We played at at 6&7 last night, our last good night until returning to the long wait between games for our last two games.
In the first game we played Boobs, Bocce & Booze on the first court.  This game everything went our way.  If we needed a shot someone made it.  We started strong and kept going to a 9-0 win.
Our second game was once again on the first court and we played Mission Imbocceball.  This game was a lot different than the first.  They put their first ball real close to the pallino and we were always behind in the ball count, most times throwing all four and they still either had the point or we got our last ball in.  Anyway they raced out to a 7-1 lead but then things got interesting.  We got a four point frame to close to 7-5 then we got two more and tied the game at 7-7.  They broke the momentum a little with a point on the next frame.  On their third shot they got inside us but not overly close.  We had two chances to get inside but alas we failed and lost 9-7.

Kathy was finally feeling well enough to get out and about yesterday so we decided to go to Pistol City over Kretzers.  I really wanted Pistol City because the pictures of their onion rings looked so good.
I went up set on ordering off the menu and probably getting the cowboy ribeye.  After getting there and looking at the menu and the buffet I let price and quantity decided for me and went with the buffet.  Lisa and Mike also went with the buffet while Debbie got a fried chicken and swiss sandwich and Kathy got the cowboy ribeye.  We also got a platter of onion rings.
The onion rings tasted as good as they looked.  All three of us who got the buffet were disappointed, surprising since it had been so good in the past when we've been there.  The chicken was okay but nothing like previously.  The chicken and dumplings were not good.  The best thing on the buffett was the salad bar and the peach crisp desert.  Debbie really liked her sandwich and it was BIG.  Kathy's ribeye looked great and she said it was really good especially after eating very little the past few days.
The buffet also didn't sit well with me but that may have been a result of the past few days fun.  We did stop at the Amish store in Ava on the way.  We got some deli meat there for the first time and the price was very resonable.
🍺🍺🍷  (salad bar and onion rings really brought this up)

Yesterday morning we went to Faye's for drinks.  Me and Kathy had a diet Fitz root beer while Mike, Debbie and of course Lisa had Bloody Mary's.  The root beer was okay but nothing special.  I had a few drinks of Lisa's Bloody Mary and while I'm not a fan of tomato juice this was really good.
Later we went to Gabby's for lunch.  Lisa got a cajun chicken wrap with a salad while I got a pub burger and chips.  The salad dressing on the salad was really nice and the salad itself was big enough for me and her to share.  My burger was a half pound monster with swiss and pickles.  The burger was done really well but I think at this point in my life I'd prefer a 6 ounce burger.  The chips were nice and salty but there were several that weren't crisp.   I had a piece of the chicken from Lisa's wrap and it was very good.

 We played at 6&6:30 for the first time in a long time and I loved it.
In the first game we played Dark Side of the Pallino on the first court.  They scored a point in the first frame but we followed up with a three point frame.  They scored again but we responded with a one and a two point frames.  We finished it off with a three point frame for a 9-2 win. 
In the second game we played Bocce & Brews on the middle court.  Once again they scored the first point but once again we answered but this time with a two point frame,  They scored one to tie the game but then we pulled away and won 9-3 for a much needed sweep.

I'm not an overly big Apple Festival fan or parade fan in general but I did watch the parade this year.  The kiddie parade is okay but we missed it this year.  Not because we blinked and it was over but because our granddaughter missed it due to throwing fits.
We were going to go to Faye for a beverage and possibly breakfast but when we got there Lisa was informed they couldn't sell alcohol until 9.  The waitress said it was a state or city law so natural I contacted our mayor for clarification and he indicated alcohol could be sold as early as 6am on weekdays.  Oh well.
She also had to miss the big parade but Shad stay home with her and Dax.  We had great seats for the parade, a big shout out to November for allowing us to watch in front of her house.  It was the very beginning of the parade so none of the many candy throwers were out of candy.  This made for a big haul for Greyson.  He got a bag full of candy that he had trouble lifting.
The parade seemed to drag a little more this year than the past few and there were more firetrucks than I remember but it still was a good time.
Afterwards we went to Whiffleboys for pizza and wings.  We'd ordered from there a few days prior and got wings.  Their dry rubbed wings done extra crispy are excellent. 
I had to get home and get a brisket on for todays game so once again I didn't make it to the rides or food stands.  Now the best time at the Apple Festival, it's over and I can get through town without all the traffic.  Also now it's BBQ time.

We ordered a small pepperoni and mushroom thin pizza and an order of dry rubbed chicken wings from Whiffleboys yesterday.  It didn't disappoint, it arrived in a decent amount of time and was nice and hot.  The thin pizza is a really nice change up from their hand tossed.  As usual we got the wings extra crispy and they were really very good.

Last night we made up our week 3 cancellation due to heat so we played the 6:30 and 8 o'clock games.  Have I said how much I dislike 8 o'clock games?  Or 7:30? 
I finally was able to wear shoes but not my iconic yellow converse.  This was a big deal because I thought it might really be cooling down by our last game.  It ended up not being too bad and the games ran pretty much on time or even early.  One team forfeited and there were three 9-0 plus two 9-1 games that really moved the night along.
In the first game we played Boccelism on the middle court.  We got out to a 2-1 lead but they soon tied it and it went south.  They got a four point frame and then a three point frame to close out the game and a 9-2 loss.
In the second game we played Corner Bocce Ballers on the first court.  We actually got started early.  The game was close the first couple frames but we started pulling away with several one or two point frames then finally won 9-2.

This past weekend Lisa turned 60 so her brother Mike planned a surprise party for her.  He really worked hard on it and while it wasn't really a surprise to her it worked out great.  There was a big surprise when his third brother Danny from Cali showed up with his wife and his wife's sister and her significant.  Long time friend Valya came down from Champaign and added to the surprise. 
There were some other friends and family and all in all a really nice group of people having a nice time.  There was plenty of food and snacks and two cakes. Lisa had a blast, she got several unexpected gifts and cards.  The party went on until about midnight but I gave it up a couple hours earlier.
Gr

We tried out two "new" places recently. 
After bocce on Wednesday we went to the new McDonalds to grab a late night snack.  Lisa went in and picked it up so we could avoid the long line in the drive through.  We both got McDoubles and we got a large fry to share on the ride home. 
The fries were awesome, they reminded me of how good McDonalds fries are when they are relatively fresh and hot.  The double burgers were lacking, they tasted like they'd been sitting awhile.
Yesterday we went to Freddy's for the first time.  Me and Mike ordered their double burger and fries while Lisa got a single.  All of us got fries.  The fries were skinny and I thought they were just okay, I like mine a little thicker.  I should have ordered a burger instead of a cheeseburger, just didn't care for the way the swiss tasted on the sandwich.  I really liked the burgers and pickles were a great addition.

Week 5 had Roll'em once again turn to Danny to fill a spot on the team.  We finally played earlier games at 6 and 7 although it was the last 7 o'clock game.
In the first game we played Muddy Rollers on the middle court.  We got off to a 1-0 lead but gave up back to back 3 point frames to fall behind 6-1.  We followed that up with a 3 point frame followed up by a 4 point frame to retake the lead 8-6 and it was anyone's game.  We finished it up by getting our first ball close and it held up for the win 9-6.
In the second game we played Holly Ballz on the third court.  Not much went right in this game as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead but there was no comeback on this game as we went down 9-3.
On the night we were lucky to get a split with us taking multiple balls to get in on a wide open pallino and also leaving the pallino wide open way too many times.

After listening to some Jimmy Buffett songs we decided to head to Midland Inn for a bite to eat.  I've been a little down on Middies lately so it wasn't my first choice but that's where Mike wanted to go.  We opted for the comfort of inside instead of the deck like we'd thought about.
I really wanted tacos but their chicken tacos isn't fried chicken and I didn't really want anything else.  Cheeseburgers were out since we're having those today.  I thought about a polish sausage but finally went with a catfish sandwich.  Lisa got mexican and Mike went with BBQ.  She also got a margarita while I went with a cold draft beer.
Their catfish is the main reason why I've been down on them bu this sandwich was very good.  It was two pieces of a catfish filet and was too big for me to eat so I took one piece off and ate it separate.  Lisa said her mexican was also very good and Mike was pleased with his BBQ.  The homemade chips were on point too.  All in all a good choice.
Afterward we headed back to our house for some more Buffett music and drinks.  We probably should have opted for the Pack Shack or the veranda instead of the living room, it was just too comfortable.

I woke up this morning with the news that Jimmy Buffett had passed away at age 76.  I "discovered" his music in spring of my senior year in high school.  Actually Twink had heard him on the local album rock station and kept singing the lyrics to one of his song.  I finally heard the song and thought it was so good.  The song was Door Number 3 about the old tv show Let's Make a Deal.  A couple weeks later Twink heard another of his songs and once I heard it I was hooked.  That song was Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw and to an immature 18 year old it was awesome.
I went over to a record store in carbondale and bought a couple of his albums.  I discovered that he had a lot better songs than the two he'd heard such as A Pirate Looks at 40 and Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season among others.  After buying the other two albums that the store had I found out I'd actually heard one of his songs before.  Come Monday was on the charts earlier in my high school time.
He hit big shortly after with Margaritaville and then Cheeseburger in Paradise and an empire was born.  Almost 50 years later I'm still a fan and still prefer his early music that he said was Gulf and Western.  While I've never considered myself a Parrothead I do consider myself a grumpy old Parrothead.