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Monday, March 21, 2011

A long weekend off….

Spent the weekend at Possum Kingdom State Park, almost two hours west of Ft Worth. Man, I’ve been looking forward to this…just a cabin (with a/c….I’m enjoying pleasures like that more as the years go on), family and friends.


Starting out on Thursday we have a child to take care of. Unfortunately the camp won’t accept pets in the cabins (but they will take them in the tent/trailer slots) Elmer has to go boarding. I don’t think he’ll mind Man’s Best Friend. He spent two weeks there for doggie boot camp. And he seems to be getting better with riding now. First time he rode in the truck and I was taking him to Man’s Best Friend for evaluation he threw up all over their paperwork…not a great start.

Having recently become a step-father I get to enjoy the time with my new family over a six hour ride in the middle of nowhere. Now the oldest Katie, who has a fantastic signing voice is talking…and talking….and talking…she wants to stop and get something to eat, not because she’s hungry but because she is bored. She is shocked, shocked that I am not inclined to stop. But I do entertain her with my sing alone to Bob Seger. I really get into Turn the Page and Roll Me Away but the fun really starts with Night Movesand Katy gives her critic’s opinion. It’s really a classic of music here and you will get a good laugh by listening to the exchange.

I’ll be the first to admit I can’t carry a tune in a paper bag but it was really fun when Beth and Adele joined in….

After arriving we get set up and we really lucked out. The three cabins were along the lake and cabin three (the children’s cabin with the two twin beds) was right between the adults place. With a great view.
Beth and my cabin as seen from the lake



Our friends Scott, Teri and Mandy join us a little late on Thursday.
We did find this antique...an honest bear can pull tab...gotta be 20 years old

Friday we get to do …nothing. We walk around the camp, Beth and I catch up on books and the teenage girl/almost teenager girls do whatever the hell they do. But it’s great to just sit back and not have to get up. After a late wakeup, Scott and I get the fatherly pleasure of waking up the children…as we get longer in the tooth we get more easily amused. After a later breakfast and a run into the only signs of civilization (Granger TX, 34 miles away but does have a Super Wal-Mart!) out here for stuff we’d forgotten we’re back in. The girls go off on a hike and the adults…sit and drink beer and wine. Catch up on the adventures at work, fix a late lunch for the exhausted kids (that unfortunately didn’t last long) and keep drinking and talking.

Followed by a later dinner (hamburgers on Friday during Lent…oh well, I guess we go to Hell when this is all finished…), followed by more talking, more non-musical singing concurrent with more beer and wine, cigars and more talking and we die out about 1100PM.

Saturday is a bit of a disappointment. They will not rent canoes or boats because the wind is too high but we (the adults) go on a hike with the children. This is not exactly Rockies but for flatlanders like us it’s an adventure. Going around we meet a nice family who are good enough to take a picture of the group. After an hour to go a little over a mile we return to a late lunch, more beer and wine and another round of talk.
Scott let me help you up...Teri how much he worth dead?
Beth and Adele with me behind them.  Scott behind me, Mandy to his right and Teri next to Mandy.

No Teri don't jump!
A man secure in his sexuality


Saturday was Beth’s 44th birthday and fortunately she now has an adult someone to insure she has a great one. Thank you Teri for all your help because God knows this Alzheimer's is kicking my ass early. Teri texted me last week “Mike you get a cake…I’ll get one…” She also got the balloons and other trinkets. Now one thing was really touching. Beth is using prescriptions to kick her smoking habit and Teri and Scott want to make sure she doesn’t change one habit (cigarettes) for another (alcohol). So they have a great new glass for Beth and told her she has to limit herself to one glass a day!


Sunday started off a bit slower than we had hoped. Scott contracted a bug (we think the flu) and he needed to sleep a bit later than we planned. So we being the concerned friends bought him some drugs…antihistamine for Scott’s bug and Midol because Scott is Scott…hey, he’d do it for me.

After a late departure and later breakfast at Waffle House (Not the one run by Speaker Boehner but the original with real good and greasy food) we continue on, hoping to find home…we need to get home. I can only take so much of Katy and Adele screaming and Beth is ready to go postal…and unfortunately the only weapon here is my off duty piece and I don’t want to write that letter.



A great weekend….we will come back at some time.

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