V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N ...sing it with me.
21 July

Well, it's been a while since my last post. There has been some stuff going on, primarily a family vacation to visit Most Patient Wife's folks. As always, we had a great time, and here are the highlights of the trip in no particular order:

1. The Omaha Zoo. Okay, I'll admit that I'm not much of a zoo guy. But I've seen a bunch of them all over this country and also in Germany, and I think that the Omaha facility is one of the best I've ever seen. From the overhead shark tank to the incredible desert dome (an artificial environment that approximates the conditions, flora and fauna of five different deserts), to the amazing primate displays, this zoo has just about everything. We were there for about three hours, and would have stayed longer but we were on a schedule. We saw about half the zoo.

One tip for visiting this place: it closes at 5PM. So if you want to go, I suggest getting there early. We are planning to go back in the next few months, with some friends in tow. I think it may actually take two days to see the whole thing.

2. Finally meeting up with the Marvelous Miss Marcia. Let me just say that I was lucky enough to have dinner with the two hottest babes in Lincoln, Nebraska. (My wonderful wife, naturally, being one.) MPW and I have known The Marvelous One longer than we have been married, and it was so good to see her. Now, if I could only get her to come up for Trivia next year...

3. Visiting historic Pipestone, Minnesota. Pipestone, Minnesota What a cool town! We are definitely heading back there soon.

4. See the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The visuals of this movie are everything you might expect from a Tim Burton film, and Depp's portrayal of Willy Wonka was fascinating. There are several moments in the film that are pictographs of previous Burton movies, and I had a lot of fun picking them out. Johnny Depp seemed to be channeling Frances McDormand in his line delivery at times -- especially Marge Gunderson, from Fargo. As I watched the movie, it seemed to me that he was even mimicking her facial expressions as he was speaking. This movie is a psychedelic trip of wonder, and highly recommended by everyone in our party.

5. Our trip to Wichita's old west attraction, the Old Cowtown Museum. According to their website, Old Cowtown Museum is a unique, 25 acre open-air living history museum which interprets the history of Wichita and Sedgwick County, and life on the southern plains, circa 1865 to 1880. We spent a few hours there, and a good time was had by all.

I was happy to get home to our kitties and my recliner, but every time we visit MPW's folks, it gets harder to leave.