Holiday Weekend

On Saturday morning, Jim, Jacob, Nancy, Norm, Irma, Richie, and I hopped into a couple of vehicles and headed up to the farm in Kaleva. Since the farmhouse is no longer inhabitable, we checked into connecting rooms at a nearby, small-town motel. We have stayed at this particular place many times in the past, and, while the units are generously sized and the owners are very friendly, it also leaves a bit to be desired. Nancy, Norm, and Irma's room had a malfunctioning doorknob, and when they tried to open it to get out, the handle would just spin around in circles. If not for the door to our connecting room, the three of them would have been trapped inside. We gave them a key for our door, and kept the deadbolt unlocked so they could come and go as needed. During a thunderstorm early Sunday morning, a gust of wind blew our door completely open and wind & rain whooshed into our motel room. As the deluge continued, Jim, Jacob, and Richie all glanced up from their slumber and went right back to sleep. I had to clamor out of bed, push the door shut against the 40 mph breeze, then attempt to secure it well enough so it would stay closed. Fortunately, none of us are high-maintenance travelers, so between the door issues, dirty carpeting, and some visiting ants & crickets, we found things at the motel to be comical rather than annoying.

We did have a great weekend, despite some bouts of rain each day. (And despite having orange juice spilled all over me by our young "waitress" at breakfast on Sunday!) The guys dodged the showers and golfed both Saturday and Sunday. We met up with some cousins several different times at various restaurants, decorated graves at the cemetery, had a barbecue with relatives, and hit up the local casino. We went to a Memorial Day program at the VFW hall on Monday, where the current members display flags honoring their deceased veterans. My dad's flag from his funeral flies there each year. We were then concerned that we would encounter heavy traffic on our drive south yesterday afternoon, but were pleasantly surprised to cruise straight on home with no problems. It was a fun weekend, and was nice to visit Kaleva again after not being there for a couple of years.