So far, my vacation has been the best vacation ever.
On Friday evening, redmed got home around five. We packed up suitcases, counted cats to be sure that we hadn’t locked them on the porch or something, ate a bowl of the best gazpacho ever, packed homebrew and fresh tomatoes as host-gifts, and hit the road. We drove down to PA, only missing two turns, and wound up at brother-in-law’s house around midnight:30. D and M wanted to stay up chatting, but at around 1:30 we turned into pumpkins (okay, redmed just decided to fall asleep where she was, and I used her as an excuse).
Saturday, I woke up early like I usually do while traveling. Doug and I went on a wild goose chase of a drive, looking for a clean tuxedo shirt that he could wear at his performance that evening, since he had somehow managed to destroy the old one. Once we got back, we went on a wild goose chase with redmed and Michelle to the Philadelphia Zoo. After 3 hours in traffic, we gave up and went for a nice lunch instead.
Saturday evening, we went to see Doug in Sweet Charity, a musical. It was fun and excellent in that community theatre sort of way. ctmzeus would understand. redmed‘s parents came down for the show. Afterwards, we got food from the food bar at Giant, and ate it on the back porch of Doug’s place.
Sunday, we drove down to Buckingham county VA to hang out with my parents and brother. They have turned the “fixer upper, bring a paintbrush” nightmare from 30 years ago into a freakin’ estate. They’ve started throwing on touches like a wrought iron gate, with carved pieces of slate with the family crest mounted on the posts. My dad assembled an Amish built gazebo for meditation, and his garden is once again something to behold. There were swarms of hummingbirds flitting around the feeders, and the new kitten was amazingly cute jumping around and exploring. I guess I’m saying that they seem to be doing really well. We sat up watching for the perseid meteor showers, and saw one decent sized fireball.
sacredangle is doing quite well, and has grown a freakish mass of beard on his chin. By “freakish,” I mean “what the hell! He’s 19! I’m 31! How is it that he can grow a beard and I can’t?” Oh yeah, I also mean “red.”
Yesterday, we continued driving south, and got to Topsail Island around 4pm. The house is in great shape, the water is warm, the weather is perfect, and so on. Blah blah, idyllic, blah blah. Scallops for dinner.
So, to summarize:
* I’m on vacation with redmed
* Everywhere I go, there are crowds of family with piles of presents for my birthday, wishing me well.
* We have been accumulating these presents in the car, in anticipation of a party on Friday
* After said party, we are *totally* going to the opening of Snakes on a Plane.
* The weather is perfect
I think, without exaggeration, that this week so far has been one of the best weeks of my entire life.
In totally random news:
* Ani DiFranco is coming to Providence on Nov. 11. I already have tickets. Anyone who wants to come with is more than welcome to pre-stage at our house, ride with us, and sleep over afterwards.
* I have just ordered a copy of Successful Wine Making At Home (ISBN: 0-668-00681-X) solely because as I flipped through it at my parent’s house, I found a recipe for “Carrot Whiskey.” Oh yes, we will be making the root-vegetable hooch. I plan to use, just like it says in the book, a “Polyethylene Pail.” Accept no substitutions.
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