Marriage Well Wishes

For my beautiful youngest sister, her new husband, and their two lovely children:

With warmest wishes for the best in life, as you all look forward to a shared future of love, friendship, and the wonderful closeness that is family.

Congratulations.

Skate

What Cheer

I like places that have interesting names. What Cheer, Iowa would be one of those towns. A quick look at Google and you pop up with Jot 'Em Down, Texas and Bird in Hand, Pennsylvania; West Virginia has a Star Trek theme with Tribble, Vulcan, and Enterprise.

A few more favorites of mine:

Hoop and Holler, Texas

Hoot and Holler Crossing, Texas

Knockemstiff, Ohio

Spunky Puddle, Ohio

Whynot, Mississippi

Ynot, Montana

Neverfail, Tennessee

Hobo Station, Mississippi

Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky

Bat Cave, North Carolina

Half Hell, North Carolina

Little Heaven, Delaware

Tick Bite, North Carolina

Shoofly, North Carolina

Dead Woman Crossing, Oklahoma

Goodnight, Oklahoma

Until next time, may you find your own little crazy town name.

Skate

Broke Down

I did, not the car. It did not take much. I talked myself into stopping before The One even came home. I liked the idea that we would not get tired in the middle of the night while driving. I liked the idea that it would be a small drive in the morning that would be easy to make. She liked that we did not rush getting to where we are going.

We Pricelined a hotel on the way up and landed a Holiday Inn for $50. The room is wonderful and the internet is free. The only problem: resteraunts are not nearby. We had to travel to find a few closed joints before giving up and just going to McDonalds.

Now it is time for bed.

Until tomorrow, sleep well.
Skate

Long Day Behind and Ahead

I tried to get yesterday's post in, but never managed to get a break. I woke up at five to hit the gym; came home to shower and dress for work, then drove to work; work went longer than expected and ended up being late for rehearsal; after rehearsal, The One and I enjoyed a dinner together; by the time we got home it was past ten and the internet was down. It was quite the long day. But it was my last long work day until next Friday. Pardon me while I do a little happy dance.

Today will be a long driving day. The One and I are heading up to Iowa for my youngest sister's wedding. We will be there for until Sunday morning. I have made this drive many times. It is not the most exciting drive as most of it is just up 35. The One is on her way to convincing me that we should break it into two parts and not rush. The idea behind that is we do not have a hotel until tomorrow night and we are projected to get there early morning if we drive straight through.

I have two problems though. One, I do not like making unnecessary stops. If we were to stop in Des Moines we would only be three hours away and that is easily drivable. The second problem is that I do not want to wake up and drive for another half day which is what we would do if we stopped outside of KC. I know of a few places just inside the Iowa border but then I run into the first problem.

I am certain that we will discuss this on the road.

Expect a catch-up post later today while we are out on the road.

Until then, enjoy your days of work.

Skate

What a Trip

A huge thank you to TOD and TOM for having The One and I tag along on a camping trip. It was a load of fun.

The One and I made it out there just after six on Friday. We checked out the camper and the area before supper was ready. The meals that TOD cooked and TOM worked for were amazing the whole trip. They have a nice camper. It can sleep five normal size adults and one large size adult. Taking care of business was an adventure for me that involved one of my legs resting in the shower. I am amazed that I did not break anything in the trailer. I did however on the first night push The One right up into the camper wall while sleeping. After the first night I made an adjustment and I do not think she had any more bumps. I was really pleased with the camper as a whole and think I might get something like it when I retire.

We did a lot of fishing and I caught my first fish there with The One's pole. I was both excited I had caught one and disappointed I did not catch one with my pole. Not too long after though I caught my first fish with my own pole! The One was the fishing champ while were there; overall she had just one less fish than TOM over the course of the trip with TOM getting a three day head start. It must be the pink pole.

I think my favorite thing by far was The Big Dog. The Big Dog is what TOD calls the big spring at the park. The water is frigid. The sign puts the temperature at anywhere between 56 and 60 degrees. It feels a lot colder when you stick your head under the fall. The ritual we performed over and over was to stick your head under the fall and yell "BIG DOG!!!" after you yell you let out a few whoops and barks. I pushed the limit each time we went. The first time I went under and counted to ten. Then the next time I went for twenty. And even further the last time with thirty. Each time I yelled and whooped then counted and then yelled and whooped again. So in actuality I spent about another ten seconds each time.

While we were packing up I started to do the math for how much it would cost to just stay out there. When I retire, between my pension and money saved, I could just live out there. I think that is kind of cool. It might be an idea for retirement when I get there.

Until tomorrow, and even after that, enjoy your day off and think of those that lost their lives for our great country.

Skate

Camping

This weekend should be a lot of fun. I will camping with TOD, TOM, and The One. Lots of fishing, swimming, golfing, and just being lazy planned for this weekend. I look forward to basking in the sun, tossing out a line, and drinking a cold beer for most of the day.

As far as I can recall, this will be my first camping experience. When I was younger I did have a one week outdoors experience but we stayed in a cabin. There were no showers there so it might count. This time round I take a step closer to camping by being in a camper. TOD is overly worried about where I will fit when sleeping. I have two options, and while neither are as large as my king size bed I will manage.

Someone was explaining the golf course that we will be whacking balls at. I will have to remember not to take myself to seriously as the course is no joke. I can foresee a lot of lost balls in my future.

One thing we cannot forget is why we have the long weekend. While you are out camping, at home, work, or just out and about take the time to remember the men and women of our Armed Forces who have given their lives for our country.

Until next time, may you enjoy your weekend.

Skate

Lead Foot

While I follow most laws of road, I will not argue that I do not always obey speed limits. I often treat them as guidelines. An idea if how fast one should go in clear weather. The road rager in me rages when the car in front does not meet what he looks at as a minimum.

I also will not argue the speeding ticket I received today. The young enforcer of the road clocked me at 22 in a 15. His lights twirled just as I entered the new zone and was slowing to meet the new speed. My car does not even register 15; it starts at 20. I will have to figure a way to feel 15.

Luckily, as I was on a complex, it will not cost a thing. It will take one of my six points in the next year.

Until tomorrow, may you slow down and enjoy life.
Skate