Memorial Day Weekend

Sorry for the delay in posts, I have had a rather busy memorial day weekend. It is an annual tradition to visit eastern KY, where most of my extended family resides, and so we made our way to the small KY towns of Whitesburg and Neon. Missy, Andy and Bella were unable to make the trip this year because Bella had a rehearsal for a dance recital to take place in a couple of weeks.

After listening to 6 straight hours of Rex's self-made 80's music (Andi and I were making the trip with him and Lisa, my sister-in-law) we finally arrived at the legendary home of Burtis and Jo Webb, my uncle and aunt. This home brings back so many memories every time I pull into it's driveway (actually the used car lot below the house.) Andi and I were instructed that we would be sleeping in a twin bed together, which was fine with us because we are the master spooners and all we really need is enough room for one person.

I was awoken to the joyfully sound of my mom knocking on the bedroom door and doing a little song that said something like "time to get up and eat some breakfast." For a moment I thought I was 12 again and it was time to get up for school. We quickly ate a breakfast and got ready to go visit my granny for a few minutes and then visit the cemetery. Part of this process took us past the greatest drive-in of all time, Mike Johnson's. This place simply has the greatest food and desserts of anywhere. I have always wanted a Mike Johnson's t-shirt and Andi and I were fortunate enough to be introduced to the owner of the establishment and she took us on a VIP tour of the backstage area. This consisted of a trailer that was filthy. No matter!! I was excited and we were led to the back of the trailer where spread out over a bed were about 300 Mike Johnson's t-shirts. I couldn't believe it. The lady finally gave one of them to Andi free of charge and I told her I would be back the following day when I had some cash. It was a great experience.

After the day's activities were over, we made our way back to the Webb's house. Rex and I decided that we needed some physical activity, so we asked where the badminton set was. To my amazement, they didn't have one, only rackets. So, out to Wal-Mart we go to purchase a badminton set. After pain-stakingly following the easy to read instructions, we set the net strategically over a pumpkin patch. We then enjoyed a good hour and a half of competitive badminton. It was great.

That night we played a few board games, including a fun game called "Time's Up." Me, Rex and Andi were on a team and we got destroyed. The second game was much closer and we tied the third game. I felt better after reading a few online reviews of the game where everyone agreed that the first time you play the game, it is very difficult. I did manage to come out victorious with the game "Cloud 9."

On Sunday, we watched the famous "shooting over the graves" and Rex and I collected the shells for our little cousin. It is a cool tradition and the dude who performed "Taps" was the best I have ever heard.

That night we headed toward home because Rex and Lisa had to catch a plane on Monday and we wanted to have a little time before they had to leave. We stopped in Knoxville for the night and decided to call Barry from Inn of the Last Home at 1 in the morning to come out and hang with us. Just kidding. We really did check into a sweet motel room. Rex and I decided to scan the scene and sure enough, we found a bowling alley just a few blocks from the motel. We played 3 games of darts (which I lost), one game of Police Trainer (which I won), two games of Lucky and Wild (which I lost) and one game of 1945 (which I lost.) Overall, it was a rough night for me in the gaming department. I will say that Rex was pulling out some moves in 1945 that I had never seen before. It was incredible. We headed back to the motel room around 2 am and were going to catch some sleep, but Xtreme Elimination Challenge was on Spike TV, so that was another hour that we were up. We finally hit the bed around 3 am.

It was a fun weekend and it is always good to be with family.