Catching up.....

I've let another day slip by, and have some catching up to do!!

We had to take Tristan back home yesterday. He drove his car up, but since it is a 3+ hour drive, we caravaned part of the way.  Uncle Jeff rode with Tristan and the rest of us (except Darlene and the puppies) went in the rental van that Joey & Darlene rented for the drive down.  We followed each other to Punta Gorda, which is about two hours from Lakeland, and only an hour from Naples, and stopped there for lunch, before Tristan drove the rest of the way alone.  Good practice for him, and he sent a text when he arrived home safely.  The place we usually have lunch at, when we use Punta Gorda for a drop off/meeting place with Tristan, is called the River City Grill.

On our way back to Lakeland, the rental van got a flat tire. Lovely. Joey called the rental company and they (of course) were terrible about getting any help. We all have AAA but the rental company said to call KIA road service (the car is a Kia Sedona). To make a very long and boring story short, we sat on the side of the road for TWO HOURS waiting for roadside assistance. Many phone calls later, a wonderful man showed up with his tools and truck, changed the tire for us and got us on our way. Let's just say Dollar Rental Car was awful, Kia Roadside Service was awful, and we all wished we had just called AAA, in spite of what we were asked to do. Route 17 is a very busy road, the shoulder was soft and none of the guys wanted to risk life or limb to change the tire. The flat was on the driver's side, and we couldn't pull off far enough to make it safe to be changing a tire with big trucks and cars flying by at 65 mph.

The biggest problem for all of us, by then, was to find a restroom!  McDonalds was our first stop after we got back on the road!! LOL  You all know what I mean, I'm sure!!

So, that was our "excitement" for yesterday!!  When we got home, right at 7:00 p.m.,  (poor Darlene had been home alone with the dogs and cats all day), I made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for our dinner, along with whatever else we had around to add to our dinner.  Chips, cheese, yogurt.... it was actually good!!

Today, the guys had to take the van to see if the tire can be patched, or if they need a new tire. Hoping it can be fixed, but the way it blew and went down do fast, I have my doubts. We are fortunate that Joey is a good driver and had good control of the vehicle when the tire blew.

Our weather has gone from being beautiful, and having the doors and windows open, to being hot and humid. We had to turn the AC back on last night, and intermittent thunder storms are in the forecast for the next three days. I have spaghetti sauce cooking in the crock pot and we will have stuffed shells tonight, with meatballs, salad and garlic bread.

Thanks for checking in! Peace, love & hugs!!