Saturday/Sunday August 13 & 14 - A weekend at Dodie's

Saturday was another tremendously beautiful summer day. My day began pretty early, at around 630AM. Before 9AM rolled around, I had already exercised, walked Sparky, drank 3 cups of coffee (good coffee), emailed, and ran. I also began watering my sun stressed frontlawn, which I continued until I left the house for the day. As mentioned yesterday, my plan was to head down to Randy & Dodie's around 3 or 4 so I had to make sure I had all the right provisions for an afternoon an evening of fun. So, off I went to the local Walmart to stock up on ice, beer, and the ingredients to make my favorite new dessert, chocolate chip cheesecake. I was really looking forward to the trip for a few reasons. First and foremost, It sounded like I was finally going to meet her life-long friend, Vicki whom I had casually spoken to via IM on a number of occasions over the past ten months. Secondly, I simply love their company. And lastly, I love the area. You just wouldn't believe the serenity of the evening and night time sky down there. It's to die for! As usual, I over packed. But the last thing I want to be is without enough provisions to carry me through an entire evening whether that be beer, extra clothes, or sleeping gear. I even took my new tent & sleeping bag just in case I was barred from sleeping in their house :) In my cooler I had a little more than a case of beer and about another 3/4 case of back-up beer, Bud Light. Hey, you can't allow a party to end because there's no more beer! Also, I took my Raspberry Schnapps and Raspberry Vodka (yum-yum). There's nothing like a small shot of Raspberry Schnapps in a Sam Adams when drinking in the hot sun. Try it! For whatever reason ,the drive seemed shorter than before. I did take the aptly named "short cut" this time, and you know what? It's shorter!!! It cuts the drive down to 49.5 miles drive way to drive way. Once I was on 104, it was so eerie as it seemed like I was the only car headed that way. What's more, once I turned onto the "short cut' (Hickory Bend and Westfall) I WAS the only car. What a scary feeling driving out in the country with absolutely no one else around. The drive takes right about an hour give or take. I arrived around 430PM and the the temp was still hovering somewhere around 95 degrees! By now I was ready to drink some beer, play some cornhole, and just be a social animal that I was created to be. I met her friend Vicki as well as her three lovely daughters before any others arrived. Honestly, If I may say, Vicki is even prettier than I had assumed. ;) And her daughters, K-ub-ate, Hannah, and Lauren are equally cute and animated, to say the least. As the sun began to slowly sink in the western sky, some of Dodie's other local friends arrived. I believe their names were: Summer, Andy, Rachel, Sarah, Susan, and Donny. Even the neighbor boy, Josh stopped over when he smelt the meat on the grill! :) As darkness fell upon us, the sky became a little threatening and the winds picked up a bit. You could see some beautiful lightening off in the distance eventhough the stars were fairly thick overhead. Trust me, you don't see stars like that here in the city! We checked the radar and became somewhat convinced that the storms would spare us and they did. Good ol' Randy built a real nice fire and so we spent the rest of the evening soaking it up. In fact, we enjoyed the fire well into the wee hours. All in all, everyone seemed to have a really good time and I got some really great pics! Over the course of the evening I heard some great fireside conversations that I'd like to share. I heard somebody talking about Sarah's boobs, Donny's (Sarah's boyfriend) auto paint job, Rachel's pricey purses, Dodie's weight loss success, Vicki's resemblance to Connie, Randy's fire building skills, and my glowing personality (just joking). I think I got to sleep at around 4AM. Something about me and campfires - they give me stamina! As the morning sunlight found its way through the basement windows, I woke up feelin' pretty darn good - considering. It was about 730AM. The trick was taking two Advil and drinking about a quart of water before falling asleep. Before 15 minutes could pass, I had brushed my teeth and completed my normal routine of push-ups & sit-ups. Yuck! I had smoked a couple cigars the night before so my mouth felt and tasted like - well cheap cigars! By 745 or so, I was out the door for my morning run. I couldn't wait. You see, the country roads make for an extra awesome run. The rolling hills against a rising sun, along with a dog or two barking off in the distance is very relaxing. Throw in a some goats, a few sheep and couple of horses and it just doesn't' get any better!Any remnants from a night of drinking and a shortage of sleep was now forgotten. The run went very well. By the time I was back Randy and the boys were up and around. Travis was playing with his "gameboy" and was at it for at least 2 or 3 hours! In the meantime, Samuel introduced me to his large collection of Pokeman cards. Let's just say he has a lot! Randy graciously agreed to make everyone breakfast (omelets and bacon). Thanks Randy - you're awesome! After eating some food Randy and Travis headed off to mass while the rest of us spent the next couple of hours out by the pool enjoying the energy and imagination of the children (K-ub-ate, Hannah, Lauren, and Samuel). Not for certain exactly what time I finally left but believe that I was home by 3PM. The drive home went fast but it did make me extremely drowsy. The rest of the day was spent napping. I think I took about three naps before finally retiring for the night at around 930PM. Too, I was a bit melancholy because this marked the end of my relaxing summer vacation week. I want to say a special thank you to Randy & Dodie for sharing their home, food, family, and friends! I had a really nice time and it was a perfect ending to a good weeks vacation. In closing, they say that you should learn something new everyday. I learned a few things... there are still a few beautiful women in the world, a new language ( ubby dubby), and that I am the new king of corntoss!