We were going to take an extra day this year, leaving on Thursday after Charlie’s baseball game, and coming back from Gene’s on Wednesday rather than Tuesday. Things were not looking good for me as the time of departure drew near: a job for a health center was spinning out of control, with schedules and materials being changed daily. Finally, about 10 PM on Thursday, I got a call saying things were held up for a while, so I called to see if Scott and the boys had left.
I headed over, and we hit the road close to Midnight. We stopped for a nap in a rest area before St Louis, and woke as the sky was getting light. We crossed the river and headed down I-44 to Rolla, US 63 and the Coffee Pot, our new ‘traditional’ breakfast spot.
We pulled into Gene’s early in the afternoon, ready for a few days of fishing, Stanley Cup playoffs, eating, and relaxing. Dorothy had called the boys earlier, and taken pie orders. Charlie and Sam had chosen cherry, lemon, and apple pies this year, along with cake and homemade ice cream. Gene had the dinner schedule set. Seafood buffet, quail, and ribs for restaurant dinners, Gene would cook Road America style brats one evening, and Dorothy was hosting a pork roast dinner another evening.
We got ready for the ‘grind’ of the daily schedule. On the lake at first light, back to Gene’s for lunch and TV (hockey, fishing programs, or movies) and naps, dinner, desert at Dorothy’s, and hockey playoffs until our eyes couldn’t stay open.
Pretty rough.
The boys were ready for hanging around the pond, playing catch, and playing with Bear and Buddy. Sadly, Bear was gone to chase rabbits in the sky, old age had finally caught up with him. Buddy was happy to see the boys. Gene had three horses boarding in his pasture, and his neighbor had one. Sam immediately became friends with the horse in the neighbor’s pasture, naming him Wheel, and visiting him every afternoon. All the rest of the usual critters were hanging around. Deer, hummingbirds, bullfrogs and tree frogs, and ducks. A whippoorwill joined the usual bird noise before sawn, and a heron visited the pond.
Fishing was a great, but catching was a little sparse. Sam got the only keeper, Gene cleaned it, and Sam and I split it for lunch.
DEER BY THE POND
EARLY MORNING
HORSES IN THE PASTURE
HERON VISITS THE POND
GENE, CHARLIE, AND SCOTT
SAM WITH LUNCH
GENE SHOWS SAM HOW TO MAKE THE FISH LOOK BIGGER
DOROTHY, THE BOY'S FAVORITE PIE LADY
