The Adventures of Garrett Squared: On The Road From Oz...

Thursday, August 4, 2011

On The Road From Oz...

My favorite expression is: Serendipitous Adventures Are The Best!

It's always fun to travel and see friends, but it's also fun to head home again.

We hitched up Little Blue, loaded in the dogs and left Oz heading up the Scenic Flint Hills. We were under doctor's orders to stop every hour to let Gman get out and walk around. We didn't want a clot to form or his star clip to start to bleed, so he had to lean his seat back and not sit straight up.

We were looking for a place to pull off with space for a nice walk. I spied a place with a large parking lot and exited the highway.

Gman was saying, where in the world are you going? I need to get out and walk.

Yep.

Then, after I crossed the highway, he saw where I was headed too. Big parking lot with room for the Durango and camper to park easily.

We parked at Bass Pro Shop in Lenexa (I think, could have been Olathe) and got out to walk.

As I looked up at the building, what did I see????? NASCAR!!!!!

Have I mentioned that we love NASCAR????

Just in case you didn't know--we LOVE NASCAR!!!!

There was Jamie McMurry's Sprint Cup Car and the Austin Dillon #3 Truck. Yeowwwww!! I mean we are #88 Dale Jr. Fans, but who doesn't like #1 Jamie Mac? Huh? Really? Our Joplin boy!!!!

We hotfooted it down and checked the car all out inside and out.

We posed and took each other's pictures with the car.

Yep that's me with the car!

We checked out the hauler.

We had a nice walk around and then started out again.

Then, I get a text message on my phone. It is a picture with the caption "Man, you barely left and there are already squatters!" Hmmmm...

I spy something pink and flamingo like! Somebody is having fun!

We arrived home and sure enough, the squatters were still there--making themselves at home!

There were also more squatters.

A Plague!!!!

I mean, it sounded like a diesel engine--a bunch of diesel engines! They were everywhere! AND LOUD!!!!

They only come out every 13 years. And it was THIS YEAR! Lucky US!!!!

Look at the fence! The skeletons were hanging all over the place! They crunched when you walked on them or touched them. They clung to you and hitched a ride. Ick!

Here, take a closer look!

Double Ick!

Well it was nice to be home at the Mother Ship--squatters and plagues and all!

2 comments:

Amy DingmannAugust 4, 2011 at 9:02 AM
Looks like a fun time! My sister love Nascar and would have been just as excited as you were! And what are those NASTY things you came home to? CRIPES. Yuck!!

Thanks for visiting my blog!
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labbie1August 5, 2011 at 11:13 AM
MammaTea--Those are cicadas. We have them in reasonable numbers all the time. You hear them in the evening along with the crickets and such. However, every 13 years they dig out of the ground leaving holes that look like swiss cheese to mate and they are EVERYWHERE! Ick! And LOUD!!! This lasts for about 2 weeks. It's kind of like locusts when they erupt except the cicadas don't seem to eat everything in sight like the locusts.
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The Mockingjay

It is with great sadness that I say goodbye to the characters of this Trilogy.

This 3rd and last book in The Hunger Games Trilogy was not remotely what I thought it would be. While the first two books were books about horrific competition and massive loss it was also about the indomitable will to live and thrive of the human spirit.

I thought that this book would be much as the other two. Our heros are tested and then survive to live happily ever after.

But, this book is much deeper and probably much more realistic than that. The thin skinned President Snowden in his extreme anger makes it clear that Katniss, her family and even her village are not going to be allowed to live in the peace that we anticipated after the first two books. To the end that President Snowden wants to see Katniss and everyone who follows her and her courage destroyed, we are drawn deeply into a story of battle both internal and external, love and loss and the dramatic results of a long lived, hard fought war while unsure of who is friend and who is foe.

The end of this book was a loss in many respects. The loss of a group of people to whom I was drawn and the loss of a way of life for those characters. While the war was won, the battles took their toll on all of the characters that we have come to know and love and their lives are forever changed by the end of this book and trilogy.

Catching Fire

This 2nd book in The Hunger Games Trilogy was even better than number one!

I read it in about a day and a half.

I simply could NOT put it down!

The main thrust of this book is the Quell games. Every 25 years the districts must take part in not one but two games to celebrate the domination of the Capitol.

If I go further than that with explanation, I will probably ruin #1 for you, so let's just say that the Mockingjay has a part in this and that the families of Peeta and Katniss as well as Gale are well represented.

The ending leaves us hungry for more at the edge of an abiss...

Now, on to book 3.

PS--Don't start this series without purchasing all three books because you will surely kick yourself if you can't go right to the next book!

The Hunger Games

Book 1 of the Trilogy:
GREAT READ! This was recommended to me by my hair stylist while I was in Missouri. I purchased it for my Kindle, but subsequently passed it up for other reads. My mistake! What an engaging book! Following Katniss and Peeta as well as the other characters in a richly written narrative of the Hunger Games which are a fight to the death each year of children chosen from each of the 12 poor downtrodden districts of the country of Penam for the enjoyment of the spoiled, protected class of people in the "Capital". Gripping and twisting right to the end! I liked it so much that the second I finished I felt like I couldn't let go of the characters and zipped right on to the second volume of the trilogy! RECOMMEND HIGHLY!

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll by Josi S. Kilpack~~This book was recommended by another blogger who made it sound so good that I I just had to check t out. I purchased my copy for Kindle and really enjoyed it! The author writes a very fine mystery without using vulgarity or objectionable content which is refreshing. This book was a fun one for the autumn season when our thoughts turn to pumpkins, spices and a nip in the air.

The neighbor is rumored to be a witch and with several other colorful characters of dubious nature, we have a fun Halloween culinary novel.

The nice twist at the end of the story gives an interesting wrap-up to make this book a good light read.

In addition, the recipes sounded so good that I had to copy some of them down and try them--including the Pumpkin Roll of the book title. A good read and good recipes! What's better than that?

Pages

Thursday, August 4, 2011

On The Road From Oz...

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