Hot Tub Time Machine, Part II

Grateful I made good time on the roads on Sunday morning because we had made arrangements to go to Dover, Delaware, to meet up with some new friends.  Now when I say "new" in this case, I really mean "blast from the past new."  Ronnie and his partner Terri visited us at the boat on their way back to their home from a visit in Fredericksburg about two weeks back.  Ronnie and I went to the same high school, with him graduating a year behind me.  I knew who he was, he knew who I was, but we weren't friends and didn't hang out together.  Too bad for me, I can say now. 

At our first meeting, as we were sitting in the cockpit of our boat, we were invited up to their house for a visit.  Probably to their surprise, we decided to take them up on it.  We set a date and set out within the hour of my arrival back at the marina this past Sunday morning. 

We were greeted with such warmth, generosity, and hospitality.  Ronnie showed me where he had stashed my sweet tea (oh yeah!), said he'd picked up turkey burgers to grill, and gave me a sneak peak at the peach cobbler we were going to have after the cookout.  We met family and were made to feel like family (more like a royal family). 

The television was on because Ronnie and his family are big football fans; his mom (who is in her 80s) had on a Redskins jersey, Redskins hat, and Redskins puffy slippers.  She said she didn't want to embarrass him in front of us, but he insisted she wear the getup.  I don't think she minded that much.  That extra oomph did not help the team, though.

Ronnie is some cook!  Even though we thought we were special, he said they do this every Sunday.  People are always dropping in so they make sure to have enough to go around.  He made beef burgers for grilling that were stuffed inside with onions, bacon, and cheese.  Wow!  I'm going to try that with turkey burgers next time.  We were all given the formal tour of the house, which was amazing and seemed to never end, but Elliott's eyes grew real big when he saw the "Man Cave" downstairs.  All of Ronnie's military certificates and medals hung on the walls.  He put in 24 years of service for our country.  Proud of him for that.

OCD Boy Strikes Again!  (Or CDO, as he would put it!)

There was a bar area, a model train room, and a pool table.  There is a Redskins' themed bath where everything is team related, except for the bowl of the toilet where he has affixed Dallas Cowboy stickers.  Zing!  Elliott and I played a few games of pool; he beat me by one game.  My technique is terrible.  Elliott stayed in the basement perfecting his.  Then he discovered the Wii and came upstairs sweating after playing.

The meal was wonderful; the burgers,baked beans, macaroni salad, peppers grilled with cheese, just all good. And the cobbler after, oh my!   With vanilla ice cream!  Double Oh My! 

We all were in a food coma, but said yes to a visit to the Dover Air Force Base.  I hadn't been on a military base since my Dad's Fort Belvoir days, so it was neat to see how upscale everything was.  There is a whole community inside those gates; offices, housing, pools, commissary, gas station, it's really amazing to see.  Ronnie showed us where he worked and we saw the biggest airplane I'd ever seen:  the C-5.  Wow.

When we got back to the house, even though we were still in a food coma, we decided to spend a little time in the hot tub.  A lot of our discussion in the hot tub was about school back in the day, so it was cool to travel back in time and think about the old days, and oh, those bubbles are hitting just the right spot!  We talked about old friends we've lost and old friends we still stay in touch with.  I heard about an upcoming reunion of sorts in September that would be cool to go to, but I can't commit to anything right now.  Gary didn't want to join us, so he sat outside the hot tub chatting with us.  A little while later, something we said must have changed his mind, because all of a sudden, there he was, sitting in the bubbling stew with us. It was wonderful.  I don't know how the idea of a hot tub being a time machine came up, but it did, and we thought it would be hilarious to name one of the blogs just that.  Not sure how to bring it all around except to say that I did not know it was a movie.  I may have to watch it even though it may be pure schlock.  Our hot tub time machine was all about the past, and it seemed our visit the next day would prove much the same, but much further back.

After chatting some more inside, we all turned in.  Next morning, I got up early and made breakfast for the crew that was still there.   We really enjoyed our visit and hope to make that trek again, if not this year, then next.  Thank you, Ronnie, Terri, and Ruby!