It's been a hectic few weeks that I expected to slow down some but we couldn't have that could we?  I've been looking at new vehicles to replace my trusty 12 year old Durango that's done everything we asked of it.  Anyway after a morning filled with car dickering we decided to forego the mudrun at Riverside and go for a ride.  
I was dragging when we set out so I knew it wouldn't be a long ride.  I didn't feel like making decisions so I threw out some suggestions and we decided to go down to Trail of Tears and check it out.  Mike and Debbie hadn't been on one part of it but had on the other.  Nice little ride and helped ease my draggyness.
Once again I threw out suggestions on where to eat and Mike finally said Sinisis since they hadn't been there.  I've been craving one of their italian beef so I went with that and parm garlic fries.  Lisa for some reason got a deluxe tamale while Mike got a beef and cheese and Debbie got a burger.  After ordering I started to pay but my wallet was in my back pocket.  Oh shit, did I lose at one of the stops on Trail of Tears?  Did I leave it at home?  I thought about calling Bailey but finally decided to call Sam our neighbor who went over and confirmed I'd left it at home.
Anyway the italian beef was very good, probably my favorite in the area of that type beef.  The parm garlic fries appeared to be the typical crinkle cut out of a bag.  The garlic parm topping was good but the fries needed to be hotter, barely warm.  Mike was very high on the beef and cheese while Debbie said her burger was good.  Lisa like her tamale which surprised me.

On a rainy night we played the 6:30 & 7:30 games.  
We played Bocce & Brews on the third court.  The game started great when we got a four point frame.  So much for the highlight.  They kept making key shot after key shot and pass us by before we scored again to make the score 6-5.  Unfortunately they hit a three spot to win the game.
In the second game we played Corner Bocce Balllers on the first court.  As always happens we struggle with the change from third to first however we did jump out to a 2-0 lead.  Once again they strung points and made the score 6-5 them.  Sound familiar?  They then hit a three point frame for the win, Deja Vu all over again.
Our chances at making the tournament took a big hit with a three game losing streak.  Big frames once again killed us.

Last night we played the 6:30 & 7:30 games on a warm but nice night.
In the first game we played No Beer, No Bocce on the third court which was rolling erratic.  The game was back and forth the whole game we got a three point frame but they came back and with the score 7-7 and the ball close to the wall they took all four shots and didn't get inside us but they did get one close to ours.  Debbie took her second shot and hit their ball and we won 9-7.  We really owed them, they'd beaten us the last few times we'd played.
In the second game we played Ball Busters on the first court.  It's always tough going from the third to first court but you have to adjust.  They jumped out to a 2-0 lead but we came back but then they did too and with the score 6-5 us we made a giant mistake.  We left a wide open court and they walked in with a four point frame and their first win of the season.
We only had one big score frame against us but it was a costly one.

Yesterday was Lisa's birthday and there was no bocce so it was the perfect storm, yeah right.  We both had doctors appointments and we had to be back when the twins got off the bus so we had to keep it fairly close.
After throwing out several options she decided on Red Lobster.  I haven't been there in at least 10 years.  They don't have a great draft choices so we both got Blue Moons, tall of course.  It too a while and a few biscuits to decided what to get.  We had decided on what to get when we were told that Lisa's came with four choices instead of two so we regrouped and decided to split it.  We both got lobster from one section and Lisa got shrimp scampi while I got fried shrimp from the other.  We also split a baked potato and I got some slaw as sides.
Their biscuits are dangerous, too easy to fill up on them.  The lobster was good but I'm not overly versed in lobster.  Both shrimp dishes were also really good.  The baked potato really hit the spot but the slaw didn't, we should have got two baked potatoes.  To top it off they brought out a caramel ice cream dessert for her birthday that was really good.
Overall a nice return to a place I hadn't been in a while and it wasn't as expensive as I expected.

Late start yesterday meant staying somewhat close to home so we finally decided on Sergios.
I ordered chicken with broccoli and cauliflower.  As always the chips and salsa were really good plus Mike got guacamole for everyone and it was good.  I ordered my dish with no cheese on it and it was lacking.  It needed something but I'm not a fan of cheese over everything.  On top of that Lisa's dish had a bug in it.  She mentioned it to the waiter and nothing, I'm not sure he understood.  
Not overly pleased with Sergios yesterday, may be time to give it a break.

Earlier this week we were over towards Marion so we took the opportunity to go to Sam's and stock up on some things.  Since we were over there we decided to eat at Logans Roadhouse.  I just don't have a good too there so after a lot of back and forth we decided to split some fried ribs and a kickin chicken salad.
The ribs had a nice rub but were overcooked, typical fall of the bones stuff you get in most restaurants.  I know better but every once in a while I order ribs knowing they won't be that good.  On the other hand the salad was really good.  The chicken slices was nicely cooked and went well with the rest of the salad.
Yesterday we picked up China Buffet.  It had been a long day for both of us.  I got broccoli and pork with pork lo mein.  Lisa got garlic chicken with beef lo mein and we got an order of egg drop soup.  
The soup was really good and hit the spot for Lisa who has been cold a lot.  They gave us white rice instead of the beef lo mein so that sucked.  The pork and broccoli was okay, not great not bad.  The pork was somewhat overwhelming to the dish.  I need to quit getting pork there.  The chicken and garlic sauce was really good but had a kick to it that may be too much for me if I ate a lot of it.  The pork lo mein was very good but needed to be hotter and as opposed to the broccoli dish I didn't really notice the pork.

Week 5 saw us playing the 6&7 o'clock games on a very pleasant night.
In the first game we played Rolling Thunder on the middle court.  We started fast and didn't look back winning 9-0.  
In the second game we played Blue Collar Ballers on the first court.  The game started close but then we gave up a four point frame and were down 6-2.  We came right back with a three point frame to make it 6-5.  We got the game to 7-7.  We went deep with the pallino but couldn't get anything close but neither could they.  We had the point and they were down to their last ball still with nothing inside of 3-4 feet.  Their last ball went long and hit the back wall and suddenly we noticed that their previous ball had moved our back ball enough for it to count too and we got a much needed 9-7 win. 
Me and Lisa couldn't come close the second game but we got the win and we're finally back to .5oo at 5-5.