Wrapping Up June With Kings Island, Disneyana, and Other Fun-ness
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
Summer and the J-months had been off to a rip-roaring start and I didn’t intend to let the momentum go as we began our descent out of June 2011. I strolled through it doing more than just enjoying the sounds of Peter Case, Jet, Hard-Fi, the Young Veins, Panic! at the Disco, and weekly doses of Billboard #1 hits on the iPod. There were still lots of fun things to do right here in our homeland, before the big Summer vacations would be commencing. Although the first event of this final week of June seemed unassuming, it was a catalyst for an entirely new ‘bucket list’ that I would soon be adding to my repertoire of things-to-do-before-I-die. It began as an innocent dinner near Jamie’s house. Read the rest of this entry »
The month of May generally brings the itch for the oncoming months of Summer. This one brought rain and some ridiculously difficult grass-cutting sessions - but these were about the only bad things that it brought. I have great sentiment for this particular May that brought my grandson Silas into the world, initiated him into our home life, brought lots of fun times with my girlfriend Jamie, and culminated in one of my most enjoyable trips in recent memory. There wasn’t much time – or inclination – for TV watching, although I did finish up the most recent season of Weeds and worked my way into the last two seasons of All in the Family. I also devoted some time to updating my music collection and delving into the delights of the bands Guster, Sea Wolf, Joy Division, The Kaiser Chiefs, and Beck. I also began an initiative to start watching all of the Disney animated shorts and the Superman cartoons from the 1940′s. 
It’s been a while since the concept of Spring Break has meant very much to me. But it certainly did near the beginning of March 2011. I had been out on a few dates with a great girl named Jamie and on Sunday, March 6, we decided to give the whole ‘exclusive dating’ thing the old college try. Speaking of college, Jamie was on Spring Break from teaching at the University of Findlay this very week and had just come home to Cincinnati to start hers the day before. We had hung out the day before and then gotten together again on that Sunday. Ashleigh had taken off to go out to eat with her Mom. 
Coming home from vacation is never that easy, but this one had extenuating circumstances that made the first couple of weeks back even less fun. For starters, the tickle in my throat and ears that had started as I flew back from Los Angeles to Dayton on Sunday, February 13, 2011, developed into a full-fledged cold – one that took two weeks to ‘almost’ get rid of. After being in the amazing Florida weather and the pretty-good California weather, it was also not fun to deal with Ohio’s ridiculous ups and downs. It had looked promising when I first got home, being in the upper 40′s and then catapulting into the 60′s – but it would soon fall apart and bring about rain and even more snow.