Boat, Golf & Beer

I woke once during the night, I’m thinking near 3am, only to realize/remember that I didn’t have to be up at 530a. That brought a brief feeling of euphoria as I drifted back to sleep. I woke again briefly when Mindy got up, and then for good sometime during her shower. I brushed my teeth and headed downstairs to get my day started. I finished my calisthenics then poured a cup of coffee. I took Frankie out a few minutes later. It was another clear morning with a temperature near 40 degrees. After taking care of Frankie, I took a more leisurely approach to my morning. And why not? I had nothing pressing until bus stop time. Mindy left for school around 730am. And while the kids headed upstairs to finish readying themselves for school, I played on the internet until 755a. Accept on rare occasions, the kids don’t often need me to alert them that it’s time. They typically come on their own. We headed out at 757a where we met Chrissy and kids. We chatted briefly after the bus scooped up the kids. Frankie and I headed back to the house where I enjoyed another cup of coffee and played on the internet. I checked my blackberry for any important work related emails. There were a couple, but I responded to none. I left for my run between 830-9a, and ran the full 4.1 mile track under blue skies and cool temps – really quite lovely. When I returned home I toyed briefly with skipping a shower before taking the boat in for winterization, but ultimately nixed that smelly notion. However, before heading up for shower, I touched up the trim around the tile where I smeared grout residue last spring. It was barely noticeable to anyone other than me, but it was one of those things I think about every couple weeks. I decided to nip it in the bud right then. It took no more than ten minutes, and that included prep and clean-up. I took a shower around 945a and was dressed and ready 15-20 minutes later. I thought I might head to Paul’s early saving myself time later in the day for more yard work. My appointment was set for 1140am, I left the house at 1010a. I arrived at boat storage a few minutes later. It’s not far at all. Just as Ed said on Tuesday, my boat wasn’t blocked in. I hooked her up and headed out. While hooking up, I remembered that my trailer tags expired in September but forgot to bring the new sticker with me. Crap! The question now became, do I head up north with expired tags or make the two mile drive home to get them? And given that I had oodles of time before my appointment, I decided to do the smart thing and drive home to get the sticker. I arrived back at the house by 1035a. I riffled through my recent pile of bills, paperwork and mail where I was certain the sticker was last left. I couldn’t find it anywhere. What I did find was the paperwork the BMV sent reminding me to order new stickers for all three plates (Trooper, BM’er, boat trailer). Now I was on a quest! Where did I put it? I searched in all the logical places but came up empty. Once considerably early, now I found myself pressed for time. I was frustrated beyond belief, and in becoming so, I swore like a drunken sailor. Now, not only would I have to risk getting a ticket, but also purchase another sticker unless it eventually turns up. Ugh! Now 11a, I had to head north for my appointment hoping not to fall under the discriminating eye of a cop. I made it around 270 without incident. Heading north on Rt 23 towards Delaware, wouldn’t you know, I got stopped at every traffic light, and there was an officer pulled over watching traffic go at two of them. Thankfully, I slid under the radar in both cases making it all the way to Paul’s Marine without incident. I pulled in just a couple minutes prior to my scheduled appointment. They were quick as usual. Took about 20-25 minutes. I perused the store while they worked. Because it was such a lovely morning, I strolled around the parking lot during most of the time. I had to fork over $169 when it was all said and done. The price goes up every single year. I passed a couple more officers on my drive back. I knew if I made it back around 270 that I wouldn’t have to worry much about it for 6-7 months. I was safely back at storage with the boat by 1235p. Just as I was pulling out of their lot, Kenny phoned. He asked, first, if I was off work. Yes. He then shared that he was finished for the day and eager to golf. Sounded good to me. I was more than willing to trade an afternoon of yard work for some fun golfing. Said he’d call once at home. I headed home where I made a quick meatloaf sandwich. Up to that point, I hadn’t eaten anything all day. I was hungry. Kenny called back to let me know he was home and to firm our plans. He’d drive down to pick me up in about 10-15 minutes. I used the rest of my time to change clothes, walk Frankie, and then go to the BMV website to see what the process/price is to get a new sticker. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it would be only $4.87 and that included postage. I decided not to do it right then, however, still wanting to look around for the original. Kenny showed up around 130p. Just before heading out the door I sent Mindy a text letting her know that I’d be golfing. We arrived at Phoenix about 15 minutes later. The course wasn’t crowded at all. Maybe 15 cars max. We tee’d off near 2p. It was much windier than I expected, but then again, Phoenix sits up higher than anywhere else in the city. There was no one out in front of us, at least within a few holes. Perfect! I started poorly scoring-wise. Started double, double, bogey, NINE. Ugh! Instead of having fun, I was agitated. Happily, I turned it around after putting together a few pars, but then butchered hole #9 with a four putt eight. The wind actually blew my ball backwards twice. Mindy called at the turn. It was almost 4pm. She asked if we could do Barley’s for dinner. I shared the results of my call earlier with Lindsey. It didn’t go well. I was genuinely concerned for her well being. Mindy shared that she tried calling her too, but she wouldn’t take the call. Thinking about it, I called Mindy back minutes later and asked her to please try again. I started the back playing fairly well, although I missed two birdie putts from less than 12’. I had a handful of pars on the back nine. But like the front, sprinkled amongst them were a couple more treacherous scores. Through 18 holes, I had three eights, a nine, and a seven. That’ll kill any hope of a decent score. Hurting my scoring more than anything was my putting. Just couldn’t get comfortable over the ball today. I can only think of maybe two really bad iron shots all day. And my driving was on the plus side of mediocre. We finished at 530p. Just 1.5 hours to play the back nine. I called Mindy to let her know that I was on my way home. She shared that she was able to get a hold of Lindsey and talk for a while, though Lindsey eventually hung up on her. Nice! We arrived home shortly ahead of 6p, my estimated arrival time. I freshened up ahead of us departing for dinner at Barley’s. I shared my boat sticker mishap too. Mindy found it humorous. By then, I did too. But not so much earlier. We arrived at Barley’s around 630p. The lot was once again quite full. We parked in the gravel lot. Not many tables available near the bar. Two guys were just leaving their barstools leaving four in a row. We took those seats instead. Mindy purposefully sat between Jacob and Bella to help quell any possible bickering.  They had a new beer, Very Special, ESB on the tower. I asked Janet for a sample. At the same time, however, she poured me a Centennial. The VSESB was quite good. Maybe my second beer. I happily drank the Centennial. Mindy, meanwhile, had a Russian. We then ordered food. Bella ordered min-burgers, Jacob and I wings; him Gates of Hell, and me, K.C. Mindy ordered the half-chicken. We actually ordered their hummus plate too but they forgot to bring it. We told them to forget it once the oversight was pointed out. I ordered a full VSESB for my second beer. It was good. Mindy asked if she could have a second beer. I was fine driving having only two regular power beers and eating a full meal. We were there for 90+ minutes too. Jacob was acting up a bit towards the end of our visit. I wasn’t at all pleased with his attitude and told him as much. In fact, I promised to kick his arse if he kept it up. Back home, Jacob took the dog out. It was apparently his turn. Bella never does it when it’s dark. At some point the kids, Frankie and I wrestled playfully on the family room floor. We settled in front of the TV watching the Science Channel, although our preferred programming, shows about the universe, weren’t on. We ended up watching How It’s Made again. I fell asleep early on. I woke to an empty downstairs – everyone already off to bed. I headed up around 1030p only to find getting back to sleep difficult if not impossible. I ended up getting up and heading back downstairs where I played on the internet and watched more Science Channel. I was really disappointed to discover that they were showing repeats already of what we watched earlier. In the back of my mind, I was worrying about Lindsey, too. I finally headed back to bed around 130a.