Friends On Vacation

CRASH! BANG!

Sleep did not come easily last night. About a half-hour after I laid down on my new daybed, a massive thunderstorm passed over Camden County. The thunder could be heard for miles. Even I saw the lightning, cuddled in the back of my new bed. It's not easy to settle down when you're thinking of your best friend's arrival the next day and Mother Nature is putting on a pyrotechnics show to rival the Fourth of July.

But I did finally get to sleep. When I awoke the next morning, it was still a little cloudy and humid, but nothing like last night's storm or yesterday's downpour. I watched Donald Duck vacation-themed cartoons as I had cereal and half of a grapefruit for breakfast. After I ate, I made Strawberry-Raspberry Mousse Pie for dessert while Lauren's here, then made my bed. (It is so much easier to make a daybed than it is a mattress and a box spring on the floor! The dolls all fit, too.)

I decided a trip to the gym would be useful for my health and to alleviate anxiety, since Lauren wasn't due to arrive until 6:14. When I arrived, I settled down in a stationary bike and watched Family Feud and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. I got in shortly after noon. Most people were probably at lunch, though it did get a little busier later. There were more people using the leg weight machines with me.

Much to my surprise, when I got home, the sun was out and the clouds were vanishing. It was too nice to be inside all day. I had a ham and spinach wrap, a pear, and the last of the banana muffins for lunch, then decided I'd walk over to Uncle Ken's to see if anyone was home. Uncle Ken was the only one there, watching true crime documentaries on the Biography Channel. I said "hi" to him, asked him how his birthday went last weekend, and told him about Lauren arriving.

Spent the next couple of hours at my place, tidying up the apartment for my visitor. I vacuumed. I ran a dust cloth over everything quickly, since I just dusted not long ago. I pulled out a sheet for her to sleep under and fresh towels. I put some things I didn't need in the back room.

Jodie called while I was dusting my bedroom. She would be picking Lauren up; Dad's out on a cruise ship job. Did I want to meet her at her place instead of her driving to Manor? Sure! Why not? After I finished the bedroom, I swept the porch and shook out a few rugs. Headed to Hillcrest Avenue around quarter of 6; Jodie met me on the way.

Lauren was right on time. It was such a nice day, she'd encountered no problems whatsoever on the way here. All of her trains were on time, and she easily found lunch and her way in New York and Philadelphia.

When we got in, I showed Lauren all the changes in my apartment. She'd been sitting for most of the day and I was inside for a lot of it, so we decided to go for a walk and get me some dinner (after she put on some shorts).

It was a perfect night weather-wise. The clouds were gone, replaced by upper 70-degrees temperatures, gorgeous sunshine, and soft breezes. We enjoyed the heady scent of roses and honeysuckle while watching the kids play with toys in their front lawns and the teens stroll with their own friends. There was something going on at the apartments next to WaWa; some people were gathered outside, talking to a cop. They sounded really upset. No one was hurt; I think something may have happened to a Hispanic child. I heard a mother say she wished more people in the area spoke Spanish.

I ended up getting a Roast Beef-Provolone Hoagie on a Whole Wheat Shorti (6-inch roll) and a pretzel. Lauren got a 4-inch turkey sandwich, two sodas (one for tomorrow), and a frozen iced tea. (She loves Dunkin' Donuts' version and thought she'd try WaWa's.) We trooped home, then had our dinners while watching the Bowery Boys movie Bowery Buckaroos.

Right now, we're both online. Tomorrow, we'll go for a stroll in Audubon.