Home. Gypsy’s Retreat.
Views and amazing sunrises from above Lake Eufaula.
When we finally arrived home, it was just a jungle. I barely knew where to turn to get into the driveway. The grass and weeds seemed to have overtaken everything.
Before we left, I had arranged for someone to take care of the yard. At the last minute, they backed out. All I had was an underpowered push mower—and a bum leg.
But I was determined to fix the yard myself.
It took days in sweltering temperatures. The grass was so thick and tall that mowing it was a challenge, to say the least. Then, just to make things more interesting, the pull cord on the mower broke. I took it apart, trying to fix it, and promptly managed to get the entire recoil spring to come loose.
My attempts to find someone to repair it failed. So now it became a self-wind pull cord, much like the one I used when I was eleven years old to mow lawns.
Sweating like an Amazon jungle explorer and cursing like a sailor, I finally finished the task. It had only taken seven half-days of work. Once the temperatures climbed above 95 degrees, I had to stop for the day.
But the jungle was conquered.
Then it was time to go visit the kids and see the grandkids.
Only one problem: the grandkids are now preteens and teenagers.
Have you ever tried to have a conversation with this strange species?
Their brains don’t seem to work properly anymore. They are in kid mode now and don’t necessarily want to be with you. You ask a question and get a one-word answer. You try another subject and get another one-word answer. Add in raging hormones, smartphones, social media, and instant gratification, and sometimes you just have to think, I’ll talk to you when you grow up a bit.
Of course, it happens to all of us. We were teenagers once, too. Although I’m pretty sure we were much more intelligent than they are.
Or at least that’s how I remember it.
We first went to Chattanooga to see Dallas, Jess, and Caleb. It was Caleb’s 15th birthday weekend.
Friday morning, the three guys headed to the DMV. It was a rite of passage—the beginning of a little more freedom as Caleb worked toward getting his restricted driver’s license.
He passed with flying colors and took his first drive on the way to school.
I sat silently in the back seat.
I wondered if I should have two seat belts attached.
Dallas was giving instructions with unbelievable patience. His hand and knuckles were white as he clutched the hand brake, waiting for the first big mistake.
It never happened.
We all survived.
We had a really fun weekend. Caleb wanted a sleepover with a couple of his best friends, so during the afternoon we all went to an escape room. It was our first time.
As the clues appeared and were solved, we got closer and closer to escaping. Minute by minute, we watched the kids impressively solve complex clues.
Then they would turn around and do something so stupid that we couldn’t help but laugh.
Minute by minute, the clock ticked down.
Finally, with just a couple of minutes to spare, the mystery was solved and the door to the room was unlocked.
We headed back home, where Dallas cooked burgers while Jess attempted to make a birthday cake for Caleb. She is an accomplished baker, but this particular cake turned into a disaster.
It ended up being a good laugh, which, after pouting a bit, Jess eventually joined in with us.
The meal turned out great, and the kids all had a good time. The cake? As sketchy as it looked, it was delicious.
We all ate way too much, the adults drank too much, and we played games until bedtime.
It was a wonderful weekend.
Another Family Weekend
We got home, did laundry, and turned around to head south to Davenport to see Rick, Kelly, and Lucy.
On Saturday, we went to a new brewery about an hour from their house. It was like an enormous two-story warehouse. The upper level was open except for a platform around the edges filled with food vendors.
We enjoyed a couple of beers and other drinks, ate some food, and played a couple of card games.
Rick and Lucy went outside to play some volleyball. That lasted only a few minutes. The temperatures were approaching the upper nineties, and the Florida sun was relentless.
Back into the air-conditioned beer garden.
Sunday morning, I was commissioned to make my world-famous crêpes for breakfast.
It had been a hot minute since I had made them. These were Sunday morning favorites back when the kids were little.
Some things are worth bringing back.
The grandkids are doing great. Caleb has straight A’s, has a girlfriend and plays football, after passing on wrestling.
Lucy is a solid A-B student and is the social butterfly at school. She has a ton of friends, a boyfriend and stays very busy.
We are very proud of both of them.
Back to Gypsy’s Retreat
We headed back home to boredom.
I really need to build a new deck addition for a hot-tub, extend the roof over the deck, and put a new front porch on the house. It’s just been way too hot to get into a project like that.
Maybe one in the fall.
Or the spring.
Or a contractor.
The third choice seems to be the best.
Instead, we went down to the lake for a couple of days to float, drink, and listen to music. One of the days, Mark and GinaMarie came along, and we had a cookout.
We were all tending to sunburns for the next few days.
Our local pub on the river has live music on the weekends. There is a dock where you can pull up your boat and a really nice sitting area right on the water. It’s only about ten minutes from the house, so it’s an easy place to spend an afternoon or evening.
We would split our time between that place and The Thirsty Pig, about 50 minutes away. When we go to Dothan, we try to time it so we can stop in for a drink and some live music.
Both are fun places.
But being home brings another
And that’s about all for now.
We’re home.
The grass is under control, the kids are growing up, the lake is still there, the beer is cold, and there is always another project waiting for me.
But being home brings another, much more fun chore: planning next year’s adventures. They will start in mid-December. Planning is already out to the fall of 2027, and they are, for the most part, totally different from what was expected. Not even on the same continent as was planned. I can go there anytime.
Stay tuned as these develop and reveal themselves.
That’s about all for now.
I guess that’s what home is all about.
Cheers,
2WANDRRs
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