Vacation Week One Recap

Blogging was light - OK, nonexistent - over the last week because Southern Man has been busy, busy, busy! With the rain out of the forecast much time was spent at The Land working on the current project (a secret!) and mowing and mowing and mowing and still more mowing - apparently April showers bring waist-high Johnson grass more than anything else. But the Brushhog Guy made a late-week appearance and the place is looking pretty good. There was a bit of jetting back and forth from work - final grades at the community college, various meetings, and so on - and various other appointments. There was, as always, plenty of geocaching. And there was planning for a weekend trip up north to visit twelve-year-old daughter!

What is a six-hour drive for most people takes Southern Man eight as he just isn't the road warrier he was in his youth so he makes frequent stops to stretch his legs and geocache and such. But he arrived pretty much right on time, picked up his daughter, and headed to the Super 8 that would be home for the next couple of nights.

The first evening was all about relaxing in the pool and making a Wal-Mart run for supplies and hair die (she would dye her hair not just once but twice this weekend so it will go from dark red to orange (which is what happens when you apply blonde dye to red hair) and to even darker red after the second dye job) and dinner at our favorite local restaurant.

One of many efforts to take a picture of the back of her head.

A future Bond Girl shows off her new bikini. We would spend a lot of time in that pool and hot tub over the weekend.

The next day we went out a couple of times to shop and geocache and generally fool around...

Walking a big log across a creek. Where was she for those pipewalks last week?

One of many geocaches we found over the weekend.

Our big outing was planned for Sunday: late morning and early afternoon at one of the big malls for a movie and lunch, then to a nearby gymnastics facility for her late-afternoon birthday party.

Blow out those candles!

Presents!

And then it was time for the long drive home. However as he was driving in a more or less southwesterly direction Southern Man had a fine view of the beginning of the partial annular solar eclipse. Note: do not watch the solar eclipse using only sunglasses for eye protection. Also, do not watch the solar eclipse while driving at 80 MPH down the turnpike. Remember, Southern Man is a trained scientist, and you are not.

With some lengthy breaks for geocaching Southern Man arrived home at about three in the morning, tired and happy. Onward to another week! Twelve-year-old daughter (yes, still twelve; the actual birthday isn't for another month) will fly down next weekend for the summer!