Vacation Rehash

Okay, I really meant to update the blog every day during our trip. However, by the time we hit the hotel, all I could do was brush my teeth and fall into bed. Besides, Brendan was hogging the laptop.

We, well, I at least, had a great time. My friends Sheryl seems like she has the life she always wanted, minus the horse riding accident. Her son Tim was friendly and put up with us for two days, taking the boys to play paintball and touring Idaho Falls without the adults. We went hiking in several parks and sightseeing all around the area.

Sheryl still has her affinity for oddballs, like me. Her dog has a severe hip problem that causes him great difficulty walking. Her horse, Lady, threw her last November and she has great affection for her. I got the feeling her affection for the horse is not shared by the rest of the family.

It was funny, though, that while we talked a lot about us, we spent most of the time discussing us and our mothers! Sheryl always knew my mother was a bit off balance, but I never realized the full extent of her issues with her mother. It was nice to find out we had more in common in that arena than I ever knew.

We spent tons of ours in the car and did not murder each other, which I think is a good result. Jeff and I enjoyed the Crazy Horse memorial more than Mt. Rushmore, but the boys seemed less than impressed by either. Devon has had enough scenery to last a lifetime of family vacations, but it was good idea that we stopped at Mall of America. It was the perfect commercial antidote to all that natural beauty.

Still, we all couldn't wait to get back home to our little old house in the 'burbs. As Sean said, it was still standing and the police had not been called in our absence. Ah, life is good.

And, if I had a hot tub in the back yard, life would be perfect.

Wagons, Ho!

We are on our way on our next adventure. Jeff, Brendan, Devon and I are driving in the minivan to Idaho Falls to visit my best friend from high school, Sheryl. We only had to turn around once to get something we forgot to pack. Devon thought he had left his sunglasses in the house, but they were hidden in the car. So far the worst traffic delays were in Southfield on I696. We arrived in Davenport, IA, at 11:30 pm, 10:30 pm local time. We crossed the Mississippi at night, so the boys didn't really get to go "ooh" and "ahh" at the sight. I am sure they will do that tomorrow, though. Brendan was a little under the weather on the trip so far because he received more immunizations this week for his trip to India. He said it was the meningitis shot that did him in. A little Dayquil, though, and he perked right up. Tomorrow we plan to drive through Iowa and Nebraska and part of Wyoming. That's a lot of time quality time in the car. Good thing we have plenty of electronic gadgets to keep people occupied. I wonder how the pioneers did this without laptops, cell phones, and MP3 players.