Just Got Back

Just got back from the annual up north trip with my peeps and I must say that this was one of the best and most relaxing to date. Hmm - Maybe it was the noted absence of one faction that contributed to this. There were changes to this year's trip, which made it refreshing: new faces and new activities. Some things (the Talleyburgers) remained the same.

The trip started on Thursday night when Nate and Kelly picked me up. With the help of stong traveling tonics and the ABC iPod game we made it to Atlanta in what seemed like no time at all. The temperature was about 20 degrees cooler up north - yay! Since it was late and we were beat, we watched some "Family Guy" and then headed to bed.

We woke up Friday morning famished, so Nate made Kelly and I scrambled eggs and - say it with me - mmmmm, bacon! Unfortunately I was having pouch issues and had to turn it down. I wasn't happy about it, either. We made our way over to Garland in Lewiston so Kelly and I could golf our very first 18 holes with Nate, Uncle Tim and Princess Brian. Now, don't laugh, but I am very proud of the 120 I shot. The course was certainly not easy and I got pretty tired after about 15 holes. My uncle was highly impressed with my newly acquired golf skills. Afterwards we headed to Talley's for a burger and some drinks. The bartenders were happy to have us back in town and showered us with strooooong drinks. Ugh. When we got back to Atlanta we decided to head over to Clear Lake to get some time in on the boat. Holler. Nate, Kelly and I had a lot of fun and some good laughs at each other's expense.

Saturday morning we went to the Black River Ranch where Aunt Dot and Uncle Tim gave us a tour of the newly updated Lodge and Rose cooked us a fantastic made to order breakfast. More bacon, and this time blueberry pancakes too! We rolled in to Lewiston around noon and headed to Corin's cabin to pick up the rest of our party to go tubing. We had so much fun floating down the river this year and even Steve had to admit that tubing was the way to go. I'm glad the Trading Post was sold out of canoes! The guys did a great job of steering our barge away from the river banks and we all did a fine job of keeping ourselves hydrated and soaked. No sunburns this year!

After tubing we went back to Corin's and changed for another night at Talley's. Vince and Nicole arrived from Garland slightly hammered, which was highly entertaining. We racked up a bill over $230 - the first time I've ever seen anything like that at Talley's. The girls and I petitioned Moe for Talley's wifebeaters. I know those things would sell like hot cakes! Corin's parents stopped by and had a few drinks with the crew before inviting everyone back to their place for a bonfire. The bugs were out in full effect on my legs, so we didn't stay too long. I was exhausted and falling asleep, but I still got to drive the Nav back to CCR because I knew the way and Vince was still pretty buzzed. lol

This morning we were treated to a nice thunderstorm. Vince and I amused each other by trying to remember the words to "Animaniacs" while Nate, Kelly and Nicole were still sleeping. I think I was slap happy from all the fresh up north air or something. We cleaned the place up and went back to Lewiston for - what else - one last Talleyburger! The boys were bummed because their gun shooting time was rained out. Oh well, we'll try again another time. We stopped at Narsky's so my passengers could stock up on "gerky" - ugh it smelled so gross in the truck. Yuck! We didn't make it home in record time because I don't like to drive the Nav over 85, but we made it here in one piece and that's all that matters.

And so ends my summer vacation. I had a fabulous time and I can't wait until next year. I know everyone else had a great time too!