FRIDAY - Dinner with the Maddux Clan

Marc and I made our annual drive into California to see the Maddux Clan once again. The drive was calm enough, although we saw some ugly traffic backup due to road construction along I-40 about 50 miles east of Barstow. We eventually arrived in town and checked into our hotel.

We drove over to Uncle Bill's to wait for David to arrive. David was working nearby (well okay, about an hour away). So we visited with Uncle Bill and Lynne and Tom and his son Hunter while we waited. We all then drove over to THE GRAPE LEAF for dinner. I had not seen David since Uncle Dick passed away 12 years ago, so I was definitely happy to see him again. And he sure talked up a storm! Marc and David got into a serious discussion on music, including David Bowie. Marc told us all about his experience attending the Grammy Awards with Keri. Then they segued into movies. Marc and David both agreed that the following movies were worth seeing:

CHASING ICE® led to a discussion of global climate change. We did not reach a consensus on the subject. That also led to a discussion about fracking, where we also failed to reach a consensus. We then moved on to other subjects. Marc also told us about a recently released horror movie called STOKER®, which intrigued David.

Other topics that came up: how Uncle Bill shot himself in the knee back in the 50s. Differing accounts on how that happened: Mike and Aunt Pat say it involved a quick draw manuever; Uncle Bill claims not. I guess that we will have to wait for the film :-) The 49er Flapjack Contest where contestants have to lead a burro and cook it a flapjack and then feed the flapjack to the burro. What makes it interesting is that burros are pretty ornery and tough to lead around to do anything. That lead to Uncle Bill telling us how they used to cook burros that were overrunning the base back in the 60s. A 2 day process involving digging a hole, burning coals and wood the 1st night, then putting the burro meat on top and burying everything, and finally coming back the following night to eat it.

Interesting sidenote: Dad and Uncle Bill share the same philosophy about tipping servers. Oh, yes, we ate a great dinner. And we were some of the last people out of the restaurant that night. And such was our Friday night visit with the Maddux Clan for this April.

Lynne, Hunter and Tom, and Marc talking at THE GRAPE LEAF®.

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