We started our weekend Friday with a volunteer shift at Rock ‘n Ribs, one of the premier charity events in the Ozarks. It’s a joint venture of all the area Rotary clubs and is a prime example of the power of a few to accomplish so much. Our tough job involved selling ice and delivering supplies to the BBQ teams who rewarded us with a few tasty morsals of their products and promises of more to come when the margarita contest began.
When “work” was done we hung out with friends Robin and Jim and made the rounds of the teams sampling the BBQ and scoring some great margaritas – especially after Robin told one team that we were official judges for that contest! They took our custom orders (frozen or on the rocks? salt – no salt?) and served them up in real glasses – no plastic, thank you – and they were YUMMY! Since I offered to pay for mine we’re hoping they had figured out we were just friendly folks trying to scam a ‘rita and not for real in the judge category.
The weather was perfect for a spring evening and we had plenty of opportunity to meet some new friends and see plenty of long-time acquaintenances – kind of like a big cocktail party under the stars. By time we headed for home we were stuffed with BBQ – and some awesome grilled pineapple.
Saturday was another picture-perfect day and we headed out with 15 other motorcycles for Neosho MO for an event held by a motorcycle chapter from Joplin. The event itself was not as spectacular as just being out on the bike and experiencing the spring weather. We took a direct route to get there but when just a few of us headed home at the same time we took a detour and found some great hills and curves through beautiful scenery – the kind of roads we call ‘rockin’ and ridin’.
Got home in time for Mulligan to get his stroll and then headed downtown for a dinner date at one of our favorite spots, Hickok’s. A bonus was the valet parking they now offer on the weekends which meant we didn’t have to cruise around for a parking spot and could go directly to ordering a microbrew and relaxing. Burl was thrilled to be able to get his chopped sirloin cooked so rare that it said “moo” when he cut it and I opted for the apricot chipotle salmon – and we both chose the creamed spinach and artichokes for one of our side dishes.
Coming home we thought we were done for the night but had a message from dear friends and neighbors Bev and Brett that they had a fire in the pit on their deck and would welcome us and any spirits we wished to bring along. We grabbed a bottle of Bailey’s and spent a couple of hours enjoying a starry night with an eclectic range of conversation. Bev and I are true soul-mates but changed that term to “cell mates” after a friend misunderstood the term – needless to say both of us number nerd, Sudoku-loving, independent women have a lot of fun with that play on words.
It’s now Sunday morning and after some coffee and the paper we’re ready to greet granddaughter Isabella who’s going to spend the day with us. Should be entertaining!
