-8B Harrier, Bombers old and new. My favorite part was seeing the current version of a fighter plane flying next to the 1950s version. Quite a difference.

2 copters were playing tag along the bridge.

In between fly-bys, we sat under I-64 trying to shield ourselves from the brisk breeze that would pop up. Mom was her usual motherly self, looking out for all of our welfare by getting cardboard to sit on to take the chill off the concrete. I found it more fun to call her homeless each time she came back with more boxes. I still have no idea where she found this stuff. Here she is in her "home".

Me and the AV-8B Harrier. This thing was sweet! It faked me out during the video as I thought it was just going to keep flying horiztonal when I lost it behind the tower. It had stopped and was hovering doing 360 circles barely moving off it's pivot point.

Then we got to see what we really came for. One of the best firework shows in all the lands!!!

I don't have enough words to describe how awesome this was! They synchronized 2 shows on both sides of the bridge and had the bridge lit up with fireworks AND cannons?! It was AWESOMENESS! I will be back. And again. And again. The pictures don't do it justice. Neither did my Flip Mino, but I tried to capture some live action from the day. For your boredom pleasure,

The Harrier

More of the Airshow

Pre-fireworks

Fireworks

Work For The Cure

2012-04-25T01:41:58Z

Usually I Race For The Cure, but this year I worked at it. My charity was in need of a chairman for our event table, so I stepped up and took the early morning duty. A few of my helpers...

It was cold. I wasn't expecting that. Plus my shoes got wet from the dew on the grass. By the end of the day, I was shivering. But we got our job done, the word out about our charity and bonus... a photo op with this guy!

Tiger Karate! Hee-ya!

Movie Review: Tornado Alley

2012-04-17T23:43:56Z

Made a recent trip to the Indiana State Museum to catch an IMAX 3D movie since it had been awhile.

Basically, its a movie about Sean Casey's (guy from Storm Chasers) journey to capture film from inside a tornado. I was super excited to have trees, cars, houses, etc. thrown at me. Or so I thought. The parts of the movie that were in 3D were mainly about the equipment used to chase the tornadoes to gather data. Boring. The storms were pretty cool on the large IMAX screen. The TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle) was bad ass. They showed some devastation from past tornadoes, but it really showcased the team of people that storm chase and their equipment. The movie ends with Sean getting his shot from inside but sums it up with fairly uninspiring words. "I waited 8 years for that 1 minute." Fail. I give it...

Avalanche Tour

2012-04-11T11:23:34Z

We need to get more concerts in this city!! I had a blast at the Avalanche Tour this week! First up was New Medicine.

Not a great picture but I missed most of their set. Wasn't sure who they were anyway. I guess they are getting some play on Octane. Will have to check them out now.

Next up, Adelitas Way!

Lead singer was a BIG dude. Didn't expect that. I was also surprised at how much of the vocals one of the guitarist had. He sang lots of the chorus. I really like their stuff and got to hear my favorite Invincible!

Final band, Shinedown!

CS and I saw Shinedown back in 2010 doing an acoustic set in the theatre, so seeing them in the Egyptian room with all the fanfare was a much different experience. Got to hear my fav of their's too, Devour!

Boiler Cetlics

2012-04-10T12:25:42Z

CS treated me to a night out to see 2 of my fellow Boilers "playing" in the NBA. E'twaun and JJ!

Granted they didn't get any playing time, but it was still cool to see those guys next to each other at the next level of the game. I was confident they would have gotten in once the lead was 15, but it never got there.

Low key game, not much to report. Boomer did something I'd never seen before at a Pacer game. They harnessed him up on the floor and pulled him all the way up to the roof with a "GET LOUD" sign unrolling behind him.

But the most exciting part of the game was meeting Sizzle...

... and Shaker!

Rabbit

2012-04-09T21:46:26Z

True test of the tailbone last Saturday. I participated in a 12 hour Rogaine Adventure Race. My team was comprised of what will/would be my 30 hour teammates in a few weeks. We thought it'd be good to practice together prior to the event. I missed out on the biking/orienteering session last week, so I was ready to get out there. Until I read this in the info packet.

Meth Lab? Interesting. The course was in Owen Putnam state forest. Never been there before. There were 40 checkpoints to get in this race. Since I am not the best map reader, I let my teammates plot a course for us. Plus I had to get back to town early, so they made a plan to do a medium size loop to get me back to the start by 4pm. We got 1 giant topography map with all the points on it. We started in the green circle below. I tried to show where some of the checkpoints (controls) are too.

We needed to stay inside the bold lines or face certain death by one of the locals. They don't like you on their private property. You also get a clue sheet to help you "locate" the kites in the forest. The rest is up to you and your compass.

As my teammates orienteer-ed us to the different spots, I served as my team's rabbit. They would get us to the location of the control, then we'd all look around trying to find it. Whenever it was found, I would run to it and punch our passport proving that we had successfully found it. I needed to contribute somehow!

I even found my own Powerline! Luckily, I didn't have to run up and down it.

At the end of the day, we were out for about 6.5 hours going about 17 miles getting 20 checkpoints! My GPS didn't register a single lap while I was out there. Dammit. I really wanted to see the Google map because we got quite confused a few times and had to backtrack. Good news was, the tailbone held up fine and was not even sore the next day. Until I rode my bike.