If my memory serves me, I didn’t rise until nearly 745am Saturday morning. And just as promised, the sky was gray and it was raining. Too, the temperature was hovering somewhere around 45 degrees, which wasn’t as chilly as I had expected. I was just a little groggy for having had a few beers at Barleys the night prior. Nothing I wouldn’t shake off after a walk with Sparky and a couple of cups of coffee, though.
After several cups of coffee and spending an hour or so updating my webpage, I was off on my morning run. Unfortunately, I failed to turn the dryer on in an effort to dry out my running attire from the day before. They weren’t that wet, but they were certainly a little damp to the touch. However, rather than dirty another set, I toughed it out and went with the damp stuff. I would have them sweaty and wet in a matter of minutes anyhow! Gross? After completing my run I became fixated on the day ahead. I had a handful of things I wanted to accomplish but none more pressing than getting my boat winterized at Paul’s Marine and then placing it in winter storage.
It’s almost ridiculous how often it’s cold and rainy when I take my boat to be winterized. Today was no exception. Before dragging the boat all the way up north I wanted to ensure that it would start, given that I've had a few probelms getting it to start the last few times out. So, I took my garden hose and water muff with me to my dad’s to pick up the boat. It was now drizzling pretty steadily. Despite the inclement weather, I was able to get the boat attached and started just fine. Just before heading out I decided to wrap on the door to see if dad had any interest in joining me. To my surprise, he was excited about the opportunity to go along. He had apparently tried going up there a week or so ago to look at some boating accessories only to find it closed! Bummer! It’s about a 25 mile drive.
I was excited to have someone to talk with for the lengthy trip on such an otherwise gloomy day. We made it up there in what seemed like no time at all. Because I had left my house early, giving myself time to run into any unexpected difficulties, yet having none, we were there an hour early. We were there at noon and my appointment wasn’t until 1pm. It wasn’t that big of a deal, though. We simply gave the keys to the gentleman behind the desk and began looking around at new boats and boating accessories while waiting. Of course it was a Buckeye Saturday and that meant football! Lucky for me, they had a couple of televisions available for customers to view the game, so I took full advantage. In addition, I gave Mindy a call to see how her day was progressing. She was at school lesson planning for the week ahead (good Mindy), and she was planning to be over at my house sometime around 5pm. This was her free day, so she had several hours available to do whatever floated her boat. I encouraged her to do something extra special and just for her. She was torn between shopping (go figure), or going hiking at Darby/Metro park. Given that the weather was still pretty crappy, I was sure that she’d opt for the shopping. I later learned that she did the hiking thing! Cool!! She must have prayed really hard too, because the sky miraculously began to clear sometime around 130-200pm, and by 300pm it was actually sunny! That was totally unexpected! I was sure that Tommy was going to appreciate this too!
After winterizing the boat, dad and I stopped at Walmart on 23N to pick up a few things. I wanted to look at Halloween costumes and he wanted to pick up something to drink (soda) for later tonight at Tommy’s party. I ended up buying a costume, pumpkins, Mike’s Hard Lime-aid, and some candles. After leaving Walmart we headed directly for the boat storage facility, Lee’s RV’s on Scioto Darby Rd. I stored the boat there when I owned it previously, some seven or eight years ago. They have made some significant improvements to the overall facility and they’ve also increased the price. :) Still, it makes good sense to keep it stowed away, safe and sound in a secure facility. After dropping the boat and completing the associated paper we were on our way to lunch. We decided on El Vaquero, a local authentic Mexican favorite! Today was even better than I expected too. Not only did they have new flat panel televisions tuned to the Buckeye game, but they had a new extra hot salsa to go along with their outstanding chips. Their new chunky salsa was much like my own homemade stuff, although theirs had a bit more cilantro. I liked that. If you’ve never been there but you like Mexican, you’ve got to try this place. We were out of there by about 330pm or so. I had only to drop my dad at home and I would be officially done with my running around for the day. That felt great! As I said earlier, Mindy was planning to be at my house by 5pm and I still had a number of incidental tasks yet to complete, like walking Sparky, vacuuming, making brownies, and taking a shower. I managed to get everything done as planned.
Mindy was a little behind and called to tell me so. She didn’t arrived until about 530pm. I had thought that we’d leave for Tommy’s party sometime around 630pm but by the time we were in costumes and done prepping everything, it was 700pm. No worries. As usual, it was like packing for a small trip: cooler, side dishes, camera, gym bag full of costume paraphernalia, and other miscellaneous items. We arrived at Tommy’s sometime around 730pm. To our surprise, we were still early compared to others, and aside from brother Glenn, no other family members had shown yet. I introduced Mindy to Tommy, as Glenn had already met her. We made ourselves comfortable by the fire and helped ourselves to some food, which there was plenty of. It wasn’t long before there were about 50 people there. About half of them were friends of Kayman and Kelsie as one might expect. It wasn’t long before my dad and Sheila arrived along with brother Shawn and his children. About that same time karaoke was getting fired up, and there was no shortage of participants. I must say, Tommy and Shellie had a beautiful set up and the crystal clear autumn sky lent itself to a really good time. It was just a great setting for a Halloween party. Poor Mindy had to be freezing in her “Evil Pixie” costume. Thank God for the bonfire. It was exceptionally hot, and as long as we hovered close by, she was fine. Later into the evening, however, she went for her coat. It was like being outside in a swim suit in 45 degree temps!
While we were having fun, Mindy and I wanted to share some time together alone, so we left Tommy’s fairly early - around 10pm. By the time we were back at my house and settled in, it was 1130pm. We built a fire, hot tubbed, and talked for an hour or two before falling asleep. It was a long but fun day!
If my memory serves me, I didn’t rise until nearly 745am Saturday morning. And just as promised, the sky was gray and it was raining. Too, the temperature was hovering somewhere around 45 degrees, which wasn’t as chilly as I had expected. I was just a little groggy for having had a few beers at Barleys the night prior. Nothing I wouldn’t shake off after a walk with Sparky and a couple of cups of coffee, though.
After several cups of coffee and spending an hour or so updating my webpage, I was off on my morning run. Unfortunately, I failed to turn the dryer on in an effort to dry out my running attire from the day before. They weren’t that wet, but they were certainly a little damp to the touch. However, rather than dirty another set, I toughed it out and went with the damp stuff. I would have them sweaty and wet in a matter of minutes anyhow! Gross? After completing my run I became fixated on the day ahead. I had a handful of things I wanted to accomplish but none more pressing than getting my boat winterized at Paul’s Marine and then placing it in winter storage.
It’s almost ridiculous how often it’s cold and rainy when I take my boat to be winterized. Today was no exception. Before dragging the boat all the way up north I wanted to ensure that it would start, given that I've had a few probelms getting it to start the last few times out. So, I took my garden hose and water muff with me to my dad’s to pick up the boat. It was now drizzling pretty steadily. Despite the inclement weather, I was able to get the boat attached and started just fine. Just before heading out I decided to wrap on the door to see if dad had any interest in joining me. To my surprise, he was excited about the opportunity to go along. He had apparently tried going up there a week or so ago to look at some boating accessories only to find it closed! Bummer! It’s about a 25 mile drive.
I was excited to have someone to talk with for the lengthy trip on such an otherwise gloomy day. We made it up there in what seemed like no time at all. Because I had left my house early, giving myself time to run into any unexpected difficulties, yet having none, we were there an hour early. We were there at noon and my appointment wasn’t until 1pm. It wasn’t that big of a deal, though. We simply gave the keys to the gentleman behind the desk and began looking around at new boats and boating accessories while waiting. Of course it was a Buckeye Saturday and that meant football! Lucky for me, they had a couple of televisions available for customers to view the game, so I took full advantage. In addition, I gave Mindy a call to see how her day was progressing. She was at school lesson planning for the week ahead (good Mindy), and she was planning to be over at my house sometime around 5pm. This was her free day, so she had several hours available to do whatever floated her boat. I encouraged her to do something extra special and just for her. She was torn between shopping (go figure), or going hiking at Darby/Metro park. Given that the weather was still pretty crappy, I was sure that she’d opt for the shopping. I later learned that she did the hiking thing! Cool!! She must have prayed really hard too, because the sky miraculously began to clear sometime around 130-200pm, and by 300pm it was actually sunny! That was totally unexpected! I was sure that Tommy was going to appreciate this too!
After winterizing the boat, dad and I stopped at Walmart on 23N to pick up a few things. I wanted to look at Halloween costumes and he wanted to pick up something to drink (soda) for later tonight at Tommy’s party. I ended up buying a costume, pumpkins, Mike’s Hard Lime-aid, and some candles. After leaving Walmart we headed directly for the boat storage facility, Lee’s RV’s on Scioto Darby Rd. I stored the boat there when I owned it previously, some seven or eight years ago. They have made some significant improvements to the overall facility and they’ve also increased the price. :) Still, it makes good sense to keep it stowed away, safe and sound in a secure facility. After dropping the boat and completing the associated paper we were on our way to lunch. We decided on El Vaquero, a local authentic Mexican favorite! Today was even better than I expected too. Not only did they have new flat panel televisions tuned to the Buckeye game, but they had a new extra hot salsa to go along with their outstanding chips. Their new chunky salsa was much like my own homemade stuff, although theirs had a bit more cilantro. I liked that. If you’ve never been there but you like Mexican, you’ve got to try this place. We were out of there by about 330pm or so. I had only to drop my dad at home and I would be officially done with my running around for the day. That felt great! As I said earlier, Mindy was planning to be at my house by 5pm and I still had a number of incidental tasks yet to complete, like walking Sparky, vacuuming, making brownies, and taking a shower. I managed to get everything done as planned.
Mindy was a little behind and called to tell me so. She didn’t arrived until about 530pm. I had thought that we’d leave for Tommy’s party sometime around 630pm but by the time we were in costumes and done prepping everything, it was 700pm. No worries. As usual, it was like packing for a small trip: cooler, side dishes, camera, gym bag full of costume paraphernalia, and other miscellaneous items. We arrived at Tommy’s sometime around 730pm. To our surprise, we were still early compared to others, and aside from brother Glenn, no other family members had shown yet. I introduced Mindy to Tommy, as Glenn had already met her. We made ourselves comfortable by the fire and helped ourselves to some food, which there was plenty of. It wasn’t long before there were about 50 people there. About half of them were friends of Kayman and Kelsie as one might expect. It wasn’t long before my dad and Sheila arrived along with brother Shawn and his children. About that same time karaoke was getting fired up, and there was no shortage of participants. I must say, Tommy and Shellie had a beautiful set up and the crystal clear autumn sky lent itself to a really good time. It was just a great setting for a Halloween party. Poor Mindy had to be freezing in her “Evil Pixie” costume. Thank God for the bonfire. It was exceptionally hot, and as long as we hovered close by, she was fine. Later into the evening, however, she went for her coat. It was like being outside in a swim suit in 45 degree temps!
While we were having fun, Mindy and I wanted to share some time together alone, so we left Tommy’s fairly early - around 10pm. By the time we were back at my house and settled in, it was 1130pm. We built a fire, hot tubbed, and talked for an hour or two before falling asleep. It was a long but fun day!
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