Back Home Again

One of my musical guilty pleasures is John Denver. I got it from my older brothers who while learning to play guitar, played this little JD ditty to death:

Back Home Again

But as the song goes, "hey, it's good to be back home again." Even Chester thought so on Saturday night after he pooped himself out from all the excited jumping around he did the night before when we got home from Sandusky, Ohio. "Sorry folks...I'm too pooped to play."

But I think he was happy that we decided not the board him at the kennel, and keep him in his familiar surroundings where some our friends can feed him, walk him, and keep him company. I am ever grateful to 13's friend Andrew and my best friend Dave for tackling this mission. Not only did it save us a few hundred bucks, but made for a very happy Chester. He did not leave us any "indoor" gifts save for all the fur he's been shedding lately, which he has done all those other times we boarded. It's his very special way of telling us we fucked up. Well, not this time. Right Chester? Chester?

That said, I have few more thoughts to share about this vacation to Sandusky.....

A Few More Vacation Truisms:

1) Ten hour car trips are not conducive to family harmony. Pictures are always worth a thousand words and this one of 13, displays what we all felt about taking the long drive there and back.










2) What you see is on the Internet is usually never what you get. When we booked the rooms at the Main Gate Comfort Inn in Sandusky, we thought we were getting this:









and this:










But what we got was an unacceptable shit hole of a motel. We checked out of the place before we even opened our bags, and got nicer rooms at the Best Western a quarter mile west. However, on the way, we couldn't help but notice some of the upscale establishments that checkered Route 6 along the Lake Erie shoreline:

There was this swanky joint which was right next door to the Comfort Inn. Can't you just feel the vibe oozing from this place? I wonder if the walls are carpeted and Murph and Magic Tones are playing.
Or, if the Sandusky nightlife is not to you liking, why not try out a few of their fashionable boutiques like this one selling t-shirts and armless mannequins:










3) Driving in the rain to save your kids from being bored in a hotel room isn't the smartest thing to do, even if your destination is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was the view from our vehicle as we traveled along I-90 to Cleveland.










But I suppose it was all worth it when we captured this shot of the little one admiring Johnny Cash's tour bus....









and this one of the brood playing a ginourmous guitar.....









...even if we had to endure a hellish, endless trek on I-80 through Pennsylvania -- five, miles-long, road construction sites notwithstanding. We were just happy to be back home again.

Que the John Denver song....

Back Home Again...again