Wow, it seems like I’ve been gone much longer than a week.  Guess I got my money’s worth.  I spent the better part of my vacation in Branson/Silver Dollar City with my family, including all eleven nieces and nephews.  Actually there were only four little ‘uns, but they were really fast;  Seemed like more.  It was a good get-away, made even better by the choice of lodging.  Mom rented a “cabin” at a place called Stonebridge, about ten minutes from Silver Dollar City.  Ahhhh, camping at it’s finest.  If I had researched it a little better I would have brought a fishing pole, as our cabin backed right up to a stocked lake.  But, it backed up to a nice swimming pool too, so that worked out fine.  Most of our time was spent at the amusement park.  In two days of attendance, the rides I went on included the train.  That was it.  Oh, and the tram from the parking lot.  It was too hot to stand in line for the rides so I just hung out.  I had plenty of amusement watching the kids ride everything, and counting the teeth on the locals.

We got back home on Thursday, and started planning for a nice long weekend in the ‘hood.  When Donette woke up on Friday though, she got it in her head that she absolutely had to be at Kim’s bachelorette party that night… In Cincinnati.  What the heck, she was still packed from the Branson trip, so she threw her suitcase back in the Pilot and headed east.  She was sort of upset about missing Pigfest this year, so she got to hit that also.  Sounded like a good time, although I don’t have all the lurid details yet…  She hasn’t made it back home so far.  Last I heard from her, she was too tired to drive and was holing up in some seedy hotel in Illinois.  I thought I heard another voice in the background, but it was probably the radio.

Left to our own devices, Gabe and I did a whole lot of nothing over the weekend.  Let’s see…  I did some cooking, including a practice brisket that took up the better part of my Saturday.  We went for a few walks.  I had dinner at the Brooksider and Tanner’s.  Mowed the yard.  Went on a short bicycle ride.  You get the idea.  Oh, and I watched “The Fast & The Furious:  Tokyo Drift” three more times, bringing my total to somewhere around 27.  I really need to drop HBO.