I'm a little late posting this, but here it is anyway!
Dad and Nancy came to visit us in lieu of Thanksgiving, and although it was a short trip (they came in on Saturday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon), we had a wonderful time together! Their visit also had another beneficial side-effect: we wanted the house to be safer to traverse, so it gave us both the incentive to try and get the landing and stairs done construction-wise. We still have some trim/finish work to do, but you can walk up and down the stairs without (us) feeling like you (our guest) might lose your footing. I'm happy to say that everybody survived the trek to and from the upstairs bathroom without incident.
We also enjoyed taking them to some of the local eateries around Carbondale. Those of you who have been out here know that there is no shortage of places to eat. We took Dad and Nancy to S&B's Burger Joint the first evening they were here, and Ashley and I enjoyed their comments and reminiscing as they would look around the room at the various posters, album covers, and music videos on the TV screens. S&B's is something like the Hard Rock Cafe (only better, I think), and they serve burgers and shakes.
Now, when I say they server burgers and shakes, I don't mean something you'd find at a diner-style restaurant. Oh no. This is not Steak & Shake. This is not your average burger joint. They pile on the toppings and sauces. They have their own home-made shakes with real ice-cream, both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties. They have amazing smothered fries piled with similar toppings to what you would find on the burgers. Can you tell I like this place? They know what they are doing, and I'd recommend to anyone that they try this place at least once. Dad and Nancy also said they very much enjoyed S&B's, so all in all it was a fun evening!
The next day they came with us to our church that we love so dearly. Afterwards, Ashley left to serve in the Kids' Program teaching the 1st-3rd graders. I would normally have joined her, bet I was able to forgo that time to spend more with Dad and Nancy. While waiting for Ashley to finish, I took them around campus and showed them where I work, as well as some of the more interesting places on campus. Nancy, I think, liked it a lot (maybe just a little).
Following that, we met up with Ashley again, went out to Moe's Mexican something-or-other (it's a tex-mex place where you can order tacos Subway-style) for a quick lunch, and then we saw them off so they could drive back to Chicago to catch a plane. It was a short visit, but we managed to pack a lot in a short time! Ashley and I really enjoyed their visit and we look forward to seeing them again!
Love,
Matt
