One of the things I wanted to do on vacation is take in a baseball game. Cincinnati isn't a far drive from Indianapolis. We went to a Reds game that Wednesday evening. We had plans to go to Newport Aquarium but we just decided to relax and do a little shopping. This is just about where strep throat set in. At the time, I wasn't overly impressed with their stadium but after looking at the pictures again I'll admit it had some cool features. I think my fever clouded the rest of my vacation. The next day was the Cincinnati Zoo. From everything I read, this zoo is rated pretty high. Whether it was due to the 95 degree temps or my illness, we enjoyed the Indianapolis zoo a bit more. My wife did enjoy their bird show and I though the polar bears were cool. We had planned on going to Holiday World the next day (which was the whole reason for the vacation), but by this time I was pretty sure that this was strep and I just didn't think it would be overly healthy for me to try another day of 90 degrees.

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My better half

This ticked off look is brought to you by strep throat

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Me in the parking lot w/ fever and heat stroke

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My wife actually told me this joke.                                                                                                                    After much calculation, I figured out that there is no way Obama can carry the state of Tennessee.

It comes down to one little letter. The letter G. Put a G in front of Obama and you've got one angry state.

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We spent this day at The Indianapolis Children's Museum. This place was just a blast. They had a history of video games where I had to pull Eli away from wearing out that exhibit. My wife loved the amazing miniature house displays. I personal enjoyed the comic book displays. They also have dinosaur exhibits and numerous other things to do and see.

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We then spent some time at the White River state park which is an downtown urban park.  It contains many attractions including a scenic canal system where you can rent bikes, paddleboats or just walk around and sightsee.  Of course, we had to rent a paddleboat. We were very impressed with Indianapolis overall. Very clean and easy to find your way around.

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My wife has long wanted to visit Holiday World in Indiana, so we attempted to plan a vacation around that choice.  After researching the net, I decided that Indianapolis would give us a couple of places to see and things to do. It wasn't a far drive from Nashville especially after some of the vacations we've taken where we've had to drive a great deal. The first day we visited the Indianapolis Zoo. My family loves to visit zoos.  We enjoyed the dolphin show and all the indoor exhibits. Eli had fun at their water splash zone where kids can cool off. The zoo gets high marks from our family.

I spy a picnic basket

Sir, move away from the meerkat

Ah, the elusive two headed giraffe

Take a picture of the lemur. No, no--that one. Awwwww.

Everybody out of the pool!!!

We then went out to dinner. We ran across Cheeseburger in Paradise. Being a Buffet fan, we decided to eat there. It was an excellent place for bad service and raw burgers. But all in all, a very good day.          

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We finished up the Tball season today w/ trophy day. All the participants received a trophy. It was nice to be able to say goodbye to the kids since I had to miss the last game of the season.  I'm sure Eli will be teammates with some of them next year when he moves up to coach pitch.  We finised the season strong with beating the best team in the league last week. Eli made great improvements with his swing and should be ready for coach pitch with a bit more work. We will really have to work on his fielding. During the trophy celebration, Eli got to pie his head coach due to selling the most pizzas for their fund raising. They had a cookout and we grabbed Eli a plate and ran.  I think they were going to have a coaches softball game but w/ the warm temps we really didn't want to stick around.

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Eli sliding for no particular reason

I'm on the far upper left--Eli right below me

Eli with his trophy

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Since one cannot refuse Steve Betz--it's actually a law

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1-What was I doing 10 years ago?

I had just started at the agency that I work for now as a trainee examiner. Three weeks after starting this job, I began dating a fellow trainee who would become my wife less than a year later.

2-What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?

Nothing out of the ordinary at work today--so after work--pick up Eli, fix dinner, laundry, may change the oil today if I actually get around to it

3-Snacks I enjoy:

Veggies & dip, peanuts or any member of the nut family, beef jerky, popcorn, chex mix

4-Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Greatly improve the quality of life of all family and friends, travel, greatly enjoy my free time to read as much as possible, learn a musical instrument, scuba dive and I would probably buy a great deal of land

5-Places I have lived:

Was born in Jacksonville, FL--lived in San Francisco, CA shortly therefore and have no memories of either. Moved to West TN at age 2--the county where Walking Tall/Buford Pusser took place. Haved lived in various areas of middle TN since age 18.

6-Jobs I have had:

My dad is a contracter/carpenter so I worked several summers with him. Before that, he was a timber cutter and I worked in the woods w/ him for one summer.  Sold fireworks during one holiday season--by far the most work hours I ever put in a week.  Convience store cashier--where I became one of the smartest men alive--the public believed that I knew everything from car mechanics to directions to the most asinine places.  Funeral home associate--I basically cleaned the place after hours, answer the phone, washed the hearst and whatever flunkie chore requested. Heat treat plant worker--another flunkie summer job. It was the hottest job imaginable. Production line welder--obtained this job after college when I found out that starting in a bank was $7/hr and I would make a good deal more than that as this job. Wasn't the wisest of choices but it eventually worked out.  Currently working my way up this govt agency food chain.

7-Bloggers I am tagging who I will enjoy getting to know better:

Since many of my neighborhood have seemed to have done this, I will just tag 3 that I don't think have filled it out:

jacolily, Christopher Loyd, AshbyChick

I appologize in advance if you folks have already been tagged.

Christopher Loyd 

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Nope, not in this post. On Wednesday, I started coming down w/ a cold. We made it thru the Reds ballgame and I really started going downhill. We had plans to visit the Cincinnati Zoo. I felt that this was just a sinus infection and I could walk it off, rub some dirt on it and man up. I did. Made it thru the day. It was friggin' hot. Woke up again this morning and couldn't really swallow at all. Looked at my throat and it wasn't pretty. We decided that it was probably best that I didn't try to make it to Holiday World just in case it was strep throat. We made it back into middle Tn late afternoon and stopped at an Urgent Care. Yep--strep throat. Got some antibotics but still feel like crap. Looks like I will miss Eli's last ballgame of the year. Will post some vacation highlights later when I can think. BTW--you folks have been busy blogging.

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As I've blogged previously, this season has been difficult. However since my "discussion" with the head coaches, things have greatly improved. Prior to that, we had only won one game. Since then, we are 3-3 and are all enjoying the games. The coaches have completely changed their attitudes. We are all having a blast. Eli only has one game left since we will be out of town next week. His hitting has greatly improved and he should be ready for coach pitch next year. I'll attempt to post some pictures after the season as I need to also update the profile pic.

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I do believe that I'm probably the least proficient blogger ever. Even when I have spare time, for reasons unknown, I've been unwilling to even attempt to produce some semi-literate thoughts.  I've actually accumulated a few blog ideas and yet I've not persuaded myself to follow thru on those.  We have been busy with Eli's T-ball and other spring/summer type events.  Eli had a week of swimming lessons. The boy is a bit scared of the water. Hopefully this year we will be able to go to the pool a few times and help him alleviate those fears. He did especially enjoy the last day of class as they let all the kids go down the water slide.  We are currently getting ready for a vacation starting on Monday. We are going to take it a bit slow this year and not try to jam in so many activities and couple that with less driving. We are going Monday and Tuesday to Indianapolis to visit their Zoo and the Children's Mueseum. We are going to drive down to Cincinnati for Wednesday and Thursday to take in their Zoo, Aquarium and a Reds game. Then on Friday, we are going to Holiday World and then drive back home that night. It sounds like alot but there will be plenty of down time for relaxing by the pool and sightseeing as needed. I haven't added many neighbors recently to my blog until tonight. It is sometimes difficult to keep up w/ the one's I have. I try to add those people who I think would be a positive influence, are humorous in blog content or have similiar tastes as I do. I'm sure most people add neighbors via the same thought process. Hope everyone has a good upcoming week as I will be out of touch for a while.

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I wish to apologize for my actions today. Somebody switched my coffee.

Worst Office Freak Out Ever

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