Visiting Missouri

 
I just returned from visiting my dear cousin Alan and his lovely and talented wife Linda in Clinton, MO.

There was a trip to the Truman Dam and the man-made (huge) Truman Lake.

There was a birthday cake, carrot with coconut pecan icing.

There was beer. Never to the point of regret, just a steady flow of 2-4 drinks a day (some were Rye Whisky after I found a 26-er for $10 US and that was a mid priced brand... if I lived in Missouri, with a 40-oz vodka bottle for $7, I'd fear for my liver). The drinks were just pleasant accompanyment and aided in significant unwinding.

Missouri was a bit too hot most days (very humid mid eighties) and a bit too wet (torrentially so) a few others, but the day everyone had off work was nice as was the last weekend.

There was some really good pizza including a visit to Imo's in Kansas city. Also a visit to the StackShack for some excellent BBQ. There was also a good pizza or two from the local Dominos in Clinton (good!) and El Sombre's enchiladas and tacos and so forth. All in all, I ate well.

There was much XBox... a first for me. Red Dead Redemption (cowboy RPG/shooter) was a scream - some out of place tech (M1998 broom-handle Mauser or the M1911) and was easily the most fun shooter I've played in a long time! FIFA (soccer) was frustrating but fun. Worms (casual game involving worms using various weapons to whack the other team) was funny. Modern Warfare 2 was graphically impressive, but gameplay was a bit silly - when a bunny hopping CT operator leaped round a corner and blasted me with a Barret .50 in mid-leap, that more or less defined the game for me.

There was karaoke - one day Alan and I scorched and abused a variety of tunes (many Scots pop hits and folk bits I hadn't heard) and another day it was Linda and I (she has an excellent singing voice) doing the Eagles and some similar material. I know I personally exterminated Loch Lommond, some CCR, and did a quite passable job on Billy Joel's We Didn't Start The Fire (that's a fast tune). And yes, before you ask, me and karaoke - their WAS alcahol involved.

Mostly, me and Alan just hung out. That was spiffy. I quite enjoy my cousin even when he's gone off his noodle with his theories about the moon landing, the pentagon crash on 9/11 and some other oddities. I assume he was hit in the head with a fitba' one time too many during his days as a young soccer hooligan.

A totally enjoyable trip, I look forward to visiting again. Linda and Alan were excellent hosts, and Charlie and Winston (the cats) were both affectionate as well.