Weekend Trip Home!

This past weekend I made the 5 hour trek back to my hometown, which is the Tri-cities, WA. I tend to still refer to it as "Home" when I'm in Boise and refer to Boise as "Home" when I'm in the Tri-cities, it's a very interesting phenomenon that first showed up in college. I'm not sure at what point in my life that will change, maybe when I have a family of my own? Who knows..but I can't see it happening anytime soon, that is for certain.

Homeward BoundBack to my weekend. I headed out early from work on Thursday and hit the road (I took Friday off). Generally, I am bored stiff on the familiar stretch of road between Boise and the Tri-Cities and feel like I'm accomplishing very little, until recently. I have discovered audio books, one of the greatest inventions ever, since I read as fast as a turtle -- I bet you didn't know turtles could read that fast, huh?! So far I think I've read...er listened... to four audio books and just finished another on this trip. For most of the way there and on my return trip I listened to Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly. It's not the type of book I generally read but it was a nice change of pace and made the time pass a bit quicker. And best of all it made me feel like I accomplished something on my drive other then spending $100 of my hard-earned cash on gas.

I arrived home just in time for dinner. My mom had prepared a wonderful meal of broccoli beef, green beans, and salad and for desert: fresh raspberries and strawberries from the garden. It was awesome, thanks mom!

I hoisted my car for the job...but safely of course. 

Project Knock Sensor
That same night I got started on the biggest project I have yet to undertake on my car, replacing the knock sensors. I would have done it in Boise months ago, but my dad has a tool collection that puts mine to shame. And looking back on the weekend, without his wisdom and tool selection I doubt I would have got it done in time for work on Monday. But thanks to his help and many hours of work I finally finished the job on Saturday morning with a few hours to spare before getting ready for my first wedding. More specifically, the first wedding that I have been a part of, I'm definitely still very unmarried!


Wedding
I was, in fact, an usher in Jared's wedding, a friend of mine from church and the older brother of my good buddy Phil. My suit even got itself tailored for this special occasion, something that has been needing to be done since I bought the darned thing. The wedding went great and I really enjoyed getting to dress up in my suit and escort people to their seats. Since Jared grew up in the church I grew up in, I knew almost everyone I seated, working the groom's side with Phil. 


It Gets Better

Dad, myself, Lucy (the big hairy one), and Chup

With being an integral part in a wedding and my baby (the car) running better than the first day I drove 'er home you'd think the weekend couldn't get better. But then there was Father's Day. Since I planned to head home Sunday morning, we started Father's Day on Saturday night, with dinner at Bob's Burgers and Brew! Definitely a new favorite of mine, I wish they had one in Boise, although I suppose we have our own excellent burger establishments as well. After a wonderful dinner we enjoyed an evening of just hanging out and then headed to bed early -- a new favorite pastime of mine now that I am an aging adult. Actually, I was trying to realign my sleeping schedule with Mountain time, yeah that's it!

Until Next Time...
Sunday morning brought bacon, eggs, and homemade waffles complete with 100% pure maple syrup (did I mention I love my mom?). Yum, home-cooked breakfast is the best! We did the whole Father's Day gift thing, sat around a bit more chatting and then I hit the road, back to real life; ending a fabulous weekend, accomplishing quite a bit, and seeing many of those I love... Good times!