Time to play "Catch Up"

Hi Gang-

Hope this note finds everyone well. Other than this criminal oil gusher, all is well in the Deep South.

It's been a good couple of weeks.

Girlfriend Vickie drove in from Cajun Country a couple of Fridays ago. She, Dom and I drank a little beer and flipped some burgers.

On Saturday morning, we took off for PCB. Dummy here, forgetting that it was Saturday, thought that we'd take the "scenic route" to our condo. Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach was a pleasant drive. Glad Vickie got to see the pretty water.

When we reached Mary Esther, traffic came to a standstill.... for what felt like an eternity. Inched our way through Ft. Walton and Destin, then said "screw the scenery" and stayed on Hwy 98, rather than do the 30-A drive through Seaside, Grayton, Seagrove.....

It's safe to assume that by the time we got to the Majestic, we were exhausted. The place was mobbed. Couldn't find a luggage cart. Followed a broad up to her place and brought her a cold beer as a trade-off for her cart.

Vickie brought oodles of food with her, so we just hung around the condo, beached it and ate ham sandwiches.

Spent alot of time on the beach all week. Went across the street to my local joint for a couple of beers with our favorite bartender, Don almost every day. Hit Coyote Ugly for happy hour a few times. Went to the Rock'It Lanes sports bar one evening and got into an argument with a local over his support of BP. He was basically making excuses for them. Got a little nasty, but it all blew over. http://www.rockitlanes.com/ Anyway, this is a really neat entertainment complex with pool tables, bowling lanes, video games, roller rink and a neat little sports bar with good food.... ate some Buffalo Wings that night for dinner.

Linda and Paul arrived on Tuesday. The four of us walked over to Pompano's for dinner. It was fair to good. Paul ate alot of sushi and seemed to enjoy it. Vickie and I had the Grouper. Mine was fried and "ok". Hers was grilled and she really enjoyed it. Can't remember what Linda ordered. Would I go back? Yes, because it's in walking distance. Would I rave about the joint? Nope. Probably won't even recommend it. I'll have to have another meal there to decide.

After dinner we stopped at Coyote Ugly for 1 drink. Paul very much enjoyed the gals dancing on the bar.

They took off around noon on Wednesday after we girls spent a couple of hours in the crystal clear water. It was absolutely gorgeous. When they left, Vickie and I walked across the street, had a couple of beers and then Don set us up with Mango daiquiri mix, Stawberry daiquiri mix, cheap vodka and a styrofoam cooler of shaved ice from his "Fat Tuesday" system. (the cartons of mix were of the same).

Walked over to Coyote Ugly for happy hour, picked up a Hungry Howie's pizza to go.... http://www.hungryhowies.com/ Yummy pizza and a daiquiri party. Very pleasant evening.

Thursday morning we got to the beach early. Algae was rolling in. Enjoyed the clear water while we could, then hopped in the car so I could show Vickie the Beaches of South Walton with a drive down Hwy 30-A. Had a Cowboy Burger at Tootsie's in Pier Park, then home for more daiquiris.

Woke up Friday morning to water full of algae. Vickie hit the road by noon. I stuck around and cleaned the condo. Attempted to do the laundry only to find that my washer would not drain. Spent much time using plastic cups to empty the washing machine. *pouting*

Meanwhile, Christine flew in from Colorado on Tuesday afternoon. She, her best buddy and Dom went to work cleaning out my mother-in-law's house. Dom rented a dumpster. What isn't going to Goodwill went into the dumpster. (Other than some furniture that Christine will take back to Colorado with her).

We had a very uneventful weekend and enjoyed our visit with our Christine.

We went into Slidell to work on the house this week. Took today off. Didn't get out of bed until about 11:30. Heavenly. Back at it tomorrow.

Nothing else to report. Dom looks and feels great. Occasional hand cramps, but other than that, he's the picture of health!