Let the Vacation Begin

Yesterday (Tuesday) I did the drive in 10.5hrs. That's about the shortest it's ever taken me. It helped that I stopped twice in Wisconsin and then drove all the way to Ohio. No one knows what I was thinking. Actually, I kind of remember what I was thinking. I know that while driving through Illinois I planned to stop in Indiana for friend chicken and french fries. But in Indiana it appeared I would get home in time to eat Skyline which made me want to get home even more. YUM So I didn't stop in Indiana for fried food. I just kept driving. I had a nice talk with Mark and Irmghard and a really nice conversation with Jenny.

In the beginning of Indiana I called my Dad. I asked where the nearest Skyline is to the new place. His response, "Hmm. I don't know. I just know the one you went to last time you were here." Me - 'how late is it open'. Dad, "I don't know". Me (sensing the conversation was going to be way less helpful than I anticipated) 'is Mom home?' Mom wasn't home at the time but I called back and they actually waited for me to get home to go out to eat. So I got home, put my stuff down and got back in the car to eat.

Dad, sadly, has some sickness. Virus? Swine flu? It's not entirely clear. Boo. I haven't given him a hug yet.

This morning my alarm went off at 7am. Where am I? What's that noise? Why is it so dark? I went back to sleep. An hour later I did wake up and get out of bed. I went for a run mostly because I've been dreaming about running here for a couple of weeks. Wow are there a lot of hills here. Here's what I did this morning. That part of the hill right after the first mile marker is steep. They don't make 'em like that where I run.

Right now Mom and I are planning the menu for several of the Christmas events we're having. I'm cooking on Christmas day. (I feel like such a grow-up.) It's only 6 people that I have to cook for. I'll be making creamy chicken wild rice soup (in honor of my Minnesota heritage), roasted veggies and pear-blue cheese flat bread.

My next goal is to convince Mom that we should have Skyline for lunch instead of whatever she wants to make here. And then we're going to Hyde Park Kroger (where I'll undoubtedly run into like 1o people that I know) to go grocery shopping. It'll also undoubtedly be a nut house which is why I want to eat before hand.