When my parents asked me what I would like to do while I was here in Nebraska, one of my suggestions was that we shoot some guns. It had been a long time since I did it, and my dad had a few we could use.
He called up my cousin Mike. Mike has a place by the Platte River where they picnic and shoot guns. We loaded everybody up in a borrowed RV and headed there.
The spot was beautiful. We started a campfire, broke out the picnic foods, and loaded the guns. I shot each one of my dad’s handguns. I especially enjoyed firing the powerful .357′s and .44, but they were very loud. My ears were really ringing after firing them. I hope I haven’t damaged my hearing permanently. I should have protected it.
Cousin Mike brought an AR15. It is the civilian version of an M16. It is semi-automatic.
Mike had clips of 30 rounds each. It’s surprising how fast 30 rounds can go. We shot at bits of wood floating in the water. It was a safe way to keep bullets from flying off to some distant unknown.
Yesterday I decided to get to some serious vacationing. I woke up late, then stumbled downstairs with my laptop and the book I’m reading (Hyperion by Dan Simmons). I had my flax and Carnation and settled into the couch for a read. I hadn’t showered yet. While I was reading, Lauren announced she would take a shower.
After a couple hours, I took a mid-morning nap. It was nice. Shortly after I woke up, Lloyd announced that he would take a shower. I continued to read my book, stopping every once in a while to surf the internet or eat some junk.
Another few hours passed. Beth, Tara, and Tim came over. We hung out for a while. Harold came over and we had dinner. It was nice. After dinner, the Pesters headed home. Lauren burnt some stuff in the fire pit. I went up to bed and read some more. Then I slept.
And that’s what I call relaxation.
Denis flew back to Baltimore yesterday. Since his plane left from Omaha, we decided to go early and make a day of it. Our travel party consisted of Lloyd, Lauren, Denis, Beth, and me.
First we went to a new fancy outdoor mall. Everybody left with something except for me. Across from the mall was a toy store. It was where Lloyd and Lauren got their Perplexus toy from. Could I find a different version of it? No. Next we went to The Gadgeteer. I’ve been there before. It’s amazing and fun. Certainly I’d be able to find something to buy. Nope.
We dropped Denis off at the airport. He was able to get his new umbrella through security. We were a little worried because it has a handle like a samurai sword. The TSA guy asked him about it, but when he showed that it was an umbrella, there was no problem.
So it was a fun visit to Omaha, but I didn’t buy anything. Dang.
But wait! On the way home, there was an outlet center.
I had been looking for a white polo shirt that wasn’t knit fabric. I found one for ten bucks! Woo hoo!
Yesterday, Lloyd and Lauren and I tried to show Denis a few of Nebraska’s charms. First we went to Lincoln and visited the historic Hay Market area. Then we had a Runza, which must be eaten to be understood. We finished our quick trip to Lincoln by running some errands and visiting some shops.
After Lincoln, we went to James Arthur Vineyards, a very awesome local winery. My parents and the Pesters were there. It was a beautiful day! Cool breezes blew through the gazebo as we sat outside and sipped wine samples. We could have stayed there forever, but my mom had a roast in the oven, so we all headed to their house. We further enjoyed the day by having dinner on the deck. Nice.
After dinner, we headed to Plum Creek Park, where we enjoyed the fireworks that were postponed from last night. It was a spectacular show.
I think we represented Nebraska well.
Yesterday was the Fourth of July in Seward, the Fourth of July City. The forecast was for rain all day long. Lots of rain. It was an exciting Fourth anyway. Denis is here! I finally got a Baltimorean to come to Seward for the Fourth. Well, actually, he’s more Filipino than Baltimorean, but I’ll take what I can get.
We started the morning with a prayer service in the rain, the Firing of the Anvil, and a pancake breakfast. After a short recovery at Lloyd and Lauren’s we checked out the cloggers. I love watching the cloggers every year.
I love the food at lunch time. I got my obligatory fresh-squeezed lemonade. The sugar wasn’t completely dissolved, so it was crunchy. I also got a french dip sandwich. The dip was salty.
There is a free trolley service. Tim and Tara wanted to go for a ride, so we took the circuit. It was fun.
After another break at Lloyd and Lauren’s, we went to the parade. It was long this year, and was great. We missed Lauren and her cheering, but we did our best. There were six Czech queens!
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
We interrupt the Czech queens for an awesome mullet on Tractor Guy:
SIX
After the parade, we had a picnic at Brent and Sandra’s. It was fun. Denis jumped on a trampoline for the first time.
The firework display was canceled because they thought it was going to rain, but it didn’t. We put on our own small firework display.
