Hopped Up on Goofballs

That was the theme of our recent weekend in Kirkwood, because 4M and MT caught this particular episode of Perry Mason the night before our trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQuj9elPqg

MT you say?  Yes, there will be two new characters in today’s blog post.  MT and JS were high school classmates, along with 4M, UK, TK and Dream.  This Magnificent Seven headed to the UK’s humble Kirkwood abode in a three-car caravan Friday morning for a weekend of reverie
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MT, JS and Dream made the trek from the East Coast Thursday.  MT stayed at 4M’s house and I boarded the other two.  They were treated to one of my fantastic recipes, Coq Au Riesling, along with my wife’s tasty corn salad.  Their bill is in the mail. Fortunately for MT, 4M got take out.

We all met at my house Friday morning to start the trip.  We had a few stops for Starbucks, gas and a toothsome lunch at Rosebud’s Café in Jackson.  The last stop was for a beer pick up in Pine Grove.  4M and I arrived about a half hour after the rest of the crew.  We were gently ribbed about this a few times. I blame Waze. 

We arrived in Kirkwood much earlier in the day than on our usual jaunts there.  After a brief bible study session, we went out onto the deck.  I have previously mentioned that the UK keeps a meticulously groomed herb garden there.  Everybody felt the effects of the altitude, but we went through a case of water, so everyone was well hydrated.  I had better conversations with Dream this time (see 10/6/16 post).  There was a little busting of chops, which you should expect from this NY crowd.  4M and MT were born in the Bronx, The UK in Brooklyn, and JS in Queens.  I think TK and Dream were born upstate but they have spent a lot of time in the big city.  I’m the Philly outlier.  By the way, JS said he had to get out of Flushing when The Mets arrived.  That’s a joke son.

Dinner was a gustatory delight, a lasagna designed and implemented by TK.  4M provided several bottles of wine as usual.  We also had a little beer.  We cranked up The Last Waltz and some other music videos. Some of these chuckleheads raved on until 2am but I tucked myself in around 11:30.

Saturday morning was a slow one.  We noshed on the bagels and cream cheese 4M provided and sipped our coffee.  The big plan for Saturday was circumnavigating Lake Tahoe.  I threw out the idea of just driving around it instead, but that was voted down.  We took two of the three cars for this jaunt.  We ended up at Squaw Valley, which was featuring a Spartan race, but decided not to participate.  When we were chowing down our nachos at River Ranch, one of the guys pulled up an article that these extreme races sometimes lead to bloody diarrhea and even death. Whoa, sign me up!

We ended up at The Lake House just a few minutes before our designated reservation time.  The staff was hip to us and put us in a secluded spot. There was no hard alcohol, but we subsisted on beer and wine. The grub was good, and no fights broke out when it came time to split the bill.  Afterward we headed home to a somewhat sedate evening.  

The usual Kirkwood Sunday morning routine continued.  Everybody stripped their bed then watched the UK clean the place. We had a fine meal at Subway in Lockeford on the drive home.  That is the second time I have dined at a Subway and I’m quite impressed that I did not puke either time.  We converged on my manse in mid-afternoon to say our goodbyes.  Dream connected with a cousin while JS and I dropped MT at SFO then continued up to SF.  I gave him a brief tour, catching Land’s End, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Haight, the Castro, and downtown, while cursing out a few people that did not drive the way I liked.  JS helped me with breathing exercises.  We got stuck on 10th St. trying to get to the highway on the way back.  Unbeknownst to us, the Folsom St. Fair was on, which explained the interesting outfits we saw.

A big thanks to our host The UK and to Dream, MT and JS for making the flight out.  44 years have passed since our graduation, but the friendships have stood the test of time. There is one request I have for our East Coast contingent.  Can you help me figure out who the hell is responsible for those Highland Mills blog hits?