Meeting the Uncles

Well, not technically... Last Thursday my good friend Dallas came down to Myrtle Beach with the high school baseball team that he coaches. He was literally the first person I met at freshman orientation back in college and we became friends right away. We actually became roommates the next year and he was one of my groomsmen when Mommy B and I got married. He still lives in Cleveland ("At least we're not Detroit!") and was looking forward to the trip to sunny South Carolina to get the baseball season started.

So on Thursday afternoon we packed up the Griswold family truckster and headed north to the Dirty Myrty so Alli could meet Uncle Dallas. Naturally, since Aunt Bacon still lives there we all decided to meet up for dinner. Parents of infants and small children know the dilemma that this presents - where can we go out to eat that will A) have halfway decent food, B) not be filled with smoke and/or drunk college kids on spring break, and C) be somewhat kid-friendly. What better place than Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville? Decent food, no smoke, and it's touristy enough that the crowd is a bit older so no drunk Fratty will try to shotgun Alli's baby bottle.

As the hostess showed us to our table, Alli was mesmerized by all the stuff there. If you've never been to one of these fine establishments, you should definitely check it out. The place is three stories tall, open in the middle, with a giant spinning "hurricane" hanging from the ceiling that pours "tequila" into a 20-ft. blender every couple of hours. Needless to say, there was plenty of visual and auditory stimulation to entertain Alli the entire time we were there.

About 10 minutes after we got there, in strolled The Stork. We nicknamed Dallas "The Stork" because he's tall and lanky and looked like a stork when he pitched for Denison's baseball team. He didn't even give me a handshake or a hug but instead went straight for Alli Ru... go figure. I guess I should get used to being second (or third) fiddle anymore. The two took to each other like they really were related. It was quite entertaining to watch. This is the same guy that got drunk, fell out of his bunk bed and flattened my trash can just 6 short years ago - and now he's blowing raspberries on my daughter's cheek. Ah how time flies...

Aunt Bacon showed up a few minutes later and got her Alli hug fix as well. We were able to actually sit down and enjoy a dinner out as a family for the first time in a while. We took turns holding/feeding Alli while the rest ate, but there was plenty going on to keep her behaved. Dallas couldn't keep his hands off her - he kept picking her up and walking her around the place. Personally, I just think she liked being up that high so she could see everything that was going on. We finished eating and said our goodbyes, then drove home in the dark as Alli slept in her car seat.

Needless to say, Uncle Dallas loves kids and really enjoyed getting to see Alli. It was cute seeing the two of them interact, and hopefully she'll get to meet more of Dad-E's friends from college sometime soon. I'll have to keep my eye on Uncle Marks, but I'm sure she'll enjoy meeting Uncle 'Teve and Uncle Worm just as much.