Remembering the road, day 21
Remembering the road, day 21
Day 21
This morning we slept in without having to worry about making a tour time, making miles, checking out, or anything else. After some oatmeal and cartoons, my brother and I played some tennis. Even though the temp is some 30 degrees less than it was in Vegas, this air is saturated with water... lots of water. It didn't take long for me to tire and Mark complained of a heavy feeling in his legs. In the end, he squeaked by 6-2.
As we headed to the car, he handed me the keys and asked me to get him a paper on the way back, as he was going to jog home. I love my brother, but there are times when I want to kneecap him, and that was one of them... but I was too tired. So, I drove back and picked up his paper, and he bought me some Gatorade. By the time I pulled up to his house and glanced at the paper, I heard him call out to me. Argh! I got back at him, though, by blowing my nose on the t-shirt I borrowed from him, then I borrowed a nice Eddie Bauer shirt of his that I might "forget" to give back...
After reading the paper, he and I drove over to some friends of his who weren't home and used their pool.
Jane made us lunch and then she, Cyn, and I drove up to my parent's place in Kent. It's been so long since I've driven in this area that I forgot how to get there. I zoomed right past the exit I should have taken and instead found myself near Cleveland's airport, a good 40 minutes away. After absorbing some abuse from my passengers, I turned around and quickly made up for lost time and ground.
Along the way, we saw several vans that carry the hot air balloons we saw the previous night driving down the highway. I don't know... could they just fly to where they need to go? Maybe they're going against the wind... Which reminds me, I saw that Steve Fossett finally completed his nonstop around-the-world balloon flight. Thank God! Not that I cared so much about his flight, but I was just sick of hearing about it.
One of my other brothers, Steve, was staying with my parents for the holiday and it was good to see him, as it's been years since we last saw each other. My mom made a number of delicious dishes and had some friends over... it was good to eat a home-cooked meal for a change... the first in nearly three weeks. Even though I wasn't really hungry, I couldn't resist the food and found myself eating on a full stomach.
Then I took advantage of some high-speed Internet and got caught up on the news. As I headed off to bed, I heard fireworks going off and remembered that it is the Fourth of July, which explains why it's so frickin' hot. I feel like a dumpling sitting here with several fans pushing around hot, humid, heavy air. I don't know if I'll fall asleep or just black out from the oppressive air, but either way I should be getting some rest.
As for our dog, he was happy to see us after all this time, but he's a bit confused. Besides being a tad freaked out by the fireworks, he's not sure where to go. He keeps coming into our room and looking around, then he follows my mom to her room where he's been sleeping for the last three weeks, then trotting downstairs to where Cynthia is watching TV, then back to my room to restart the cycle. Hopefully when Cynthia finally decides it's bedtime, he'll settle.
Finally I fell asleep only to be awoken moments later when a gnat flew in my mouth. As I coughed it out, another flew in my eye.