Date 31: Family Matters

This week our date night was spent in the company of family, lots of family-17 of us total. My mom and step dad (whom I call daddio) took the entire family on vacation to Tennessee. In my opinion there are two kinds of step families, the evil kind and the awesome kind. The Bow family definitely falls into the latter category.

The drive up was treacherous, at one point we were lost in a junk yard on the side of a steep mountain surrounded by gravel roads. An hour later, I peered down a road so steep that I couldn’t see the road ahead, so it became obvious very quickly that I was done driving for the day. It was like being on the top of a roller coaster with no tracks in sight. Prior to that hill, I had driven that mini-van like I was born to drive it, but I decided I could not be responsible for the death of my family so I asked for a volunteer… dead silence. Osi sat in the passenger side and made no attempt to trade places. In his defense, he was the only one in the car who shared my view of the road and we all know he likes to focus on the road trip music more than the drive. Before too long my brother-in-law Derek stepped up and drove us down the steep five foot hill. False alarm on my part!

Once we got to the cabin we had to decide which couple was going to sleep in a common area on a pull out couch. People were not jumping at the opportunity to forfeit their private Jacuzzi rooms. Osi and I were surrounded by lovebirds. We had been married the longest out of the siblings so I decided we would sacrifice our room. We converted the Ping-Pong room into our bedroom. I am guessing all those newlyweds were unaware that the entire Ping-Pong room was covered in mirrors and was the only room with direct access to the hot tub.

Our date night was filled with lots of family bonding and plenty of competitive games. We were also in charge of food for the cabin so Osi made everyone his famous omelets to rave reviews (He got $5 in tips). Random fact: 95% of Osi’s cooking consists of breakfast foods. All in all, our vacation date night was absolutely fantastic. The only thing I would do differently on our next family vacation is figure out a way to spend a little more alone time together. Osi rated this date a 9.5.

Date 30: Super Heroes in Amish Country

We ventured out to Elkart, Indiana to visit our friend Tara. The areas surrounding Elkhart are known for the Amish shops and restaurants…


No trip to Amish Country would be complete without a horse and carriage ride. We learned a few things on that buggy ride. For instance, an inside source told us that the "Amish furniture" sold nearby was actually "made in Japan". When asked where we could buy Amish furniture, our source told us it would be a drive. How's that possible?? It seems the Amish have found the tourism business to be quite lucrative.

Prior to taking this trip I researched the area and found that Elkhart had the world’s only superhero museum-or so they claim. Tara and I decided to surprise Osi with a visit there. We had a feeling this experience would be somewhat like a combination of the TV shows American Pickers and Hoarders. We were right.

Osi’s face was priceless as we pulled up and the museum was perfect for the superhero fanatic.

This date was a great combination of food, friends, and fun. Visit the Amish!
Osi rated this date an 8.

Date 29: The end of books as we know it.

The date night calendar for this week read, “Borders book date”. As you know, I schedule months ahead of time so this date was on the calendar long before Borders announced all stores were closing. The news hit me hard-similar to when Oprah announced her last season. There was a time when we would go to Southside Borders every couple of weeks and drink lattes, read, and talk to the regulars. Yes, Borders has regulars. We saw the same people week after week. We knew who was studying for the bar, who came to play chess, and who was preparing for a baby. Needless to say, this date was about nostalgic.

It was evident that Borders was going out of business the minute we arrived. The café was shut down, there were crowds of people looking for clearance items, and liquidation signs were scattered everywhere. I wondered if anyone else was as sad as I was. I only saw one regular, an elderly man his face solemn. I wanted badly to wish him well but we never did. Osi suggested we go to Barnes and Nobles instead. I was appalled that he didn’t want to sit and sulk at Borders but he was right that this was not the Borders we had grown to love.

I went to Barnes and Nobles but not without hesitation and sadness. When we arrived to B & N I overheard a woman ask the sales consultant if Barnes and Nobles was going out of business. “Oh no, we are doing fine,” she said. Their whole conversation was like a bitter mock. Let’s hope there never comes a time when bookstores completely vanish. At least let us come to a book café and download books from a plug in the wall or order digital books from a red box machine.

As I sat pondering the future of books, Osi read his comics. I looked thru the Vermont biking tour catalog for next year’s vacation and searched for new ipod music online. Thanks to iTunes our night took a pleasant twist of fate, for $24.60 I was able to buy Dexter season 5. That’s an entire month before you can buy it on amazon. Woohoo!!!! Osi and I were once again joined by a common interest. It was the perfect happy ending to a somewhat crummy night. We managed to watch the entire 5th season by Monday night! Thank you Dexter for saving date night! Osi rated this date a 7.