May 2010: Part II

This past weekend we drove to a small town in Texas to visit Mr. P’s dad and stepmother. We left after work on Friday, stopped overnight in Joplin, and departed on Saturday morning for the second leg of our trip. It’s been a long time since Mr. P and I spent so long in the car together, but the drive itself was a reminder of how much I enjoy his company.

(By the way, Saturday marked 8 years for us – can you believe it?! Married for nearly three, but together for EIGHT – another success!)

We arrived at our destination, checked into our hotel, and headed over to the folks’ house. Grandmommie has moved in, and is definitely showing her age in the form of dementia. It wouldn’t be fair to go into details with strangers (though I do know most of my loyal readers), but I can tell that it is a difficult situation for all.

We spent a good part of the afternoon sitting on the new deck, enjoying the heat weather. Saturday evening we headed to the Fish Fry, the fanciest restaurant in town, for a catfish dinner. As part of the catfish dinner, there are amazing hush puppies which, for me, are sometimes the best part. (This restaurant is the SINGLE requirement for Mr. P when visiting his folks, and since it’s closed on Sunday and Monday, our only option was to make it Saturday evening’s event.)

Most of the long weekend was spent relaxing. Mr. P got to go fishing with his dad, which may have been a highlight for them both.

And, copping to a guilty pleasure, we made two stops at Braum’s during the trip. My first delight was the banana fudge sundae and on our way home we stopped for a limeade. There’s just nothing quite like a REAL limeade. Funny thing about Braum’s is that it actually originated in Pop’s hometown of Emporia, Kansas. (We don’t fault him for his shortcomings - it's not his fault he was born THERE.). Tasty favorites that I'd kill to have in my neck of the woods…but it makes the trip that much more of an adventure :)

Got up Tuesday morning, packed our stuff, stopped by to say our goodbyes, and we were back on the road home. After a gloriously long car ride in one single day, we picked up the doggers from Mom and Pop’s place and finally felt like things might get back to normal soon…


…but first, we’ve got to get through Indianapolis, the Indy 500, and MY family this weekend :)