Lessons Learned

This weekend was -- fantastic. Exhausting, as expected.

It started on Friday with the trek to Wausau. Some time at Red Eye before a dance, then a couple more stops with the Admiral before crashing for the night.

I woke up in a strange place on Saturday morning, narrowly avoiding a wake-up call from a highly energized ... Shi Tzu? I'm not actually sure what breed of dog it was. It was exuberant, though.

Lunch at the Mint, one more pint at Red Eye, and then came an afternoon of dinner prep at the house of our hosts.

A fabulous party followed.

Crashed around 3AM, occasionally awaking to find a cat pawing at my (hidden-under-a-blanket) head.

Sunday was brunch, some relaxing time, dinner with Emma Jean and her husband, and then the short trek to Minneapolis.

And Monday was ... The Drive. Egads.

What did I learn this weekend?

I learned that Edgar, the family cat, seems to have tempered my allergic reactions to small furry animals a bit.

I learned that the Admiral and I aren't as rusty as I thought when it comes to swing dancing or tango.

Actually, I mostly learned that my swing dancing has vastly improved in general.

[I've learned that if you want to avoid unnecessary innuendo, the two dances you should avoid are swing and tango.]

I learned that spilled glaze on a hot glass ceramic cooktop can give you a surefire way of telling whether or not your kitchen smoke detector works.

I learned that K&C's doesn't.

I learned that I should trust my gut when it suggests I stay in a town for one more night to avoid potential bad weather, even if road reports at the time of my leaving say I'll be fine.

I learned that spending three hours on 90 miles of road will slowly drive you bonkers.

I learned that driving on a snowy road stresses me out less than trying to get information out of my mother regarding something she hasn't already looked up.

I learned that, for a city at the crossing of two major interstate highways, Albert Lea has very little going for it. Not even a Starbucks.

I learned that you can get free wi-fi at HyVee. (For those that are unfamiliar, HyVee is a regional grocery store chain. Yes. That's why it was unexpected.)

I learned that nothing tastes better than a Leinie's Fireside Nut Brown Ale when your trip home took -- quite literally -- twice as long as it should have.

Now, Shorty's stuck in Milbank thanks to a car with a spark plug that refuses to stay in place. Hopefully his issues getting home and my issues getting home mean that the universe is skewed in such a way that Mia Sorella has a smooth flight...