The AFL - No not That AFL the Other AFL

At the Britush Club - poolside and feeling no pain

A Giant Rat - oh it's a Joey

8am and champagne - oh what a day

The Venue

With Meat Pies

Hi All,

Saturday, 3 Oct. 2009
( my friends Chris and Susanna had their baby boy - Taavi - last night - saw Chris this morning - he's bouncing around )
The Australian Football League That AFL

Last weekend my pal Ross invited me to join him at The British Club otherwise know as "The Club" to watch the Grand Final of the AFL. The Geelong Cats and St. Kilda Saints played a extremely close match with the Geelong Cats winning in the last 5 minutes 80 to 68.

Some of you may have seen this game on an obscure TV station at 2a when you couldn't sleep. You would recognize it by the large oval field , the two tall w/ two shorter goal posts at both ends of the oval. The players use a ball like an over inflated football and must either run, or hand pass - hand pass is when the ball is bumped from underneath to their fellow player or kick the ball to their team mate. - There are 18 player per side. You can liken the game to the American playground game of - "Kill the Guy with the Ball". There is no padding and it's brutal. Scores are made when the ball is kicked thru the goals - 6 points between the tall and 1 point between the short goals.

Ross and I took a taxi into town as we knew we wouldn't be in any shape to drive back and arrived about 730a. The game didn't start until 9a local time- something like 3p in Australia. Along with the ticket came a breakfast buffet where they had pork bacon. Remember this is a private club which caters to the Brits/Aussies and their ilk. Along with the bacon, meat pies, baked beans ( very traditional English breakfast item) eggs/fruit/ pancakes etc. and naturally, a cash bar.

Well Ross and I got some food and since he was my host, I offered to buy the first round - well he said he was interested in some champagne - OK - well I think he thought he could buy a glass of champagne where it was only available by the bottle. Regardless, I splurged and wiped out having to reimburse him for the entry ticket. So there we are drinking champagne at 8a and getting "ready" for the match. After the champagne, we moved to beer. I was drinking Stella Atois out of big Stella logo glasses and Ross was into the Heineken.

The game is four 25 minute quarters - plenty of drinking time. Well after the game and the Cup presentation , we hung around talking to our table mates and I learned that one of the couples was in the process of moving to Sas Al Nakal - our villa compound. Since they were breaking down the room for another party, we had to leave. Instead of going home to sleep off our morning, which would have been the right thing to do, we moved over to the pool area and hooked up with a Brit who is working for the Abu Dhabi police - retired after 32 years with Scotland Yard - and was acting in a consultancy roll for them. We talked for almost 2 hours - of course enjoying more beer. Well as the day progressed , Ross who is 1/2 my size was getting sloshed and I wasn't feeling any pain either. We darnk a little more at another bar and at the end I was guiding Ross down the road to the gate house where we picked up a taxi for home. I saw Ross a few days later and he told me it took him 3 days to get back into a normal mode. I wasn't the sharpest tack the next day but managed to function well. All in all we had a wonderful day, was lots of fun and I'd do it again - but with less beer for Ross.
Ross did take a few photos and when I get them, I'll put them up.
If you ever do see this crazy game on TV do give it a watch as it is awfully exciting.

Cheers Mate

Scott

What a Trip - Part 4

The Mayor of White Cloud

Christine ready for our date at "The Boat" Isn't she stunning?

Sam and his niece.

Future Heart Breaker

Another Chosen Family pose.

Hi All,
Tuesday 29 Sept. 2009

(One year ago today I lost my job at Floyd Memorial)

Let's see I left off ending Monday, Labor Day, with a wonderful meal at "The Boat"
Thanks again Linda.

Next morning Christine heads off to work and I had a full day planned. I had lost my goggles about a month earlier forgetting them at the pool so I was using a pair that are meant for indoor or night swimming. The brilliance of sun when swimming backstroke makes swimming painful and closing the eyes and swimming is not recommended so I went in search of my preferred brand. ( TYR Socket Rockets) - well Dicks Sporting Goods didn't have them so it was necessary to drive over to the far side of Louisville to a dedicated swim shop. I stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond and bought Christine a new coffee maker as ours had developed a hole in the water heating element. I also stopped at Lowe's Hardware and picked up a new flagpole. Ours had broken about a year ago and although repaired, had a bend in it where it was just a matter of time before it snapped again. I came back home and then cut the grass, installed the new flag pole and got the coffee maker on the counter so Christine could open her new appliance. I then got cleaned up and headed over to Louisville where I stopped and saw Vickie as I was to drop off some pictures of Rick that would be used for the collage at the funeral home. Julie was there also so after we chatted, I took Julie to her house as I was headed that way. From there it was to the swim shop where I got the goggles and was out the door in 5 minutes. I had arranged to meet Kevin at a new Beer pub in town that he had told me had 1000 beers. I was intrigued. I called him as I was leaving the swim shop and we arrived within 15 min. of one another. We sampled 3 or was it 4 beers and enjoyed catching up with one another. Kevin also made good on his promise to burn me some CD's of his play lists. Well let me tell you , they are a god send here in the UAE where quality music is as rare as a freshwater pond. And like a pond , the music is an oasis for me. - Thanks Again Kevin.
Now I may be confusing my days here as this may have been Wednesday's itinerary. But never the less , all these things did occur.
I was also able to cut down a tree for Christine and haul it into the woods and dig out the ash heap of burn pile and dispose of it also. The recyclables got taken to the recycle center - and Geez we drank a lot of beer. The back of Wes's pick up was LOADED with the separated glass. - The smell of stale beer permeated the truck bed and then - as per on cue, down my leg as I was emptying one of the containers in to the bin. - El Stinko .
I also visited RichO's - my most favorite beer pub and quaffed down some quality beer. I met my close friends from Floyd Memorial there on Thursday evening along with Christine and sister Ann and enjoyed getting caught up on all the Floyd news. Was great seeing them all. Christine and I also went to the Bank Street Brewery and had an excellently prepared meal. The Bank Street is the new brewery for RichO's and the menu is completely different than RichO's.
With Rick's passing we visited the funeral home on Thursday ( before RichO's) and said our final goodbyes to a dear friend and then on Friday attended the funeral and burial. Beautiful day and the graveside Flag Ceremony carried out by the Marine Corp Honor Guard had me and everyone else in tears. Truly a touching sight to see a huge Gunny Sargent get down on one knee and present the flag in the name of the President of the United States to Cathy.

Unfortunately Christine could not attend the grave site services as she left after the church service to collect Wes for their trip to PA for a wedding. Needless to say our parting moments were not as they should have been. Following the grave site service Tom took me to his house where he changed then took me to the airport so I could start my long journey back to the UAE. The return trip was uneventful - except that if you go through Heathrow in London - try not to - it's MASSIVE and it takes literally an HOUR + or more just to navigate between terminals and security checkpoints etc. It's insane. Luckily I had plenty of lay over time that I was able to enjoy a few more of the excellent British beers. S(so what if it was 8am.) I wasn't alone in the bar - in fact there was a line to get in! I got back to Abu Dhabi and since I had only carry on , I quickly exited the terminal after going thru customs and was home by 8:30p local time. I was up in plenty of time to get to work the next day and at about noon - I hit the wall. Struggled thru till the 2p quiting time ( Ramadan hours still in effect) and went home to crash. Took me a few days to get straighten out . BUT I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Well that ends the "What a Trip" series . Hope you enjoyed my ramblings. Next post I'll talk about my most recent weekend and my experience with the AFL.

Love to all,
Scott

What A Trip - Part 3

Christine and Ann making plans for who knows what.

Dave entertaining us on Sunday as we dodged the raindrops.

Jim - one half the Stink Eye BBQ team.

Bob - the other half of the team. - house in background is his Dad's which was flooded out last year- water was up to the bottom of the swing. House is completey gutted and has new plumbing, wiring, new windows and lots more work to go.

Drew - The Louisville Chicken King and one heck of a good friend.

Hi All,
Wed. 23 Sept. 2009

If you are reading this first, stop now and go to Part 1 and read forward.

Let's see, I left off with surprising Rick and Cathy. Well by this time, the beer tasting needed to get into full swing as there were many people hovering around the sampling tent waiting for the starting gun to go off. Our method of testing is to have 36 different beers iced up and ready to go and to just forge ahead - we tried to do sampling of styles of beer at one time but frankly it became unmanageable and as the sampling went on, the ability to focus became harder and harder.

I pull a bottle from the rack, announce it's name and style then the pouring begins. Everyone has a mini beer glass into which I pour a small sample of the beer - from there it is tasted and then we try to critique the beer , likes/dislikes, would I drink it again and where can I get a whole bottle of this liquid gold? Alas some beers are tasted and spat out. (some deservedly so) some just because the style is not to the persons' liking.
Well after about 18 beers , the tasting is in full frenzy and the head is feeling it - so I handed off the duties to Tim and took a breather - I can tell you that this was the last time I visited the sampling tent as I just got caught up with visiting everyone.
One of my visits was over to the Stink Eye BBQ tent.
Yes we have a team of professional BBQ'ers who make the pilgrimage each year from Indianapolis. Bob's parents owned the house two doors down from Ann and Dave and he is in the slow process of rebuilding after last years flood. Bob and Jim come down, this year with 2 smokers and cooked pork shoulders on day 1 then beef briskets on day 2. Bob and Jim also bottle and sell their BBQ sauce. (I took home a case) it's delicious and the meat was cooked to perfection falling off the bone and melting in your mouth.
We also have Louisville's Chicken King - Drew Patterson there with the Broaster Chicken trailer. Drew keeps the best fried chicken flowing to the food tent along with potato wedges and every ones favorite - deep fried mushrooms. - You MUST be there when they come out or they are gone in seconds. So with all this wonderful meat and the plethora of dishes brought by those in attendance, we feast, and eat and consume until we can't eat any more. We then loosen our belts and squeeze in just a few more treats from the desert tent. Needless to say, if you left hungry it was your own fault.
I must not forget to mention that while all this is happening we are being infused with wonderful live music. Ann and Dave's next door neighbor, Gary, a musician in his own right, invites his friends and all other comers to a massive day long jam session on his front porch. He has it wired for sound and the music is enjoyed through out the Beer Fest site without becoming over bearing. Sitting and listening to them play is so relaxing and many a sing-a-long's occur through out the day.
Well as you may have guessed, This is a marvelous day where the food and beer is good and plentiful. As the sun starts to dip over the horizon, Ann lit all the strategically placed candles and Tiki lamps giving the party a wonderful glow. I on the other hand was glowing as well. The beer started to catch up with me and I had a hard time navigating - OK I was stumbling - but with direction. Hours passed and I found myself sitting in the drivers seat of our van with Christine saying to me she'd been looking for me for 45 minutes. I was in no shape to drive - didn't even consider it - (OK I passed out - I admit it - I'm a lightweight) Christine maneuvers me over to the passenger seat and the next thing I know I'm in our bedroom being told to go to sleep. (no problem there)
Amazingly, the next morning comes with me feeling pretty good with only a very slight hangover. I'm not sure about the rest of the people who slept at our house that evening but I was in good shape. (now the real story is that I woke at 5a still feeling quite drunk, made coffee, went back to bed and didn't crawl out until 11a feeling so much better) As the guests awoke Christine had coffee ready and everyone gathered on the front porch to take in the morning and prepare for day 2 of the Beer Fest.
Day 2 is always low key with only about 20 people in attendance max. We get more of a chance to visit with each other and to sample more beers. All told there were 125 different beers registered this year and even a few home brews on top of that. Unfortunately Sunday's weather was in and out of clouds all day with a few intermittent showers thrown it. This however did not deter the proceedings and Day 2 was enjoyed as well. I was careful to not consume as heavily and made it through the day without stumbling. HAHA

Next morning , we got Alex and Michael out the door at 5a on their way back to Annapolis, my Dad left at about 7a for Pittsburgh and Ann was gone by 9a returning to Indianapolis.
That night it rained hard and a few of the tents met their demise when too much water accumulated in the top.

As is tradition, Christine and I help break down the Beer Fest - returning all the chairs, tables and tents to their respective storage areas. Since we are strong proponents of recycling, Christine separates out all the beer bottles by color and gets them ready to be taken to the recycling center. Trash is picked and in general everything is put away until next year. We would have had more help but we got a wake up call at 5:30a that morning that Rick had passed away so Ann along with Drew and Vicky had gone to be with Cathy. We understood completely. So with Sam and Dave's help, we got the area squared away in about 4 hours.
That evening, Christine and I met Linda at the Horseshoe Casino ( formally known as Ceasers and called "The Boat" for short) for a wonderful meal at Jack Binons Steakhouse - their #1 restaurant. Linda always treats us so well and we certainly enjoy using her comps.
We had met early for dinner and were home in good time to relax and for me an early bed time as I was running on empty after a hard weekend.

I'm coming into the home stretch of my visit and for all this time, Christine didn't have to work. But she was scheduled for the next three days. Linda offered to give her some time off, but I insisted that she work as I had some running around to do and plenty of chores to accomplish while home and I referred to do these by myself. With that, I will end Part 3 and post some more pictures. Part 4 is yet to come so be watching for it.
Love Scott

What a Trip - Part 2

Our front porch and morning coffee haven- Relaxation Central

The Chosen Family

My wonderful son Wes. He makes me awfully proud to be his father.

My younger son Alex and his friend Mike Brown - Both Naval Academy "Firsties" or seniors graduating in May 2010.

Me - obviously enjoying myself at the beer tasting tent

Hi All,

3p Thursday 17 September 2009

If you have not read part one - stop now and go to it below then come back to this post.

I left off that I had surprised Ann and Dave. That was my arrival night, Thursday 3 Sept. Naturally I was exhausted from the long flight and I had barely closed my eyes - in my own bed- when I was fast asleep. Christine had Friday off so we took our good time getting up and had coffee on the front porch. My it was wonderful and soooooo relaxing. GG our dog was right at my feet and had actually jumped up on the bed that morning and kissed me awake - she was just as happy to have me home as I was to be home. Christine and I enjoyed our coffee and made up out to-do list for the day which included helping Dave and Ann get the final touches of the beer Fest set up. Chairs/tables out and washed, food prep along with last minute beer buying etc.

We got cleaned up and went down to Ozzie's where Christine works and surprised Linda. For weeks Christine had been fretting over where everyone would be sleeping in the house. We ended up with 3 less than she thought in the end - but she had been complaining to Linda about where she'd put everybody. She walks in ahead of me and starts to complain about another person needs a place to sleep and where was she going to put him - Well Linda goes into comfort mode and Poor Christine blah blah. I slip around the door asking "Where was I going to sleep?" Well she SCREAMED when she saw me so much she even scared Christine and the other employee. It was a joyous occasion. (I must be able to make woman scream - is that a good or bad thing? ) ( I guess it would be better if they were screaming out my name during you know what HAHAHA)

Well we visit for a while but it was off to do our chores. We then headed down to Ann and Dave's and put in a long day getting the Fest ready. Poor Dave worked with a bum knee and was limping around all day - I could empathise with him like no one else could. We left there mid afternoon and returned home to clean up and get ready for the rest of the day. During this time, Christine had been keeping tabs of Alex's trip back from Annapolis with his friend Mike Brown as they were coming for Beer Fest as well. We knew he was due in around midnight. For the life of me , I don't remember where or what or if we ate that evening for dinner - but I do know we returned to Ann and Dave's with more beer and we started the Beer Fest a day early with some marvelous selections of craft beers. We got home later that evening and the jet lag was kicking in so I went to bed.

At midnight - almost on the dot, Alex and Mike arrived. Christine gets out of bed and greets them. Christine tells Alex she needs him in the bedroom and just as he enters the room , she flips on the light - now he sees a figure stirring under the sheets and I rise up and throw the cover back saying Hi Son ! Alex Screams - Clasps his head with both hands in wonderment and then literally leaps on top of me yelling Dad ! Dad ! He gave me some huge hugs and kisses and is just incredulous that I had returned. He was so surprised and happy. Poor Mike is standing there not knowing how to act. It was a wonderful moment and I can still see it.

The next morning is Beer Fest Day with last minute cooking to accomplish. My sister Ann and Dad are to arrive about noon. They get there in separate cars as Dad was coming from Chicago and then going to Pittsburgh after the party. Christine gets Ann to the bedroom and I'm hiding in the bathroom - She tells Ann to go turn on the light and she'd be right in . Well Ann turns the corner and ( yes you guessed it ) she screams too then hops up and down just screaming like her name was just called on "The Price is Right" and she got to "Come On Down."

Well Dad being hard of hearing - doesn't hear the commotion at all. He's in the living room talking to Christine, Alex and Mike. Ann joins them and I slide up and just stand beside him and with my hand on his shoulder. He casually looks at me then realizes what he is seeing - OO OO OO - was all he could say - we embrace and it was great to have my Dad back home. SO now everyone is properly surprised and we get our last minute stuff together and head on down to the Beer Fest to surprise the rest of the Chosen Family. I say Chosen Family as it is a saying that Drew coined - we are born into families and we have no choice on who they are -but we choose our friends and they are our Chosen Family. Well put Drew.

Well the same routine is hide in the van - get them distracted with other things and I slide up to surprise. They got Drew and Vickie cornered and engaged in a conversation and I came from around the food tent and Dad told me Vickie said - " Am I seeing a ghost? " well of course she wasn't and she leaps into my arms while Drew is just standing there and laughing on how they got fooled. Our friend Gary was inside cutting potatoes for the fryer and Sam set him up. I came in and Gary just dang near killed me with his bear hugs and smiles. We had a good time just laughing and it was off to get a beer in to my hands and to watch for the arrival of other Chosen Family members.

I was helping Tim - our conspiracy theory friend from Tennessee set up the Beer Tasting station when we decided it was time to take a break and go for a walk to the Point. This is where the original road between Louisville and St. Louis passes over the now demolished Blue River bridge.( this is such an old road that the next location on the road is know as Stage Stop - so you can figure how old this road actually is) On the way back, We learn that Tom and Julie had arrived and Christine was escorting Julie out to the Point to find the rest of the crew. Well I hid behind Tim and she sees everyone then says - "Who's That" I step out from behind Tim saying "Who Do You Think It Is" and her reactions was " Noooo Noooo" she just couldn't believe it. Everyone kept telling me that they enjoyed being in on the secret and then watching for the reactions of those being surprised. Well we move off to find Tom and he's over by the beer tasting tent and I sneak up on him. He looks at me and then looks twice and then embraces me as well. He doesn't give a big whoop or much reaction - just OK Scott's here so we can get the party started and where's the beer ! My Kind of Guy. Beer first.

The next of the Chosen Family to arrive is Kevin and Lisa. I'm hiding in the food tent and Lisa is on her way to it with a big tray in her hands - I tell Alex to go rescue the tray before it lands on the ground and he takes it from her and walks into the tent with it. She follows to help get it out of the container. Alex sets it down and slides back, I slide in and I say let me help you - she's still looking down and she says- No that's OK , I repeat my offer and she looks up at me and literally looses it. Screams, hugs and kisses flowed. She screaming -Oh My God, Oh My God (OK getting close to women screaming out my name - Note to self - change name from Scott to God) Kevin of course has been clued in by now so his surprise was not the same. As I leave Lisa to see Kevin, Lisa says Kevin will probably think I saw a snake or something. The first words out of Kevin's mouth were "I thought she saw a snake"- Too Funny.

Well the last people to be surprised are Rick and Cathy. Unfortunately this is not a happy moment for anyone as Rick had just learned 3 weeks earlier that he was in stage 4 of pancreatic cancer. His health was deteriorating rapidly and we all knew this would be Rick's last Beer Fest. Rick and Cathy had just returned from a wonderful vacation in Mexico when it became obvious something was wrong. They were to be married the following weekend after Beer Fest but he passed away early Monday morning. We buried Rick on Friday Sept 11. I was honored to have helped carry his casket to the grave site. For those who don't know Rick, he was a Marine, a hard driving, cigarette smok'n, guitar playing, crusty voiced singing, Harley riding, Corvette car hauler and one of the nicest guys you could imagine. He didn't deserve this - who does, but at 57, it comes as a hard blow to us all. We miss him and ache for his presence among us.

Well before I get to choked up,

Rick and Cathy arrive and I'm stunned to see the change in him as is everyone else. We greet and he's surprised and very much pleased that I came back. Cathy is a walking zombie and she's just as fragile as Rick. However, Rick had a good day and we all posed for the Chosen Family picture which I have posted.

I will end here for this post but there is more to come. Later my friends

Love Scott

What a Trip - Part 1

Camel Meat (before being trimed)

Camel Meat Stew with roasted potatoes and bread stuffing

My neighbors and friends - Liz & Graham - from Scotland, Suzanna and Chris ( Finn and Londoner) and Tom, Liz and Graham's son - age 6

I made stuffed grape leaves for Noora as a thank you for the camel meat - she said she had to fight her kids to get even one - I was pleased.

Hi All,

Tuesday 15 September 2009, 12:30p

Well as most of you know, I made a surprise trip back to Corydon over the Labor Day weekend. It was a glorious time which I shall attempt to relate. But first other news.

As I mentioned earlier , this is Ramadan and one of the customs is to share food / gifts with others. One of my staff members Noora Al Mansouri ( Mansouri is a BIG name here in the UAE) but then again there are probably 100,000 or more Mansouri's and they are all related to each other by blood or marriage. Well evidently their family celebrates Ramadan with the slaughtering of a young camel and then roasting it for the Iftar. The Iftar is the first meal after prayers which breaks the day long fast. Well Noora shared some camel meat with me which I then shared with my friends here. Chris - the Londoner and his Finn wife Susanna invited me over for dinner - so I opted to have him cook the camel which he did in a stew. The texture was different from lamb of beef but the flavor was more on a lamb side. I enjoyed it - Chris said he'd pass next time. Well anyway it was a first for me and I was thankful to have had the opportunity to try it out.

Well about 2 months ago, I got this urge to come home for Beer Fest. I mulled it over for a few days then made my reservations online. I thought I was coming home Thursday night but made a mistake as it was 2am Thursday ( Wednesday night /Thursday morning) - this is important because I went to my boss with my vacation request for 5 days and he denied it! I was stunned I have never had a request denied before and couldn't for the life of me understand why he would refuse it - he said we have lots of work to do and when I told him I had booked the flight he still wouldn't relent. So it took 10 more minutes of me groveling and telling him it wouldn't happen again as now I know the "rules" for asking for time off ( btw - it's a 2 month notice minimum). So he finally relents and I hustle out of there. Well about a month later, I wake up in the middle of the night and why I was thinking about the ticket I have no idea - but something bothered me about it - so I get up and look at it and sure enough I'm leaving a day earlier than I thought . OK -Geez do I go back and ask for another day , sneak out of town or what? So I ask a friend and he tells me to wait until the week I'm supposed to leave then approach him. So for a whole month I'm dying not knowing if he will blow up again and deny my 1 extra day or approve it. So that Sunday ( work week Sunday - Thursday ) I go to him and first words out of his mouth was a compliment - I looked at him with the "Where is my boss and what have you done with him" look - I couldn't believe it - a compliment ! will wonders never cease - then another one on top of that for another project. So I roll the dice telling him how I messed up on the a.m. thing and and he says no problem. Ah my fears were unfounded so like before I quickly got out of there and got on with my day relieved to know that I wouldn't have to sneak away. Of course he kept me extremely busy that week with other issues up to the moment of quiting time ( and quiting time for him is when ever he says it's quiting time - no set time be available 24 x 7 type of attitude. I'm da boss here on Tara and I be say'n when it's quit'n time - Quit'n Time !

Well Wednesday comes and I'm all psyched up to go, I'm up at 3:30a unable to sleep, work the whole day then come home and do the final pack, thermostat down, trash out stuff in prep for my flight. Well since it's at 2:30a Thursday morning flight, I have time to kill - but I want to remain awake so that I can ease into the trip sleeping on board etc to minimize the jet lag. My neighbor Chris takes me to the airport at 11p and I get through security etc and to the gate with PLENTY of time to spare. Well the trip was good, I had a exit row with lots of leg room but the guy who sat next to me was another matter - we will call him Prayer Bag Boy.

Prayer Bag Boy ( PBB) is a Indian Muslim who has his prayer beads ( similar to Rosary beads) in this felt bag - similar to Crown Royal bag. He ties this bag around his wrist with only his pointer finger outside the bag - he manipulates the beads saying the Koran in a low humming chant - for 6 freek'n hours - if he was awake he's humming ( I asked him why the bag and he tells me so that the beads do not touch the ground and become defiled) Luckily I was able to tune him out most times and with the video screens and headphones, the chant meter didn't go too high.

We landed in London and if you have ever been there - it's monstrous. After I made it through security - yes security to get between planes, I headed for the food court where I knew I'd find a beer. Changed some Dhirams into Pounds and got myself a cold Becks then a cold Guinness before they finally announced my gate. Off I go to the gate - it's a healthy 10 - 15 minute walk to get there and we board quickly and I land in Chicago 8 hours later with my butt aching tremendously. I did do a few cat naps on the way but was able to stay up the entire time . - Yes I was pumped to get back home. I change planes in Chicago and land in Louisville about 5p after a 50 min delay on the ground in Chicago - I was crawling out of my skin to get out of there.

The only person I had told I was coming was Wes. He and Erica were there waiting for me. We beat Christine home by only a few minutes. GG came to see me first and she was so excite that she had a spell and lost control of her legs and went into her trance like state ( She's 11 1/2 years old with a bad heart so we try to keep her excitement level down to avoid this problem) needless to say I was saddened to see her in this condition but she quickly rallied and was making a fuss over her "Daddy" Well we heard Christine coming down the road so I went upstairs to hide and surprise her. Wes and Erica greeted her outside and they came up to the kitchen. Christine walked right past the living room and didn't see me sitting there. Wes said something to her and she said "Well you'll need to tell you father about that ' I came around the corner saying " No you won't I'm here" Well she screamed , then took off her belt and hit me with it saying You SOB You SOB . We all laughed. Christine had a premonition that I might come home - or it was more of a "I wouldn't put it past him" that I would . So her intuition was correct. We decided to all go out to eat Mexican so as not to hassle with dinner. Well during dinner I talked about my Dad who was at my brothers house near Chicago who would then be coming to my sisters house in Indy. I wanted Dad to be at Beer Fest too but both Ann and Christine had Pooh-Pooed the idea from the start , Well I went and told him he should go and when I told the girls about this I suffered their anger (now to be fair the girls didn't want Dad to come for only one reason - would he feel out of place and would I want my Dad to see me all beered up ) Well of course now it was revealed to Christine as to why I had not followed her wishes -But Ann didn't know. Dad was still on the fence about coming and we tried to call him but had a bad number so Christine calls Ann for the number and tells her that she wants Dad to come - because Alex specifically requested it. Well Ann is NOT happy with Christine and actually speaks sharply to her (later she calls and apologizes and I'm laughing all this time) So Christine calls Dad , convinces him to come and the plan is all set. After dinner, Christine and I decide to go surprise Ann and Dave our close friends and Beer Fest hosts. SO we get down there, Christine leaves the door to the van open and I get ready to pop out at the appropriate time. Well Dave sees my leg and says to Christine - is there someone in the van - she answers I hope not - well he keeps glancing over at the van and Ann comes out of the house - he's momentarily misdirected so I pop out and surprise Ann who screams then starts to cry. We all get in to a big hug fest and enjoyed the evening. Well I'm going to end here and post some pictures and will then start up with the next day. The next post will alert those to start on this post and read up.

Until my next post.

Love Scott