Just Call Me Gunslinger McGraw

Me, on the shooting range. I am now in love with a Glock 9.

On our way to and from Philly HUBS and I made stops with our friends Zombie Apocalypse and his wife Gentle Teacher at their home in Ohio. They have actual acres up there, and Lake Erie passes behind their house.


This is their driveway, people!

As much as I love HUBS, it was nice to talk to someone other than him. I know how that sounds, but I did tell him that and he agreed! We both have fairly solitary jobs, and rarely do much talking with other people aside from each other. Zombie and Gentle showed us around their place when we got there (after about eight hours of driving and a few infuriating wrong turns that took us several miles out of our way) and made us an amazing dinner of grilled hamburgers, steaks and chicken with tater tots, Zombie style baked beans and fresh corn on the cob. Crap, y'all. It was so, so good!


Some of their ducks at the watering hole.

They have three dogs, a cat, ducks that they use for eggs, blueberry bushes and tons of flowers. They just moved in back in January. The house already had a guest room and a guest apartment with its own bathroom and kitchen. It also has granite on the walls in the kitchen. Swanky! They live out in the middle of nowhere, but it's beautiful there. Being a city person I couldn't spend my life in an area like that, but it's a lovely place to visit.



Even though we were exhausted we stayed up talking for a few hours, retiring at about midnight. The next day they took us out to breakfast at a local place they like to visit Mr. C's Restaurant. The food was amazing! God, I am a true sucker for breakfast.



After that we headed to the gun range. That's right, folks. Gun range. We shot a couple of revolvers, the aforementioned Glock 9, a civilian version of an AK 47 and a .357 Magnum. I did pretty good considering that I wasn't wearing my glasses (the safety goggles wouldn't fit over them) and I hadn't shot since I was about eight years old.


HUBS and Zombie getting ready for some long range shootin'.

The one drawback was that I was wearing short sleeves and an open neck top. Why was this a drawback, you ask? Because the shells would pop out of the gun, blazing hot and hit my bare skin. I even got one in the chest that almost went down my shirt. Yowza! I have a tiny scar on my right arm from a burn mark left from one of the shells. Is it weird that it makes me feel slightly badass?


Gentle, Zombie and HUBS leaving the restaurant.

Awesomeness is Awesome!

HUBS and friend. Let's call him Zombie Apocalypse.

You know how when you get back from vacation, and you spend a couple of days getting back into your routine (doing laundry, working with stupid people, making lunches...), it can feel like you were never gone at all? That's how I've been feeling this week, because Saturday was so much fun it felt like a vacation.

HUBS only has one friend, Zombie Apocalypse, from when he was growing up that he still keeps in contact with. About a month ago he let HUBS know that he and his wife would be heading through St. Louis on their way home to Ohio from Oklahoma, and asked if they could stay with us. Of course we said yes. HUBS and ZA haven't seen each other for, hold on now...15 YEARS!!

We were both looking forward to Saturday; it prompted me to clean some things I've been neglecting (blinds, walls, window sills, baseboards) and it's the only concrete opportunity we've had lately to socialize with people who are not family or ourselves.

Anyway, the day was so much fucking fun! I think I was nervous, because I barely got any sleep the night before, but we all got along like we see each other all the time. I'd never met either ZA or his wife, Gentle Teacher, but everything was just plain awesome!



We went to:

The Gumbo Shop for lunch.

The St. Louis Art Museum, The Old Cathedral and The Arch for touristy stuff.

Ted Drewes for Route 66 historical frozen custard goodness.

Miso for sushi dinner.

There was lots of talking, laughing, political commiserating and bonding. Gentle Teacher had brought her do along and we let him stay in our bathroom while we did our running around. I was a lot calmer about having a dog in the house when she told us he was a therapy dog for autistic children; I knew he'd be well trained and unlikely to tear anything up.



I swear, this is one of the best, fullest days we've had in a long, LONG time. I want to know more people and do more things with them! I want to talk to folks and have them in my house! I want to socialize like a normal adult! I want to have mutual friends with HUBS so we can go on double dates! Double dates!! I want to have fun like this on a weekly basis!

WEEKLY!!! Yea! Yea! Yea! Yea! Yea!