First, happy birthday to my brother, Patrick, a long-time read and an infrequent commenter on this blog! We’ll get him later! 🙂

It’s been an eventful day to say the least!

First order of the day, a run! My wife and I are doing another Ironman Challenge just to keep ourselves going with both fitness and weight loss. So, it was much warmer than yesterday, so we went for a run outside, my first of the season. We did a little over three miles, nothing too strenuous, but it was nice to feel strong going forward.

My sister-in-law contacted my wife about meeting with my parents to surprise my brother with a birthday dinner (Which he paid for! Who does that??!!), so of course, we jumped at that opportunity to do something different! Since we were heading south (Cedar Rapids), we made an appointment to visit an RV store. Since our trip last summer, we’ve had RVs on the mind, and until about a month ago, it was a dream. But, walking around the UNI-Dome (look it up) and checking out all the different styles, we’ve been much more focused. We really liked the one we looked at, but money and use are always a concert, so we’ve been making list, looking at financing, and just doing our homework. We liked it just as much as the first time, but with a problem. We’ve found one locally, the dad of former students, who has a nice RV for sale as well. So, we’ll make lists, do some pros and cons, and see where we end up.

We left and hit the Cedar Rapids Goodwill. As we walked in, we passed a car with a tennis ball over the hitch. Only one pair who do something like that: my mom and dad. Sure enough, there they were! Dad did his shopping and was waiting. Mom likes to look. A lot. So, they were still in the shop when we left. We made our way do to the restaurant where we were to meet, which was in a pretty cool spot in Cedar Rapids. If you’ve never heard of Raygun , click on the link and be inspired! I got a couple of stickers to annoy students and my wife picked up a t-shirt, then to eat!

My brother’s face was priceless! A big wave as they walked in and the celebration was on! We’d not seen them since Thanksgiving (lots of Covid), so it was good to get everyone together. There were 54 beers on tap, and in order to access the menu, you had to scan the QR code. My mom pulls out her iPad Mini, hooked it to the WifI, and got right in. Damn! My dad just shook his head and enjoyed the chaos around him. Good conversations and good food, my goodness!

We finished up, gave hugs, and took our leave as there were multiple lightning flashes in the distance. As we got going, storms were really firing up around us, to the point there was a tornado warning for the county we were in and the one we were traveling through. I slowed way down on the interstate and let the storms pass in front of us. As we pulled off to aim north, we stopped at a gas station where the sign out front was completed bent over because of wind. Slowing down was a good idea as the storms caused havoc around us, but we were good to go. As I’m writing, I’m watching the news detail the damage of that storm. Eek!

So, a busy day, an eventful day, and a day with more questions than answers. We got to see family, eat some great food, and just enjoy each other’s company.

We can answer the questions tomorrow! 🙂

Oh, Iowa women, back in the Big 10 Championship game! Go Hawks!! 🙂