June 30th 2008

We've been in Tennessee for a couple of weeks now and we are leaving tomorrow morning.

We couldn't muster the energy to do very much - I could muster the energy to get up around noon and sit in the shade by the pool all day, that was about it. Jenn did a similar thing - except she usually got up earlier and sat in the sun. But what are you going to do when you have Tivo with movies on demand and an unlimited rentals membership at the local video store? Me and that is like a yin and yang. And on top of that it was the Euros. (I should have put money on my pre-tournament Spain to beat Germany prediction). I did get some golf practice though - Leslie and Rich have a large back yard with a couple of flags at either end. I also played my first ever actual round of 18 holes. (I should have put money on my prediction for that too - only I'm not sure you're allowed to back yourself to lose)

We did leave the house to go to Nashville and the local civil war battlefield at Stones River which were both swelteringly hot - a reminder of why we were indoors in the first place. We looked for some western shirts but they were all a bit fancy and the cowboy boots were a bit to expensive - even the used ones.

There were lots of thunderstorms, but no real tornadoes, although there was one warning which resulted in a flash flood which resulted in some girls panicking which in turn resulted in us turning back and abandoning that plan for the day. We didn't see anything touch down but there was some localised damage to trees which suggested a twister had briefly. Either that or the lightning had struck them which is highly possible and does make trees explode, it super heats the sap which expands or something. There were also some less spectacular lightning bugs, crepuscular beetles (that's right, look it up - I did) that flash in the twilight. We didn't get to see the rare event where the beetles synchronise their flashes so you see hundreds of them flash on and off together - which would have been spectacular.

Off to see if the President is at home, then through to New York.