Visit, A 9 Hour Tour

My 4th of July started off with a visit to the hospital to check in on my good buddy Juan. He was in there for observation and got released later in the day. I hung there for close to three hours. It was weird seeing my friend who is normally so energetic, up beat and happy, the opposite of that. I am confident he will be ok.

So I had this big 4th of July party in the afternoon. I think the last 4th of July party I have attended was at Gary’s house up in PA in the late 90’s. Yes, it’s been that long. The host rented out the clubhouse in his community which meant we had access to all of it’s amenities including a pool, hot tub, pickleball courts and more. It was a great set up.

I arrived shortly after 2PM. It didn’t take long until we were setting up a Crosscourt net (I think that is what its called). It’s a weird volleyball variation where you have a net that is shaped like a cross, giving you four small quadrants. The goal is to not have the ball drop on your square. The size of each square is very small so it requires very precise control which is not my strong point. I didn’t do great in the game but it was still a lot of fun.

They had a huge inflatable water slide there as well that was used primarily by the kids of course but most of the adults took a run or two down the slide as well. I did it twice, once feet first and then head first. Head first wound up giving me a nose full of water but the little kids that were watching approved.

I also played my first session of pool volleyball in decades. I found it to be a very tiring activity as moving through water constantly will wear you out quickly. I was hydrating with Cayman Jack the entire time which was masked by my pouring them into my water container. Despite drinking a lot of them I never felt super drunk perhaps because I was being so active most of the party. The athletic activities wound up with playing a couple games of pickleball which was fun. It was the one sport where I had a distinct advantage because of just how much I play nowadays.

The fireworks display at the end was really impressive. It went on for 20 minutes plus and was at the level of some professional displays I have seen down here. I sat on my beach chair in the parking lot and just enjoyed the show.

Afterwards I hung for a bit to help clean up from the festivities, not leaving until almost 11PM, making the party 9 hours long. I have never participated in a nine hour party in my life. It’s an idea I would not have even entertained for a very long time. I wound up being very glad I did, despite paying a sleep penalty for it.

This weekend I need to mentally and physically start getting myself organized for the trip to California. I may even resort to my good old written list to make sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted.