It was a good weekend so far. I went to visit my aunts and uncles (Dad's brothers and sister), out in West Palm Beach. They are all living out there right now, and my dad is the only holdout.

The trip didn't start off well at all. I was driving along, with the directions from Yahoo Maps sitting on my passenger seat. Clear cut, for the most part. So I didn't bother to look up the individual breaks. And so I missed my turn. I was driving along Rte 27, and went right past the turn off for Rte 80 in the middle of town. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until I hit I-75, 45 minutes down the road. So I went about an hour and a half out of my way in getting there, and it took me 4 hours total. The rest of the way was basically without incident. Except for the fact that there is no loop onto Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, like it says. But I managed to find my way... even when the street I needed didn't have a street sign. But I made it, before I got too frustrated and turned back home.

When I got there, I found out that my Uncle Ralph and Aunt Betty were out of town for the weekend, so I guess I will catch them at a later time. I may even take a trip over there with my friends when they come down. The beach is worth going to, right on the Atlantic, and I may have the ulterior motive of picking up something my dad is supposed to bring down with him. But we will see.

I got to see my other aunts and uncles though. They all came in within a few hours of me getting there, and we all sat down for a family dinner. We chatted a while, and then everyone went home. They all live in a little mobile home park for seniors (my dad is the baby of the family at 66), with three of their homes right next to/in back of each other. It's a nice little area, and all the people are friendly. Well not ALL, but most. There's always a few, of course. But anyway, I stayed with my Aunt Ginny and Uncle Larry (Virginia and Leo). We chatted for a while, Uncle Larry telling Navy stories from back in war times... he always has a new and different story for every occasion. I can't even keep track of them all. We went to bed early, and I stayed up a bit to draw. I wound up drawing Bob the Builder for my son. Kind of a belated birthday gift, though I did get him other things as well. I really enjoy my drawing, but I have to be in the mood for it.

So this morning, we woke up early and went to breakfast. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet for the park, and my Uncle Donald was one of the cooks. It was a good breakfast, with eggs, pancakes, grits, hash browns, bacon, sausage, toast, cinnamon raisin toast, different juices, and various pastries and donuts for dessert. And reasonably priced at $3 per adult, free for children. When it was over, we helped clean up, and then went back to the trailer to relax.

For lunch, we packed up and went on a picnic lunch to MacArthur Park. It was myself, my Aunt Ginny, Uncle Larry, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Pat. We sat on the picnic side to eat our lunch, and then walked over to the beach side. There is also a nature center and kayaking on the beach side. At the nature center today was a bluegrass jam. Basically a bluegrass band was playing, and any audience members were welcome to bring an instrument and join in playing and/or singing. It looked like fun, but I only knew one song that they played while we were there. Of course I sang along. I have no fear for something like that.

Afterwards, we rode a little cart/trolley across a 1/4-mile wood bridge to the beach. The beach is a beautiful stretch of land covering almost 2 miles. We stood at the top of a hill, on a wooden platform overlooking the beach. I went down to the water for a few minutes, wading in and getting the tips of my shorts wet. It was a nice temperature (the water), probably high 60s or low 70s. I went up and rinsed my feet off, and we headed out. We walked the bridge back, and we barely beat the thunderstorm that showed up to rain on our beach day.

After that, we headed back to the mobile home park, and I said my goodbyes to everyone. I left to head home, and stopped on my way to grab a bite to eat. I also stopped at Target and found a board game I've been wanting: Lord of the Rings RISK. I made it (with stops) in two and a half hours. So I guess I made good time.

But anyways, that was my weekend in a nutshell... I will end this entry here, and continue at some later time. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I may actually get that cast page up. And then maybe pigs will grow wings. Good night all!