My Head Hurts, My Feet Froze...
...and you probably don't want to hear about my feelings towards Jesus.
What a fun weekend I had but I'm still feeling it.
I had an uneventful flight on Friday and Gary was there waiting for me. We headed off to Ogden (technically, Roy) and gabbed a bit at his house before heading to The Horse.
I have been dying to go to The Horse! It's Gary's local club (Utah has those strange drinking laws) and Gary has told me so many stories of his (mis)adventures there, the people who work there and the other club members that I felt like I already knew the place.
Everyone was super friendly and I got to meet the owners and Kelly the bartender and probably another ten people (maybe more). Gary and I hung out at the bar until we went over to join Lori and Gil at their table. I can't use a small world thing on this but, yes, there were people in a bar in Ogden, Utah that I knew. I met them in Key West at Meeting Of The Minds through Rhett.
Speaking of Rhett, this still cracks me up. Gil called him up, talked to him a bit then passed the phone around the table. When it got to me, I chatted with Rhett a bit then said, "I'm going to hang up now unless you want to talk to Gil again."
He said, "Is Gil there?"
I said, "He's the one who called you!"
The next day, btw, Rhett was telling everyone how we drunk dialed him and went on about how wasted we were. Yeah, right, we were wasted.
Somewhere around 11, I suggested to Gary that we head for home before it was unsafe to do so. So, we did and sat around the kitchen table until somewhere around 3 AM. See, since Gary and I are so much alike we have this same philosophy. If someone says, "Should we have one more?" we always say, "Sure!". Put two people like that together and the evening goes on for a very long time.
We were both dragging a bit the next morning and headed out to breakfast which was really lunch because it was nearly noon before we got completely going. After lunch, we went to The Horse of course. It was membership renewal day so the place was jumping. It felt just like Cheers when we walked in because everyone was like, "Hi Gary! Hi Kathy!"
The MBA in me had all these questions about member counts and rules and such and I only got a few of them answered from Mike, the owner. I guess I'll have to save them for my next visit.
We had said we needed to leave by 4 but I knew that wasn't going to happen. Gary's friend, Noel, joined us for a bit and we chatted until after 4:30 which was actually better than I thought we would do.
It was off to Salt Lake City for a small gathering at Shannon's. I had printed out the directions to her house in anticipation of the trip...and left them on Gary's kitchen table. Smart! So, I called the professional driver and Finnegan gave me directions.
Then I called Rhett and found out we needed to pick him up on our way. He gave me directions then wanted to talk to Gary. I guess he didn't think I could follow what he told me. I guess he doesn't know that another thing that Gary and I have in common is our lack of geographical instinct so it didn't matter much which one of us he talked to.
One wrong turn later and a u-turn thanks to Rhett's bad description of the deli next to his house, we had Rhett with us. But that meant we were now following Rhett's advice on how to get to Shannon's. We were actually one street short of following Finnegan's directions but doubted them. As we wandered through neighborhoods, Rhett called Shannon and tried to get her to talk us in. Not very successfully and it was mostly luck that led us to our destination, finally.
I described it as the blind leading the blind leading the deaf and dumb.
We had a lovely evening and headed back to Roy for the night. I made a fatal error and only ate lunch and then about four chips with salsa the whole day. Add in a bunch of Miller Lites and I pretty much slept the entire way home. I'll never learn.
Sunday morning, Gary and I took the scenic route to Park City. We went up through Ogden Canyon which was gorgeous. I was on total critter alert. I saw a dead porcupine in the road, llamas, cows and horses. But, what I was really looking for were the sheeps that Finnegan had promised me I would see. It took until nearly the end of the canyon but then I saw plenty.
After checking into our condo and going to our favorite Albertson's (we know the area so well, now!), we headed to Lewie and Charlotte's and the gang started rolling in. Roger showed up just in time to catch the end of the Packers-Eagles game. He he he. It was so fun watching that with someone from Philly who has an eagle tattooed on his arm.
Here's where the head hurting came in. While I was putting stuff into Gary's trunk at the Albertson's, I conked my head on the trunk lid. Ouch! I mean, really ouch! I tried to play it cool but it hurt like hell.
Back to the rest of the story at Lewie's, it was soon concert time and Kelly McGuire took the stage. Which is actually the patio but it worked. Everyone enjoyed him, even when his mind 'wandered' and he forgot the words to his song. (I've seen Mark Mulligan do that and it isn't always pretty.) As usual, he got tears flowing when he sang Daddies (Daddys?) and Daughters and dedicated it to Lewie and his daughter Ashley.
Shannon put on her jacket before I did so I wasn't the wimpiest one there. Actually, it was pretty nice out and I only wanted my jacket when the sun went behind the clouds.
Kelly took a break and Monkey Boy presented Lewie with a club shirt that we had all signed. Lewie's going to Iraq (he's a Colonel in the Air Force reserves) for a year and they wanted to give him something to remind him of us. It was a neat moment.
Then there was Rhett. He got up and started talking into the microphone about having a guest there from Arizona...blah, blah, blah...cow...blah, blah, blah. I was thinking, "What the hell is he doing?" Then he called me up there and gave me a present (okay, that happens a lot to me) but I was immediately suspicious.
As I pulled out the tissue from the gift bag someone called out, "It's a cow pie!" That made me unwrap it very slowly and, sure enough, that's what it was. Apparently, he'd had one sent to him (!?!?!) to give to me. He told me that he was done making cow comments and I told him, "It's not over."
I'm looking forward to his next move.
Some of us went out for a late dinner after Kelly was done. No surprise, Kelly chatted up the cute waitress at dinner and I told everyone the story about Kelly chasing young Tracy around San Carlos. Which he denied. It was all in good fun.
Gary, Rhett, Finnegan and I headed to the condo where Rhett promptly fell asleep on the loveseat while the three of us sat on the most uncomfortable sofa couch ever. At least the middle cushion where I sat was the most uncomfortable. We all finally decided to call it a night and moved Rhett to the couch. I guess we should have opened it up but it was easier to just move him but we did get him a pillow and a blanket. Because we're all givers.
I whined about my head wound (mentioned that it was possibly a concussion or a skull fracture) several times. Many times. Finnegan finally told me, "You'll live." Probably in the vain hope that I would shut up about it. Didn't work.
Lewie was picking me up at 7:15 and driving me, Kelly and himself to the airport. I was dreading having to get up early and I woke up at 3, 4 and 5 to check the clock. Ugh. I tried to be somewhat quiet in getting ready but everyone was up anyway.
We joked that Lewie time meant he was going to come get me earlier than the decided upon time. (As opposed to Finnegan time which would have had him picking me up at 9). He was pretty close to on time though and Rhett and Mike walked me out to wait for him.
I was dressed for a day at work in Phoenix - capris and sandals but at least I had my Jimmie Johnson jacket on. Finnegan's concession to the cold? He put on a vest but he was still in shorts and flip flops. At least Rhett had on flannel pants and a sweatshirt so I didn't feel too wimpy.
The frozen feet part of the story now comes into play. I could see my breath and there was frost on the grass and on the cars. My poor exposed toes were chilled through to the bone. No way I'm back up there until spring!
I saw one more critter on the way to the airport - a dead deer on the highway. Aww.
I was asleep on the plane before it even took off and went straight into work after landing. It was a very long day and I was crashed out at 10 which is hours earlier than my usual bedtime. I was still dragging today.
Of course, being me, I've got something booked every day until Tuesday of next week. Guess I'll catch up on my rest then.
What a fun weekend I had but I'm still feeling it.
I had an uneventful flight on Friday and Gary was there waiting for me. We headed off to Ogden (technically, Roy) and gabbed a bit at his house before heading to The Horse.
I have been dying to go to The Horse! It's Gary's local club (Utah has those strange drinking laws) and Gary has told me so many stories of his (mis)adventures there, the people who work there and the other club members that I felt like I already knew the place.
The Horse of Course!
It wasn't quite how I pictured it, though. I had in mind a little bar on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere (like in Wisconsin). The Horse was in a strip mall right in town. The inside, however, lived up to my expectations. Really dark and cozy but nice.Everyone was super friendly and I got to meet the owners and Kelly the bartender and probably another ten people (maybe more). Gary and I hung out at the bar until we went over to join Lori and Gil at their table. I can't use a small world thing on this but, yes, there were people in a bar in Ogden, Utah that I knew. I met them in Key West at Meeting Of The Minds through Rhett.
Speaking of Rhett, this still cracks me up. Gil called him up, talked to him a bit then passed the phone around the table. When it got to me, I chatted with Rhett a bit then said, "I'm going to hang up now unless you want to talk to Gil again."
He said, "Is Gil there?"
I said, "He's the one who called you!"
The next day, btw, Rhett was telling everyone how we drunk dialed him and went on about how wasted we were. Yeah, right, we were wasted.
Somewhere around 11, I suggested to Gary that we head for home before it was unsafe to do so. So, we did and sat around the kitchen table until somewhere around 3 AM. See, since Gary and I are so much alike we have this same philosophy. If someone says, "Should we have one more?" we always say, "Sure!". Put two people like that together and the evening goes on for a very long time.
We were both dragging a bit the next morning and headed out to breakfast which was really lunch because it was nearly noon before we got completely going. After lunch, we went to The Horse of course. It was membership renewal day so the place was jumping. It felt just like Cheers when we walked in because everyone was like, "Hi Gary! Hi Kathy!"
The MBA in me had all these questions about member counts and rules and such and I only got a few of them answered from Mike, the owner. I guess I'll have to save them for my next visit.
We had said we needed to leave by 4 but I knew that wasn't going to happen. Gary's friend, Noel, joined us for a bit and we chatted until after 4:30 which was actually better than I thought we would do.
It was off to Salt Lake City for a small gathering at Shannon's. I had printed out the directions to her house in anticipation of the trip...and left them on Gary's kitchen table. Smart! So, I called the professional driver and Finnegan gave me directions.
Then I called Rhett and found out we needed to pick him up on our way. He gave me directions then wanted to talk to Gary. I guess he didn't think I could follow what he told me. I guess he doesn't know that another thing that Gary and I have in common is our lack of geographical instinct so it didn't matter much which one of us he talked to.
One wrong turn later and a u-turn thanks to Rhett's bad description of the deli next to his house, we had Rhett with us. But that meant we were now following Rhett's advice on how to get to Shannon's. We were actually one street short of following Finnegan's directions but doubted them. As we wandered through neighborhoods, Rhett called Shannon and tried to get her to talk us in. Not very successfully and it was mostly luck that led us to our destination, finally.
I described it as the blind leading the blind leading the deaf and dumb.
Blinding Monkey Boy during the shirt signing.
We had a lovely evening and headed back to Roy for the night. I made a fatal error and only ate lunch and then about four chips with salsa the whole day. Add in a bunch of Miller Lites and I pretty much slept the entire way home. I'll never learn.
The Devil's Slide in Ogden Canyon.
Sunday morning, Gary and I took the scenic route to Park City. We went up through Ogden Canyon which was gorgeous. I was on total critter alert. I saw a dead porcupine in the road, llamas, cows and horses. But, what I was really looking for were the sheeps that Finnegan had promised me I would see. It took until nearly the end of the canyon but then I saw plenty.
After checking into our condo and going to our favorite Albertson's (we know the area so well, now!), we headed to Lewie and Charlotte's and the gang started rolling in. Roger showed up just in time to catch the end of the Packers-Eagles game. He he he. It was so fun watching that with someone from Philly who has an eagle tattooed on his arm.
Here's where the head hurting came in. While I was putting stuff into Gary's trunk at the Albertson's, I conked my head on the trunk lid. Ouch! I mean, really ouch! I tried to play it cool but it hurt like hell.
Kelly McGuire performing for the crowd.
Back to the rest of the story at Lewie's, it was soon concert time and Kelly McGuire took the stage. Which is actually the patio but it worked. Everyone enjoyed him, even when his mind 'wandered' and he forgot the words to his song. (I've seen Mark Mulligan do that and it isn't always pretty.) As usual, he got tears flowing when he sang Daddies (Daddys?) and Daughters and dedicated it to Lewie and his daughter Ashley.
Shannon put on her jacket before I did so I wasn't the wimpiest one there. Actually, it was pretty nice out and I only wanted my jacket when the sun went behind the clouds.
Monkey Boy giving Lewie his shirt.
Kelly took a break and Monkey Boy presented Lewie with a club shirt that we had all signed. Lewie's going to Iraq (he's a Colonel in the Air Force reserves) for a year and they wanted to give him something to remind him of us. It was a neat moment.
Then there was Rhett. He got up and started talking into the microphone about having a guest there from Arizona...blah, blah, blah...cow...blah, blah, blah. I was thinking, "What the hell is he doing?" Then he called me up there and gave me a present (okay, that happens a lot to me) but I was immediately suspicious.
As I pulled out the tissue from the gift bag someone called out, "It's a cow pie!" That made me unwrap it very slowly and, sure enough, that's what it was. Apparently, he'd had one sent to him (!?!?!) to give to me. He told me that he was done making cow comments and I told him, "It's not over."
I'm looking forward to his next move.
Some of us went out for a late dinner after Kelly was done. No surprise, Kelly chatted up the cute waitress at dinner and I told everyone the story about Kelly chasing young Tracy around San Carlos. Which he denied. It was all in good fun.
Gary, Rhett, Finnegan and I headed to the condo where Rhett promptly fell asleep on the loveseat while the three of us sat on the most uncomfortable sofa couch ever. At least the middle cushion where I sat was the most uncomfortable. We all finally decided to call it a night and moved Rhett to the couch. I guess we should have opened it up but it was easier to just move him but we did get him a pillow and a blanket. Because we're all givers.
I whined about my head wound (mentioned that it was possibly a concussion or a skull fracture) several times. Many times. Finnegan finally told me, "You'll live." Probably in the vain hope that I would shut up about it. Didn't work.
Lewie was picking me up at 7:15 and driving me, Kelly and himself to the airport. I was dreading having to get up early and I woke up at 3, 4 and 5 to check the clock. Ugh. I tried to be somewhat quiet in getting ready but everyone was up anyway.
We joked that Lewie time meant he was going to come get me earlier than the decided upon time. (As opposed to Finnegan time which would have had him picking me up at 9). He was pretty close to on time though and Rhett and Mike walked me out to wait for him.
I was dressed for a day at work in Phoenix - capris and sandals but at least I had my Jimmie Johnson jacket on. Finnegan's concession to the cold? He put on a vest but he was still in shorts and flip flops. At least Rhett had on flannel pants and a sweatshirt so I didn't feel too wimpy.
The frozen feet part of the story now comes into play. I could see my breath and there was frost on the grass and on the cars. My poor exposed toes were chilled through to the bone. No way I'm back up there until spring!
I saw one more critter on the way to the airport - a dead deer on the highway. Aww.
I was asleep on the plane before it even took off and went straight into work after landing. It was a very long day and I was crashed out at 10 which is hours earlier than my usual bedtime. I was still dragging today.
Of course, being me, I've got something booked every day until Tuesday of next week. Guess I'll catch up on my rest then.
