Ben Benner’s Blog

We arrived home at approx 8pm last night, this was about two and a half hours earlier than my original estimate. My original estimate was off for two reasons.

1. I didn’t know exactly how far away Memphis was from Little Rock.

2. Gina is speedy.

We got to Memphis at a decent time the other night and stayed in a swanky La Quinta. The decor was much more modern and had a mix of carpet and what appeared to be hardwood floors in the room.

I was very proud of Emma Lou, this entire trip she managed not to have any accidents in the hotel rooms. In the past she would immediately christen the room.

We made pretty decent time along the way from Lansing to Memphis. There was this one stop for gas where I thought we might not make it out. The area was a backdrop for an ’80s slasher film. We pull up and there is a seedy, run-down looking motel (a couple of the doors had plywood over it). There was only one other car getting gas and there were some crazy looking clerks in the gas-station store.

Also, I have to mention that the bathroom was possibly the WORST I have ever had the unfortunate pleasure of using. I mean, when I first walked in the stench hit me in the face. I wonder if the place has ever really been cleaned, let alone just a quick cleaning recently.

There were flies, mind you no windows in this restroom. I mean we have stopped at highway rest stops that have flies (or bees) due to the fact that they don’t have A/C and the windows are open. No windows in this bathroom.

Anyway, I got out of there after scrubbing my hands very well (luckily the soap dispenser was completely full). I used my foot to open the door (which had a level handle instead of a round one).

“What about the ‘Burrs within 60 seconds’ ?” you ask.

We got home, let the dogs out into the backyard, unpacked the car. And when we let the dogs back in, they had burrs in their fur. Which means that they immediately managed to run though the few burr plants that have cropped up in the backyard while we have been gone (one or two were likely there before we left, behind the shed).

Emma, Buddy and Curly all have burrs. I will be mowing the backyard today and weed wacking behind the shed. I am also going to powerwash the deck, its a bit dirty.

As long as I don’t have to go into the office on Monday (pretty sure I won’t have to), I will be taking some time that day to replace some fence boards.

I need to get my bag unpacked and get settled in a little.

Laterz

bdbenner Dogs, travel, vacation la quinta, summer 2008, summer vacation, travel, vacation 2008

After breakfast I took a “30 minute nap” (it is in quotes because in real world time it lasted about two and a half hours), I woke up to find Gina outside sunning herself. The weather had turned out to be quite nice. It was still a little chilly but had gone from being mostly cloudy to just slightly cloudy, so in the sun it was quite nice.

I managed to get a wee bit sun burned, even though I had sprayed myself with some SPF 30 misting sun screen. I suspect that I did not spray enough on.

I sat out there for about three hours or so, we listened to the radio and read books. I am just about done with Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae. There was probably another hour left of sun, but both Gina and I were feeling a little crispy, therefore we decided to head into town for dinner.

Gina wanted Pizza from Short’s Brewing Company, the Pizza was good. I had the Bellaire Brown, which in the past has tasted really good to me, this time around it was a little bit harder to finish the pint, I think I should have gone with their Chocolate Stout.

Gina checked her email and had a pint of their Locals Light. From what I overheard Short’s is doing really well, apparently they have started distributing their beer to restaurants and they are expanding their operations from 7 barrels to 30 barrels.

We had been hoping today would be nice. However, it is looking like it will actually be a windier day than yesterday. The wind opened up one of the screen doors to the cottage.

We are packing up and are definitely going to head down state today, though the sun is tempting us even now breaking through the clouds, urging us to stay one more day here at the cottage by the lake.

I am going to grab a slice of leftover pizza and start packing up.

Laterz

bdbenner travel, vacation bellaire, short's brewing company, summer, summer 208, summer vacation, travel, vacation

I only sort of wish I had a kite. It would be interesting to try to fly a kite off the end of the dock. It certainly has been windy the last couple of days.

I think the temperature on the thermostat here never read over 69F yesterday, today It hasn’t broken 65F.

Gina made breakfast this morning. I have to do the dishes, right after I finish this post.

We are pretty sure that we are going to head down state later today instead of Wednesday. I think we will be heading back to Texas on Friday morning.

The sun is peaking out from behind the clouds here and there while I am posting this, but the temp is just not hot enough to sit out and get a tan. Bummer.

We saw Hancock on Friday, it was pretty good. I really liked the first half of the movie, it felt very original but just as the storyline was getting good they started wrapping it up, they managed to keep the movie to an hour and a half, but in doing so the whole ending felt rushed.

The little theatre in Bellaire is really great. It has two screens. They had just done a fresh batch of popcorn so I had to get some. I have gotten into the habit of buying the kid’s packs, that way you get a little bit of popcorn, a small drink and some candy. Normally the candy is something really small and not always that great. However, the Bellaire theatre offered you a selection of candy from the bottom row, which was cool. They had a good assortment to choose from. I got peanut M&Ms.

I found out that the family that owns the Bellaire theatre, also owns the theatres in Gaylord and Petoskey.

The BBQ on Friday turned out really well, everyone really enjoyed the pork, coleslaw and chicken. Mary Wight brought over her famous spaghetti salad, it was very, very good.

Well, I better get the dishes cleaned up.

Laterz

bdbenner bbq, food, travel, vacation bbq, movies, summer 2008, summer vacation, vacation, vacation 2008

I booted up the laptop to check a couple of last minute things and post that we have not left yet.

Gina wants me to finish getting ready, so I better go.

We should be on the road by 9AM.

Laterz

bdbenner travel summer 2008, summer vacation, travel, vacation 2008

“All my bags are packed, Im ready to go …” — Leaving on a Jet Plane

My bag is packed, Gina has started loading the car with dog stuff.

Oh yeah, I can’t remember if I posted it up here (and I am too lazy to check) but I made a pet barrier for the cargo area of the Vibe. I found some plans on the Internet for one made from copper, I made this one out of PVC. Since I took a bunch of pictures of the construction, I think I am going to post it up here and also post it back up to the forum site that I found the plans on.

I am currently ripping some CDs to my personal laptop’s iTunes library. I also ripped a DVD of stuff from my work laptop, being the data that I would need, should the need arise for me to work on something while I am away on vacation.

I am about to print out the directions from Google Maps for our trip, including our stop-over in Elizabethtown, KY. (done printing out the directions)

I am also installing PHP, Apache, and MySQL on my personal laptop. I hope to do a little bit of work on a side project that I have been wanting to do for a while, but without ready access to the Internet, that will mean that I need to be able to work on it locally.

Well, I have about 3 more CDs to rip, then I am going to pass out. We originally were talking about leaving at 5AM. It will be interesting to see if we still do, on the off chance that we will be doing that I really should get to bed.

Laterz

bdbenner travel summer 2008, summer vacation, travel, vacation 2008