Monday, May 25, 2015

An Impromptu Weekend of Something

Memorial Day weekend is not one of those weekends where I typically look for things to do.  It's generally the first day off since President's Day back in February, and I like having the opportunity to do a whole lot of nothing.  When I DO do something, it ends up being lots of yard work that I've put off since the beginning of Spring.  So we didn't plan to do anything this weekend.  And that's why it became so memorable.  Go figure.  A memorable Memorial Day weekend.

We started out enjoying a trip to the reclining movie theater, which I established in my last post.  Go check it out.  The theater, not the post.  Well, okay, go read the post, too.    'll wait.

Okay, so that's how the weekend started.  On Saturday, we had a bunch of errands to run, and so we ended up all over Columbia, stopping at four different stores and a quick, very enjoyable lunch at the always enjoyable Pub Dog.  Pub Dog has pretty awesome pizza.  After running our errands, and me striking out on getting a much-needed haircut, we rushed home, changed clothes, got ourselves all gussied up, and headed out for our next big event.


When I was a student at the University of Maryland, I played in the Mighty Sound of Maryland Marching Band.  It was a lot of fun.  I loved having an immediate social group upon arriving on campus, and since I was a commuter, it was my link to on-campus life.  I only wish I had made more connections at the time.  I kind of kept to myself, and I didn't make any friends.  You know, those lasting friendships that carry forward into adulthood and old age?  I didn't have any of them.  Anyway, my point in bringing it up is that, on Saturday evening, my old band director, who eventually became the Director of Bands at the University, Dr. L. Richmond Sparks, retired this month, and there was a big retirement celebration at the Clarice Center on campus on Saturday night.  I took my daughter, Melody, and it was a really incredible evening of music performances by the Alumni Band and remembrances.  We had a great time, and I saw many familiar faces even if they didn't remember me (though I DO think my ol' buddy, Renee, remembered me even if we didn't get a chance to talk).  And I love being able to share this part of my life with Melody.  She is experiencing quite a bit of college life over the past few months, and it's pretty cool.


We awoke kind of late on Sunday morning, and while I wanted to get out and do something fun, we really hadn't planned anything specific.  We talked about going down to Luray Caverns, or the Virginia Renaissance Festival.  Melody then said the magic words:  "I want to go someplace where we can ride a roller coaster!"  So we got dressed and hit the road for Hershey, PA, and a day at Hersheypark.  This was just what the doctor ordered.  We left at noon and were there in a few short hours.  And we rode roller coasters.  Lots of them.  And so, an impromptu trip to Hersheypark became a memory.  And it was awesome.


The ride home wasn't so awesome.  I was tired. Really tired.  And despite what you may think, finding a cup of coffee at midnight on a Sunday night isn't as easy as you might think.  And when I get tired, I get grumpy.  I finally found a convenience store, and while they didn't have any hot coffee, I did get a bottle of iced coffee.  And that woke me up enough to get us home.  Safely.


Monday morning was more impromptu stuff.  It was Memorial Day.  It was also my mother-in-law's birthday.  We called to wish her well and invite her to lunch.  We had a nice visit and a delicious meal at our local Red Lobster.  Then we rushed home, got some more stuff, and headed over to Mom & Dad's for a cookout.  Always great to visit with my folks.

And then I came home and crashed.  It's back to work tomorrow.  But it's really nice to have had a great weekend of fun.

Have a great evening, everyone!

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