In the first game we took on 2 Boobs and 2 Girls.  The Boobs got two points to start the game followed by another two pointer where the the last point was pushed in by my last throw.  Down 4-0 we got ourselves back in the game by scoring single points in five of the next six frames to tie the game up at 5-5 but that was the extent of our comeback as they scored the last four points of the game.  They had one player on fire and two others throwing well and we didn't take big enough advantage of our chances.
In the second game we played Muddy Rollers.  Once again we fell behind 2=0 after the first frame but they only got one point in the second frame.  We started throwing better and pulled even with them at 5-5.  We had a chance to win with the pallino deep and the Rollers not having a ball very close but my first ball was off line and not close enough.  We did manage three points and a 8-5 lead.  They followed with two points and put their first ball on the pallino.  Ted succeeded in knocking with the pallino going to the back wall.  Their next ball got inside Teds and we got our next shot a little over a foot away, not bad with the pallino that deep.  The Jerry the hoodie guy got his next ball inside ours and our last shot was just off.  With their last ball Jerry barely nudged our ball enough to get the second point and send us to another defeat.  We played a lot better but once again didn't take advantage of a lot of our chances.

Last Thursday we were on our way to Popeye's when we saw the Up In Smoke truck by the old fire station in carbondale so we decided to give it a try.  They were our of ribs so we got jerk chicken tacos, rib tips and baked beans to take home.  The Glue needed her red beans and rice fix so we continued on to Popeye's and picked some up.  Things started off bad when the Glue opened her red beans and rice and it was dirty rice.  It didn't get much better with the baked beans since they weren't very warm nor were the tacos.  To keep piling it on, the rib tips were dry.  Not a good experience all the way around.  I think they weren't too far from closing and were scrapping the bottom of the barrel to get or order but not a good first impression.
Yesterday we went to St. Nicholas Landmark in Chester hoping they would have some of the cajun I saw in some Facebook pictures.  Our luck for the weekend held and they didn't have it so we settle for a beer and some of their house chips which were real good.  All in all I like this place better than the one in Duquoin, it's not as wide open and just has a better feel to it.
We headed over to Perryville where our first stop was Stoney's so the Glue could get some beef jerky that she loves.  After that we headed down to try Jstreet Brewery which wasn't open when we went over there earlier this year.  I was surprised there weren't many people there for a really nice day and we ended up sitting in some nice chairs by the window.  We ordered a couple beers and decided on the All Day pizza which has bell peppers, caramelized onions, garlic, homemade sausage and prosciutto.  The pizza was great, I really liked the blend of flavors but the Glue said it needed more sauce.  To continue the disappointing trend of the weekend they were out of a couple beers I wanted to try.  To finish up the trip we stopped next door at Mary Jane's Burgers and Brews for a final drink and then headed home.

On maybe the best weather night we've experienced since we started Roll'em took to the brickdust trying to rebound from week one's disappointment.  Roberto couldn't be there so we once again got Jean to sub for us.
Our first game was on the middle court against Usual Suspects.  We came out hot with the Glue and Jean getting a three point opening frame.  Ted had a good opening throw and it took the Suspects all four balls to not only get inside of it but to put it on the pallino.  With three balls left it was a no brainer for Ted to go for a kill which he did great.  Not only did he make the hit but his ball ended up being the point.  With two easy but long throws I managed to capitalize and we ended up with three more points for a 6-0 lead.  The Glue opened the third throw with another close ball.  They had a couple throws that missed hitting our ball by inches including one ball that hit the edge of the pallino and knocked it into our ball and right back where it was. With their closest ball about two and half feet away we had three throws to win but the Glues second shot need another half turn.  Jean came through though and we had a 9-0 three frame victory.  I don't remember us ever having a three frame game, either winning or losing.
In the second game we took on Corner Bocce Ballers on the dreaded new court.  We once again got off to a good start with a one point by the girls and two points from the guys.  The girls kept it going with another point and the guys answered with one more point and a 5-0 lead.  The Glue made a decent throw but they got one right beside the pallino but the Glue answered, effectively replacing their ball with hers.  They had a couple hard throws that looked good but ended up missing by an inch or so.  Their closest ball was a couple feet away and we were sitting with two points and two balls left.  Jean made those two balls count and we walked away with another 9-0 win.
I'm pretty sure we've never had two 9-0 wins on the same night and couple people there said they've never seen it before either.  It was great to see all four of us playing well after the first week disaster but the real stars were the Glue and Ted who made it pretty easy on me and Jean.

Yesterday me and the Glue decided to head down to Cape for something to eat and a few beers but first we decided to go to Academy Sports.  Big mistake as the Glue found several outfits for herself and the Grandtwins.
We then went to the new Buffalo Wild Wings to try and make a decision on where to go.  My old classmate Debbie lives in Cape and had given me a couple places south of Cape but I decided I didn't want to drive any further so we were down to Pilot House, Broussards or pizza at Minglewood and wings at the Bar. 
Pizza and wings finally won out so we headed down to the Riverfront.  I was going to stop at Broadway Beirgarten on the way there but they weren't open yet.  Minglewood had a nice crowd and I had my standby Fat Monk there while the Glue went with a kolsch.  We decided to go with the Italian meat pizza which seemed to take a long time to get to us.  While we were waiting we had a couple more beers with the Glue switching to Fat Monk too.  Once the wait finally ended it was well worth the wait.  The pizza really surprised me on how good it was, very good indeed. 
We then walked up to Katy O'ferrell's for our obligatory house red beer.  We had to sit on the corner of the bar because there weren't any places for two people.  As I was sitting down the guy next to me made a comment about my Packer shirt.  Of course I knew right away he was a bear fan and it was on.  One thing led to another between us and him and his "girlfriend" and we ended up having three beers there.  It was a lot of fun talking with them about Packers-bears, Murphysboro area (the guy had gone to SIU), food, dating sites and a wide variety of subjects.
I knew it was time to get out of there before we ordered any more beer and we headed down to The Bar for some wings.  We got 12 wings with Blue Moon sauce on them but they gave us at least 15 wings.  The wings themselves were very good however The Glue was still full from pizza and I had about five or six so there were plenty to bring home.
With that we headed home which was unfortunate because old friends Scott and Angie had just got to Cape and were going to the Pilot House.  We don't see them much anymore and it would have been great to meet up but the old man in me knew it would be a bad idea.  Hopefully soon we can get together with them.

After a brief visit by twin one and twin two we headed down to the bocce courts to begin the fall season with a revamped lineup.  As mentioned before Herbster and Clutch decided to take the fall season off so Roll'em added Roberto and Ted as our regular members.
In the first game we took on Boccelism on the middle court.  We got off to a typical Roll'em start by falling behind 3-0 but we answered with a one point and then two point frame to tie it up.  We then got a couple more one point frames and a 5-3 lead then disaster struck.  We had a point when our last ball moved the pallino and they ended up with two points to tie the game.  They threw the pallino close to the wall and on their second throw they put it real close to the pallino.  Both Ted and I tried to knock it away but didn't and with them having two balls left I tried to get one close but off the wall.  Unfortunately my last throw drift right and onto the wall a little in front of Ted's ball and both were sitting ducks.  Their first throw was a little short which surprised me that they didn't go for a knock on our balls.  They did on their second ball and it was on target and they got a 9-5 win.
After sitting for a while we played our second game against #thankusforyourwin on the new court where they'd just played.  We got out to an early 3=0 lead before they got started and quickly the score was tied 5-5.  They got a couple more to move the score to 7-5.  With Ted in and them out of balls I put my first ball in for a point and then disaster hit once again when my second ball hit their ball and moved it just enough for them to get the point.  In the next frame we were unable to get inside their first ball and we once again lost 9-5 for a rare 0-2 start.
It's early but that's two games we should have won but made to many mistakes, I'm thinking we had at least for times where we cost ourselves points by hitting their ball or the pallino and giving them points.  None of us played particularly well but our team captain (me) played awful. 
There's a couple new teams on Wednesday as the Empty Nesters moved from Thursday and Bocce-zilla appears to be a new team. 
One rule change that I don't care for at all and I think we'll regret changing is that each team can have warmup throws for every game.  I'm not sure how many teams actually took it but this will really slow down play.  Potentially there are 224 warmup throws each night not to mention the time needed to get the balls.  That will make for a long night.

Yesterday we decided to mark off another item on my checklist by going to Equality and trying the Red Onion which was recommended by Dan and Chris.
The four lane makes the trip over to the Harrisburg area a lot easier than our trips to watch Joe and Bailey's games, especially Baileys jr. high basketball games in Eldorado.  Taking our time the trip took a little over an hour.
When we got the restaurant there were about ten people sitting outside so I thought we'd be in for a thirty minute or so wait.  We went in to get on the waiting list and I was surprised when there were several tables available.  When the waitress came with the menu we had a couple big surprises.  The big one is that they don't have alcohol, Equality is dry.  I could have sworn I'd seen a picture at the Red Onion of someone drinking beer but I guess not.  The second surprise is that they have a special limited menu on Sunday's which really wasn't that big of a deal because they included the stuff we would have ordered anyway.
Even though there were tables available there was still a big crowd even though we got there a little after 1pm.  Also surprising were the number of employees working there and how hard they were working.  I asked the waitress if it was always this busy and she said this was not very busy for them.  She said on Friday and Saturday nights they'll have a 45-60 minute wait for tables. 
Anyway I ordered fried chicken with mashed potatoes, white gravy, baked beans and cooked baby carrots.  The went with a ribeye, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, fried okra and broccoli and rice casserole.  The fried chicken was good but nowhere near as good as Bottoms Up.  The baked beans were good but nothing special and both of us thought the mashed potatoes and respective gravies were real good.  The real star of my meal was the cooked baby carrots, they were very good.  The Glue's said her ribeye is the best she's had out in quite awhile (but mine our better).  She also liked the fried okra but said the broccoli rice casserole wasn't that great.
I don't think I'd ever been to Equality but then again why would I go to a town of 600 that doesn't serve alcohol?  The Red Onion gives us a reason to go back.  You know it was good when The Glue told our nephew "we'll go back" to a place that doesn't serve beer.

Friday started off with the always fun stress test.  This one was different from other ones that I've taken.  I didn't have to use the treadmill but was injected with some stuff that I guess stressed the heart.  I was told that a queasy feeling and panic were two possible side effects but would only last about a minute.  I had both and it made for a long minute or so, not much fun.
When I got home we decided to go to El Paisano for some tacos.  I got the fish tacos which were ok but I should have stuck with my stand by street tacos.
Friday night was Brews Brothers bock party with Downstate Music Co. who are probably my favorite local music option.  I think they had nine people playing in the band Friday and a couple who weren't there so they are a large band.  They play a lot of 60's and 70's music especially Chicago type music to take advantage of their horn section.  They were having some sort of sound problem in the beginning but I couldn't hear anything.  The open setting is ideal for Downstate, indoors they are kind of overpowering.  The block party had a pretty good crowd including the grandtwins for a while. 
After my Saturday morning golf game with Rod, Ted and Mike we decided to go to Route 51 for a late lunch.  I went with my standby fish while the Glue went with a Cuban.  I didn't care for the baked beans that I got, I like traditional baked beans and these had several different kinds of beans.  My fish was good but the Glue's Cuban was real good and will probably be my new standby there.

This past Wednesday the MBC had an open meeting to address some of the issues that have happened lately.  There were about 15 people plus board members who attended the meeting.  I really appreciate having a meeting during the summer but I hope if this happens again the board meeting will be separate from the open meeting.
There was lots of good discussion and ideas at the meeting but I felt for Jay trying to keep up his notes and with Brad trying to keep order.  Neither job could have been very easy.
One issue that was addressed was the rotating issue.  It appears that in the future rotating will no longer be allowed which in my opinion is a good thing.  Rotating allows a team that only has three players to have an advantage over a team with the normal four players.  A team shouldn't be rewarded for something they would be penalized for in the league tournament.
Another issue that appears to have been resolved is allowing for a score to be changed if both teams agree on it.  This caused some heated discussion among a couple board members.  If both teams agree the score will be changed.  I've never understood the big problem with this, people make mistakes.
Knocking was also brought up.  My take is that it's part of the game but I am concerned about balls flying out of the court.  Now if a team calls a knock and a player is in the court at the other end it will be a dead frame and the knocking team will be penalized two balls in the next frame.
There was a discussion on having a PA system to announce games and also play music on.  I think a bullhorn would work fine.  Having music opens a whole can or worms.  Who's going to decide what music or how loud it will be or when will it be played.  Conversation and comradery are a big part of the appeal of playing bocce.
A shelter is in the works to be built over the concrete pad at the west end of the bocce courts.  I think this will be an outstanding feature and will allow more room for people to stay out of the sun or rain.  It will also help block the summer sun from the courts which can be pretty brutal for people on that end.  This also could be a big attraction for using the facilities for other events.
Thanks to everyone involved with this meeting.  Great job.