Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! It has been 2 weeks since my last post. Right now I am writing this from my in-law’s place in St. Louis. Last weekend we drove roughly 1,444 miles from Orlando, Florida to Humboldt, Iowa — a 25+ hour drive with bathroom and food stops. Packing that into a weekend was tough. Being cooped up for that long with 4 kids is a challenge, but as with all things, time heals all wounds.

We were in Iowa to see the wife’s grandmother who is in her nineties. I would be happy to be as mobile and sharp as she is at that age. She threw out a few jokes too which was kind of cool. I always appreciate the skies in that neck of the woods — the lack of buildings and light pollution allows for some great night-time eye candy.

I spent check-out day sat in the hotel lobby beavering away on delivering a project. Meanwhile a nearby group of octogenarians did their best to distract me by squabbling over a game of cards. By the time I finished with work our next leg had been pushed back by 3 hours. The main difference between the Florida-to-Iowa and Iowa-to-Missouri legs was that the former was driven during daylight hours. The delay meant we fell out of the minivan at 3:30 in the morning — at which point I had my second wind and spent an hour double checking how things were progressing on the work front. After a couple of hours of sleep it was time to get back at it, not at 100% — the sensation was akin to jet lag.

Friday evening we visited a local carnival set up for the long weekend. Very few people wearing masks now if any. It didn’t take long for the kiddos to lose their minds — they have been spoilt by the theme parks in Orlando. In short order they were complaining about the queues, weather, bugs, food, just about anything and everything.

The following day was the Euro 2020 quarter final between England and Ukraine. Whilst I stayed glued to the TV biting my nails, the wife and kids made good use of their time attending a parade followed by a visit to the zoo. England won 4-0 — great! I spent the rest of the afternoon learning the last 2 algorithms for solving the cube. My personal best is 1 minute 37 seconds. Not sure how I’ll break a minute but it will be fun trying.

And finally, a friend took us to Taco Buddha and the food was fresh and tasty — chicken tandoori taco and seasoned thai beef. Surprisingly I did not take any pictures… oh yes, my phone battery was running low. That was it. OK I’m off to enjoy the rest of July 4th — there’s some BBQ and fireworks to look forward to!