Sunday was Lynn and Shay Day. Since we didn’t make it over for dinner Saturday, we showed up for breakfast the next morning. Lynn cooked, and we all sat around and chatted and ate. It was our first time being in their “new” house, so we got the grand tour. Oh. My God. Their place is incredible! They have amazing stained concrete floors, granite and marble countertops and backsplashes, a seriously awesome jacuzzi bathtub in the master bath, washer/dryer to die for, beautiful interior design, and the backyard….oh, the backyard! Beautifully landscaped and recently remodeled, there’s a hottub and pool with an infinity edge, a cabana and patio. Why they ever leave this thing, I do not know.
After breakfast, we all threw on our swimsuits and spent most of the afternoon in the pool. My sunburn has started to peel, so I was just dead sexy with my reptilian legs. I did, however, put on a ton of sunblock so that the burn wouldn’t get any worse. I made sure, too, to keep my body submerged rather than just bobbing around on a pool float. That strategy seemed to work. I don’t think I’ve re-burned myself. Good thing, too, because my skin can’t handle much more abuse this summer.
We went back to the RV long enough to walk the dogs. Lynn and Shay picked us up and took us to dinner at Hillstone restaurant where we met with their friend, Kaz. I remember meeting Kaz ages ago, and he’s a hoot! He’s one of those individuals who is so witty that everyone else is dull and slow by comparison. That’s fine, though, because I’m usually too busy laughing around Kaz to even notice how dull and slow I am.
After Lynn had treated us to a luscious meal and we were all stuffed, we ended up going to Braum’s, an Oklahoma-based ice cream shop. It’s good stuff and hit the spot on a hot evening. We got dropped off at our rig and spent the evening watching bad movies.
Monday morning and Lex was back at work when I woke up and decided to go geocaching. I’ve sworn that I’ll make my 100th find by the end of summer, and I started the day 8 caches short of that goal. I searched the website and found that there were 19 caches within a mile of where we’re staying! Score! I headed out hoping to put a serious dent in that total, but, alas, I only managed to find 2 of the 5 caches I searched for. Oh, well. Can’t win ‘em all. I did find a really unique cache, and I plan on stealing the idea for a cache I want to plant in Maryland. I won’t reveal the type of hide here on the blog because it’s just too clever! I want it to be a surprise.
I have managed to talk my sister, who has taken Wednesday afternoon off just to spend with me (which makes her twelve kinds of awesome), into giving geocaching a try. She was a girl scout so is familiar with orienteering. That and the fact that she loves taking walks and is mad for cool gadgets means that she’s got the potential to be an awesome cacher! Plus, she’s much taller than I am, and it’s very handy to have a tall person along on a caching trip, especially for the vertically challenged, like moi. I’m looking forward to our little caching adventure.
Lynn had invited us to come spend the day at her place while she’s at work, and since the rig has been getting pretty hot in the afternoon, we took her up on it. So after lunch, we headed over to Lynn’s home, and Lex soon settled into the media room, propped her laptop on her knees, and worked in cool comfort for the rest of the day. At Lynn’s suggestion, we’d brought the dogs over, so Otis and Ivy joined Macy and Zoe, Lynn and Shay’s long-haired miniature dachshunds, in an afternoon romp around the backyard while I kept an eye on them from my vantage point in the pool. Oh, what a tough life, eh?
I spent some of my pool time training my small dog, Ivy, how to ride a pool float across the water. She wasn’t keen on the idea at first, but she’s a fast learner. Before long, she was standing at eager attention at the edge of the pool just waiting for the float to come her way again so she could do a little doggie surfing. Too adorable! I think I’ll get Lex to grab a video of her doing it so we have proof. You know the rule: no pictures, it didn’t happen.
Apparently, there are hawks that cruise the neighborhood here looking for nice snacks of small, domesticated pets. God forbid one of the pups gets snagged on my watch! Lynn’s dogs don’t really respond when their names are called, so I panicked a few times and ended up getting out of the pool to go look for them. They were fine, of course, but on one of my missions to look for Macy, I heard Zoe barking inside (she doesn’t do the heat for long so had begged to go back inside). I turned toward the backdoor to check on Zoe, and a strange woman walked out of it and onto the patio. I was worried for a moment until she introduced herself. It was Connie, the dogsitter. She comes over each day to feed them in the afternoon and didn’t realize we’d be there. I ended up chatting with Connie for a while; we talked dogs, of course. You can’t go wrong with a dog person!
She left, and I went back to the pool, only getting out when I needed to go switch out a load of laundry (that’s right; I totally took advantage of those amazing high-efficiency machines that do not accept quarters). I had a towel wrapped around my waist when I heard Zoe throwing another fit. This time it was my sister’s friend, John, who had come over early in anticipation of us all having dinner later in the evening. Holy crap! Strange man, and here I was in my suit and dripping wet. Not only that, I had put ALL my clothes in the washer and dryer. All of them. Awkward! Fortunately, a load was just finishing up, so I ended up having something to cover my nakedness when I got out of the shower. Good thing, too. I wouldn’t have wanted to scare John away when we’d only just met!
Cheers, Lynn!
Lynn showed up not long after as did John’s wife, Sonya. Lex came down from upstairs and there were introductions all around. Everyone had a cocktail on the patio before the cooking commenced. Oh, what a meal: halibut with a lemon-butter sauce, ahi tuna, rice, caprese salad, and foccacia. Delish! Once we were able to waddle away from the table, we got the dishes done and food put away before going out on the patio where we chatted for a while. John and Sonya departed around 10 p.m., and everyone else started drifting off to bed. I’m the last one standing, and I’m only doing so because if I didn’t get the blog written up before I hit the hay, I’d start losing track of everything that we’d been up to the past couple of days.
We’re spending the night here, but I have to go back to the campground in the morning to take care of Motor and pick up a few things. Lex plans to stay here to work tomorrow, and then we’re going out to have dinner in the evening with my sister. Lord, but she is spoiling us! We’re never going to want to leave and will end up putting the rig in storage and paying her rent for her amazing guest room. Ah, to dream!
Little prayer to the universe at bedtime: Please, don’t let anyone make off with our house in the dead of night and let our kitty be okay home alone!
