After a long night of getting reacquainted with my friends back home, I had an early start this morning. Dad came and picked me up at Gary's around 9:00. I was still pretty sleepy, but such is life. We had a long day ahead full of house hunting. At eleven, we met a lady to look at three houses, then at one we met a man to look at four more. Then there were the ones we wanted to drive by to check out to consider if they were worth making an appointment to look at.
One by one, we drove to the houses and walked through, inspecting them room by room, making mental notes on what we liked and what we didn't. Some had long gently sloping yards with a beautiful view of the valley below. Some had a four foot patch of grass behind the house and an overgrown fence. One had fresh paint and new carpet, one had dead flies on the windowsills and a squeaky floor. After the morning tour of homes, we drove back to my dad's house for lunch.
Melissa had gone with us on the morning ride, but she didn't want to go back out in the afternoon. She wanted to stay, which was fine with us because she needed a nap anyway. Dad, Jeanne and I got in Dad's Pathfinder and headed back out to go to the rest of the houses.
The first one we saw was our favorite all day. It's got three bedrooms upstairs, allarge dining room and kitchen, and a good sized living room. In the basement is a two car garage, laundry room, covered porch, and a big old family room with a fireplace. Very nice. One of the upstairs bedrooms was decorated in Winnie the Pooh, which is my daughter's favorite thing in the world. It's got a decorative border around the top of the walls that will stay, so that will HAVE to be Meilssa's room, assuming we get it. Jeanne and I may go back and take a tour of it again next week when I go in for my interview of Friday. Perhaps we'll take Melissa with us. Maybe not. She'll be insane for the Pooh room. We might not get her out of there.
After we had looked at the houses, Jeanne and I went to dinner at this new restaurant they build overlooking the riverfront next to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. It's called the Riverfront Tavern, and is owned by the same people as this well known fancy restaurant called "Regas." I knew the food would be good. I also knew it would be expensive, but then again, it was paid for by my parents as an anniversary present for us. (We'll be married 3 years on Wednesday.)
Once we were seated, we were surprised by our waiter. It was Phil, the guy who now lives in our first apartment, which had been my bachelor pad until I married Jeanne. Phil told me that he had been working there since the place opened about a month ago. He spoke with us for a moment, then left us to decide what we wanted. We started with homemade onion rings in jalepeno ranch dip. Mmmm. Jeanne had a 9 oz sirloin, well done, with mashed potatoes and a salad with Balsamic Vinagrette dressing. I had the 14 oz Ribeye with the same. This was quite possibly the best steak I've ever had. I love a good steak marinade, but holy cow! They marinated it with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, whole peppercorns, and other spices. The vinegar made the steak SO tender it practically melted in my mouth. I can't wait to try this myself.
I've heard the Corn Chowder is to die for, as well.
After dinner we took a long walk along the water's edge in the waterfront park. We walked past Calhoun's, past our old apartment where Phil now lives, and down to Neyland Stadium, home of the 1998 National Champion Tennessee Volunteers. Then we turned and walked back. It was nice, spending some time alone with Jeanne, one on one, no kids around, no distractions, just the two of us. I wish we had more time for stuff like this, but its hard working the way we do and having a couple of critters. I hope we'll have more time to enjoy each other once we get moved back to Knoxville.
After we got back to my parents' house, we played with the kids until it was time to put them both to bed. Melissa cried for Mommy and Mammaw to put her to bed. I took on the task of rocking Jessica to sleep. It took me a long time to rock her to sleep. At one point, I almost dozed off before she did, but I got her to sleep.
After the kids were asleep, Jeanne and I went to Union Jack's to see JJ, Jack, Mike, Frank, Sherry, Paddywagon, and Gabe. It was good to see them again. They all look forward to us moving back. I hadn't seen Paddywagon in quite some time. We left around 12:30, stopping by my favorite all-night deli to get a roast beef and swiss on dark with mayo and mustard, pickle and peppers on the side.
Mmmmmmm.
Once at home, I went into the basement, which was my old room when I lived there, and I opened the door to the room my cat, Mookie, lives in. Mook was glad to see me. He knew I had food. Jeanne is alergic to cats, so she sleeps in a room upstairs when we visit my mom and dad. I sleep downstairs so I can get on my laptop without disturbing anyone else, so I can sleep in my old bed, with my cat curled up at my feet, and in the dark, if I'm just about asleep, it's as if I'm still in school, lying in my bed on a school night. Not that I would ever give up the wonderful wife and kids that I have, but just to remember a more simple time.
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Page Last Updated: April 2, 2000
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