Each year I get two weeks of vacation. A couple weeks ago I used one of them. In normal fashion, Amanda and I made the 12 hour drive up to Indiana to spend the week with friends and family. It was a good time; a nice relaxing week.
The week started out on Sunday with the high school graduation of my nephew Nick. It was so weird being back at East Noble. We grilled out that evening and had a bonfire. It can't be a trip home without having an evening bonfire. The week flew by, but we got in pretty much everything we wanted to do. I got to hang out with Justin and Steph a couple times and see their great new house. We went up to Amish-land and got some good food at the flea market. Mainly I got to relax and spend time with family.
The week was capped off by a trip to the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. My parents got us tickets to a show on Friday night called "Divas Las Vegas." I didn't pay that much attention when I heard we were going... I just figured it was your normal Vegas singing and dancing show. Just before going in I realized that it was actually a show where men dressed up as famous women singers, and lip-synced their songs while prancing around in all their drag-queen glory. Best of all, we were in the front row. It was quite an experience that I will not soon forget. I can't say I was a big fan of the show. I am not super keen on watching anybody lip sync, whether it is a dude dressed up as a lady or not. We spent the rest of the evening gambling in the casino, which translated into losing money. My dad actually won $250 on a slot machine. I never seem to be lucky, but it's not like I gamble very often.
We headed back home on Saturday for my nieces tenth birthday. This occasion was just another reminder of how old I am. We usually miss her birthday, so it was really nice to be there for it. Saturday afternoon and evening we soaked in the last moments of spending time with family, and packed everything up to leave the next morning.
The drive back to Arkansas is usually pretty brutal. For some reason it seems to take so much longer than the trip north. We got an early start, and everything went pretty smoothly this time. We made it back home around 6:15. I don't even remember what I did the rest of that evening, but I am pretty sure I went to be early.
Monday it was back to work. It is always tough to return to work after you have been out for any amount of time, especially an entire week. All of the relaxation and calmness I had built up during my week off was gone by Monday afternoon, and I was left to wait for the coming weekend. Now that Saturday is here it is tough for me to get motivated to do much of anything. I knew it was going to be hot, so I woke up early and took the dogs for a walk. By 8am it was already over 80 degrees and quite muggy. We didn't stay out for long. I have been cleaning, doing laundry, and finally unpacking the suitcase that has been sitting in the bedroom all week.
I considered riding my bike this afternoon, but I stepped outside and changed my mind. It is 90 now, and the air feels heavy and wet. I think I will just stay in the AC. I hate the heat of the summer. The US Open is on this weekend, and it is at Pebble Beach this year. It makes me remember our trip to the Monterrey Peninsula, and how perfect the weather was there. Someday if I become rich I might have to build a vacation home next to Pebble. Then I can play golf all morning, and drive into Carmel to have some awesome chicken picatta at the Hog's Breath Inn.
