Well it's been a great three days of PTO (Personal Time Off) but tomorrow I am going back to work. I have the next two days scheduled off but with the heat and humidity and people not wanting to get outside I might as well work.
Monday was a good day I drove to Southern Illinois to see the campus of SIU (Southern Illinois University). It is much larger than I expected, but then it's enrollment is larger than my Alma Mater (University of Missouri). I visited the main library, the football stadium and the basketball arena. (I guess that shows my interests, huh)? I then left Carbondale and headed east through the towns of Crab Orchard Lake and Marion. Highway 13 looks like a long strip mall between the communities. But, the lake was much wider than I expected. The lake is probably two miles wide from what I saw. And, it looks like maybe a good place to build a summer home. Marion is the home of a large maximum security prison, but you would never know it. It looks like a thriving town based on all of the stores and businesses I saw. I guess the state of Illinois is spending quite a bit of money at the college and the prison and the locals have benefited. I made it back to the Saint Louis area about seven in the evening and went to one of my favorite, and possibly St. Louis' neatest watering hole. The name of the bar is Fast Eddie's Bon Air. The beer is cold and the food is cheap. After this long day I made it home and slept very well.
Tuesday the neighbor across the street HM and I went to lunch. HM worked for years as a sales rep and knows all of the best restaurants and bars in Saint Louis. The restaurant we visited was called Cunettos and it was excellent. It's on the hill (the city's Italian neighborhood) and the service was excellent as was the food. I had a baked Lasagna and a couple of Michelobs. HM had a fancy salad and a VO Manhattan. It was a good time. After that I played golf at Quail Creek. I had my best round ever at the course turning in a 44 for nine holes. As I have said before I am a terrible golfer, so to shoot a 44 and have my best round ever was worth celebrating. I went down to the Casino Queen and played blackjack for several hours. After all that I broke even.
Finally, today I went to see my grand nephews and they were as much fun as ever to be around. But, their other Grandma (Ma-Ma) picked them up and they left at noon. So, we celebrated Grandma's birthday (my baby sister) with a big Chinese lunch. If you ever want a pick me up get down on the floor with a four year old and a two year old. I guarantee you will come out of it feeling great!
All in all a good vacation!
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