Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Date 3 of 52--Double Date Pinochle

Our decision to go to Kemmerer for the weekend to pick up the van proved fortuitous for Mike who got out of "planning" our date for the week.
(He claims he had something planned before our last-minute trip, but I'm skeptical. The smirk on his face gave it away.)
You see, Kemmerer, Wyoming is a place where technology ceases to exist. Frankly, I always feel a little out of sorts when I'm there and lose all contact with the outside world. There's a population of only a couple of thousand, so resources are slight. Reminds me a bit of growing up in Grand Coulee, though not as big. There's a teeny little park in the center of town that's really a patch of grass shaped like a triangle. It's called Triangle Square. Seriously. It's right in front of the first ever JC Penney store. Yeah. In Kemmerer.
We were going to go out to dinner on our date, but the rest of the fam decided they wanted to go out on the town too, so we hopped in the car and drove to what Grandma & Grandpa called the "Mexican Restaurant." The "Mexican Restaurant" turned out to be a log cabin called the "Westerner Cafe." Half the menu was burgers & pork chops, the other half was Mexican. Hmmm. The food wasn't too bad, but the creepy Mexican worker making eyes at 6 year-old Katie all night was a little unnerving. I think we may avoid dining out in Kemmerer from now on.
After we got home & put the kids to bed, it was time for the actual date to begin! Barb popped some corn and dished out brownie sundaes, while Paul pulled out the card table and we partnered up for Pinochle. (It's a must when visiting the in-laws.) It was nice just to sit around talking and laughing and joking and eating. After a few hands, Barb had to go prepare a talk for Ward Conference, so Paul brought out Farkle, and the three of us spent the next hour rolling the dice! They were not my friends on this particular evening, but it was fun anyway. We may even add that game to our stash.
So, Mike got lucky with a successful date, despite being trapped in Kemmerer. I guess the moral of the story is: If you can date in Kemmerer, you can date anywhere.

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