Travelin' pair

I left immediately from work on Tuesday, June 28, to K's in Lousiana. We went to bed about 1:30 a.m. and got up two hours later to drive to the airport that's about an hour from him. We got to PA at about noon. I didn't realize the floods in the northeast included where we were going. K's dad said that it had just stopped raining about an hour or so before we'd landed. It had been raining for about three days straight. There were businesses and roads closed everywhere, and the news was reporting on the rivers in the area and how many of them were 15 and 20 feet above normal. It was so completely opposite from the reports in Texas and Oklahoma, where most of the lakes are about 10 or 15 feet below normal.

The next day (Thursday), we drove around and looked at the river and the damage it did.
























































Remember this picture of K and me from Easter?















Yeah, well, we were standing where all the white foam is in this picture. And the Easter picture was taken not even three months before. Crazy!!






Friday, I met some of K's friends up in Pennsylvania who I hadn't met yet. Mike was a guy K went to high school with. He lived only about 20 miles from K's house, but he was evacuated because of the floods. He went to his dad's house in Sugar Notch, PA. He invited us over to hang out by the pool. He was fun and a really nice guy. That night, I met one of K's other really good friends. Eric was his neighbor growing up. He was really nice. It turns out he's really into drag racing. I'm a racing fan, and since my brother is a race car driver, I know how much racing means to the people who do it and how much they enjoy talking about it. I was really interested in it and asking Eric questions about it. He was showing me pictures and everything. His wife, J, was cooking an amazing dinner during all this. She was very cold to me, though, when she finally joined us. At one point, I asked if I could use their restroom. She looked at me and said, "Restroom? Restroom?" I said, "Bathroom? Toilet? Lavatory?" They told me where it was, and as I was climbing the stairs to the bathroom, I thought, "Wait a minute! 'Restroom' isn't a Southern word." The signs for bathrooms pretty much all say "Restrooms" no matter where you are. J was just doing or saying little things to take teeny stabs or poke fun at me. I didn't know if she was just like that or what. She was even snapping at Eric. She threatened to kill him like 7 times. It seemed like he was getting frustrated, but I didn't know if they were just one of those couples who jokes like that.

When K and I finally left and were saying bye to them, J looked at K and said, "She's a peach." She said, "It was so nice to finally meet you" in a way that was a little too much to know if it was genuine or not. When we got in the car, K was pretty pissed. He said, "I don't know what her deal was. She's the last person on earth I would have thought would act like that." He said he could tell Eric was getting mad at her, too. He didn't know why she was acting that way. He said everyone else absolutely loves me, and Eric and I got along. I told him it may have had something to do with the way I was dressed, since I was dressed for going out after dinner. I was wearing a conservative khaki skirt (just a bit above my knees) with a less-conservative, spaghetti strap black tank top. I was wearing dangly gold earrings and had a gold purse with dressy flip flops. I said she may have gotten a different impression of who I am by how I was dressed. It also could have had to do with the fact that I was interested in Eric's racing. I was asking him questions about it, and we hit it off. K said that J doesn't like the racing and wants Eric to sell the car. So maybe that was it. I really want to know, though.

After that, we went out with Mike and Al and another of their high school friends to a couple bars. The first one was a little neighborhood bar filled with older women (in their 40s and 50s) who were not happy to see us there. One of them told us to "go back to f---ing kindergarten." A couple of them were actually wanting to start fights with one of Mike's friends. We left there after a while and went to the Best Western. It had three clubs in it! One was called Club O. There was a bar outside by the pool that had four beds set up on the far side of it. There were pillows all over each of them, and they had plastic sheets since they were outside. There was a movie being projected onto the side of the building next to us. I think it was The Godfather. It was a crazy club for such a small town.

That Saturday, we drove to K's family's campground, which is where they spent a lot of their summers. It was fun! There was a big group of us who hung out that night around a fire drinking and talking. I still consider myself pretty new to the whole drinking thing, and I'm a lightweight. We got pretty silly, but it was fun to see what the campground is like since it was such a big part of K's life growing up.






































Me carrying the fireworks. They were heavy! (but I insisted on carrying them)










The boys setting off the fireworks










The girls watching them





The next day (Sunday), we slept in and took it easy. That night, we went to see Superman Returns with a couple of the guys. It was a good movie! It's long, though, which caught us all (and our bladders) off guard. Consider yourself warned!

Monday was the campground's 4th of July celebration. We ate and hung out under a pavilion talking. The guys played horshoes. It was fun! That night, we went back to K's hometown and met Al and his fiance, who K and I had never met before. We hung out at a fun little bar with several people. One wives of one of K's high school friends kept congratulating Al's fiance and saying how happy she was for them. I was, too, but I couldn't help but feel a little jealous because I wanted that to be K and me. Al and his fiance started dating last September, so K and I have been together longer. I know it's terrible to think like that, but I'm so ready and I just can't help it ...

Tuesday we went to Lititz, PA, which is where K's cousin and his new wife (the one whose wedding we went to in May) live. It rained a few times during the day, but only for about 10 minutes or so. It rained again at about 7:30. Lititz was celebrating its 250th anniversary. The town always has a big 4th of July celebration that lasts about 3 days. We got to the park, where it all takes place, at about 8. We ate fair food and walked around to look at everything. There is a big field where everyone spreads out blankets and watches the fireworks. It looks like Woodstock or something. We had our little spot reserved with a blanket.






























The fireworks show started at 10. An announcer came over the loudspeaker to start off the show. As soon as he started talking, a cool breeze picked up. Everyone started saying it felt like it was going to rain. Sure enough, as soon as the first firework went off, the sky opened up and it started pouring! The fireworks show was amazing, though.































A friend of K's cousin had brought her 3-year-old son by to hang out with us, so he was at the fireworks show with us. He'd been so cute all day and had really taken to K. K was carrying him on his shoulders and the little boy wanted to be right by his side the whole time. It was so cute! Well, when it was pouring, he started crying because we were all getting soaked.

Just as soon as we decided to leave and started picking up our blankets and stuff, the rain stopped as quickly as it had started. It was crazy!









We stayed and watched the rest of the show, which was coordinated to music. I guess in the middle of it they switched one of the songs, because "Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain" played while it was pouring. It was definitely a memorable 4th of July. :)

The guys wringing out the blanket so we could pick it up and carry it (it was heavy!)















The next day was spent hanging out with everyone for our last day. Thursday was spent traveling, back to Louisiana and back to Dallas. It was a good vacation!