The seats were nice and courtesy of a local country station. The crowd was a mix of Frats/Sororities and honest to God country people. A gentleman sitting next to us was hands down wearing the tightest jeans and shirt I’ve ever seen on a skinny dude in my life. Hipsters would have been envious.

The show was very good and I actually recognized about 5 of the songs. Dierks himself did a good of interacting with the crowd both while performing and in between songs. He also displayed more than a passing familiarity with Gainesville and the Gators. That being said, the loudest cheers of the night took place when he brought members of the Armed Forces on stage.

I have to admit, it was a nice, change of pace evening and it was nice to be out having fun with Lindsay as my Gainesville time is so precious at the moment. I may even consider another concert in the future!

The first day there, I was still suffering from sleep deprivation and a tweaked back and really didn’t do anything but eat and sleep…big surprise to those of you who know me. The cabin was located in the mountains and was quite comfy. Outside it was in the low 70′s and beautiful and a nearby stream provided a constant and relaxing background noise. Others chose to go hike but my one excursion was to the lake at night to look at the stars which were beautiful.

Saturday saw us “head down the mountain” into the town of Brevard, North Carolina for their 4th of July Celebration. Brevard is one of those little towns full of Antique and Artist shops that seem to be a staple of small town America. There was a car show that I was very impressed by…a great sample of cars with the vast majority being American made from the 50′s-70′s although there were a few earlier models. Maybe 80-100 cars total? While I looked at cars and nursed may back the wimmenz shopped for junk I mean incredibly valuable antiques that only looked like junk!

Sunday I was feeling better and everyone went to a local State Park where apparently they had filmed some of the waterfall scenes for Last of the Mohicans. As previously stated, I am not an outdoors person but I LOVED climbing around the waterfalls, up ledges, etc. This was the highlight of the trip for me and I could have spent several days just exploring the falls and climbing all over the place! That evening we had smores around a campfire where I displayed my self-proclaimed smore making skills. We then went out to the lake again to look at stars and had fun looking at constellation overlays with iPhone and Droid Apps.

The next day, we began the trip home. Lindsay was staying for another week but Kevin, Tina, and I headed back. I slept pretty much the entire way until we reached Brunswick and then I drove home to the ‘ville. While I felt bad for sleeping 70% of the time I was in NC and not being social my body needed it. I felt about 110% better when I returned home.

Good trip, good times, good people…it doesn’t get much better!

We arrived at Lake Noonan around 9:30PM and promptly grabbed canoes and headed out. The bugs weren’t biting bugs, but if you had any type of light on you, you were getting swarmed! We slowly paddled the canoe down the canal following floating lights showing us the way out. When we hit the lake, it was beautiful…the temperature was perfect and random small fish were jumping in the water…one even landed in the canoe. The moon was completely full and shimmered across the surface of the lake, rippling with the water.

We stayed out on the lake for about 2 hours and my favorite parts were when it was quiet and you could just hear nature.

After we returned to where had started out journey I was impressed by the number of people who were there in canoes and kayaks. I’d say 20-30 people total. I can understand why people do this for relaxation and to enjoy the beauty.

Although there was very little sleep for a few days…it ended up being worth it! Over 6000 people attended the walk and it was amazing to see how important this organization and event is to the community. As walkers returned to the central staging area…after an 8.5 mile walk, they were greeted with food from local restaurants and entertainment. The highlight of the day for me was watching Anna Moo. Who is Anna Moo? She is a fifty+ year old local woman who is an entertainer and all I can say is that she brings it. I really think she is my new favorite local celebrity.

Saturday evening, we ended the night with a dinner with the staff at Ballyhoo’s and then it was home for a good twelve hours of sleep!

Personally I’m dating a great girl whom I’ve been with for six months. I can’t thank Lindsay enough for the happiness and stability she brings to my every day life. She’s been a key to a lot of this.

I’m also thankful for my many friends who continue to support me and in turn whom I try to help and support when I can.

Life is good.

Highlights of the present unwrapping included multiple pranks. Adam, Lindsay’s oldest brother, played basketball at FSU and hates all things Gators. So I of course bought a Florida Gator Christmas ornament and attached it to a present Lindsay had wrapped for Adam without her knowing. When she picked up the present, it took all of my will power to keep a straight face. She kept going…”This is your present Adam but I didn’t put this on here!” She tried to get my present off but I had taped it to the real present. When Adam opened the present, he just said, “Ohhhhh that’s dirty” and I finally lost it and started laughing my ass off.

Poor Adam was in for a rough day as later on he unwrapped a present with his name on it that was a Wii. Only to have Lindsay go, “Oh…I’m so sorry Adam, that is for Kevin…Mom and I must have gotten the presents mixed up!” The look on his face was priceless! They eventually gave him his own Wii later.

I ended up making out well: A Wii, nice cufflinks, two shirts, and some smaller presents and prank gifts thrown in. I gave Lindsay a designer purse that she didn’t see coming at all, Yoga lessons, and two rear tires for her car. For the latter present, I sent her on a clue based scavenger hunt to find them.

Another interesting tradition of the Kriegs was that they do not open their stockings until evening dinner on Christmas Day…a bit different but I guess it keeps some excitement going! It should be noted at this point in time that I had gone through 3 bottles of grenadine in like 5 days…which is a lot…even for me!

The final night of our stay, I slept on the couch and apparently slept through the big excitement of the week! Other Kevin and Adam went out and came home drunk…Other Kevin with a girl. Adam woke everyone up coming in and claimed not to know where Kevin was…and then Kevin’s dog shot out the door to Kevin’s car where he was having what I am sure was a deep, intellectual conversation with a delightful young lady. All Adam could say while laughing was, “Kevin’s dog sold him out!”. Apparently the entire family was up and laughing and drunk at 3AM…while I blithely slept through it all on the couch. What can I say…I have sleeping skills! In all seriousness, I am doing a very poor imitation of how funny this story was when repeated to me…I start laughing just thinking about it.

Sunday on the trip home, we stopped in Tampa and had dinner with my little sister Kim and her friends Michelle and Ariel. It was a nice break and I had told Kim that Lindsay was only 5’2″ and very conscious of her height…so you can only image the confusion when I show up with a 6′ tall woman!

It was a great weekend and I’m thankful for the time I was able to spend with the Krieg family! They are quite awesome!

As with the rest of the family, Adam has a great sense of humor but he is very different than OTHER Kevin. Adam has a bad ass, stray, Pit Bull that he adopted when it wandered into his yard about 10 years ago. The dog is named Rusty and is just a super friendly dog. I do not think I’ve ever seen a dog that is so attached/loyal to it’s Master. I honestly believe Rusty knows that Adam saved his life…plus Rusty climbs trees!

Since I’m getting my days discombobulated, this is probably wrong but I believe the Jackson’s came over again for dinner on Christmas Eve. Liz had left with her boyfriend to be with his family in South Caroline but the Jackson’s son…Nate came this time. Nate is a freaking character. Apparently he is an on-air personality of some sort in Atlanta for a radio station. The guy is damn funny and he enjoyed teasing Grandma Mimi.

The highlight of the evening was Grandma Mimi playing Wii and at times swinging at the replay in Tennis instead of the actual live game. I’m proud to say I beat the snot out of an 80+ year old woman in Wii tennis…I’m a stone cold killer like that!

Tomorrow…Christmas!

Wednesday was also cookie making day! Sugar cookies, oatmeal cookies, and tons of Mexican Wedding cookies which Lindsay’s Father loves as much as I love sugar cookies! I helped out but due to my large hands my Mexican Wedding cookies ended up the size of golf balls…which is to say about 100% larger than they should be!

On Wednesday I also met one of Lindsay’s brothers…Kevin. Yes…his name is Kevin also and for the rest of the week, daily on average, there were about 2 dozen conversations that were similar to this or some variation of: “Kevin can you do this?”…”No, OTHER Kevin.”

Kevin was a very polite guy and has excellent taste in clothing. He is about the same weight/build as I am but two inches taller. I have to say that it was a little strange being around someone taller than I am as it has been probably 15 years since I’ve had that experience. My personal opinion is that Kevin is a very thoughtful, quiet guy, who tends to sit back and observe rather than jump right in on things.

The evening saw the arrival of Lindsay’s best friend Liz, Liz’s boyfriend, and Liz’s parents, the Jackson’s. The Jackson’s and Krieg’s have known each other for a long time and there was plenty of great conversation and laughter around the dinner table. Lindsay and Liz broke out some old pictures…some of which were traumatic to me. When your better half is eleven years younger than you, you do NOT want to see her as an 11-year old because all I could think was, “I was 22 at that time!”

Lindsay and Liz would go into these giggle fits that were hysterical but I derived my most amusement from Kevin…OTHER Kevin. Lindsay, the Jacksons, and her parents are all pretty liberal, ex-hippie types. Kevin is a bit more conservative in his business or political views. Kevin…OTHER Kevin…has this very quick, subtle delivery where someone would make some liberal political statement and he would slip a zinger in…just to mess with everyone else.

It was a great evening and I read until the wee hours of the morning and finished the book I had started the day before.

After Norman Love, it was back to the Krieg House. The day was rather uneventful and I spent most of it reading. Lindsay’s father came home and he took the time to show me around his Bonsai collection. Mr. Krieg has roughly 20 Bonsai plants and has been studying the art form for over 3 years. I’ve always been interested in Bonsai so it was a treat to have someone explain the different styles and show me some of the techniques first hand. I’m hoping to purchase a Bonsai of my own sometime in the next few months.

Tuesday evening was Wii night. I was introduced to the fun that is Wii Fit and happily spent the next few hours playing Wii with Lindsay and her parents. Being the competitive person that I am, I of course had to break all of the records. One game in particular had me balancing on the Wii Fit Board and trying to drop marbles into holes…apparently Lindsay’s Mom was really into it and was jumping around and twitching on the couch trying to “help” me. While I was busy breaking the Hula Hoop record I was done dirty. Merrily shaking my ass, I heard Lindsay and her Mom start dying of laughter. I figured they were just amused at my wiggling ass…until the game ended and I turned around and saw the video camera…dirty!

After another hour or so of Wii…I spent the rest of the evening reading. Day 3 was going to prove interesting as I was going to meet Grandma and one of Lindsay’s brothers…stay tuned!

The first concern was that Lindsay is the baby of the family. The second is our age difference. The third were “older” brothers who I am actually older than. I’ve dated my fair share of tall women but never have I dated someone who had brothers BIGGER than me…yikes.

So…on December 21st, the drive to Fort Meyers began that would seal my fate!

Despite living in Florida my entire life, I had never been past Sarasota on the West Coast of Florida. I caught a ride with my friend Patrick who was headed that way and about 6 hours later…we made it (should have taken about 4.5 hours). Lindsay met us at a gas station and I was off to the Krieg House to meet the parents.

Upon reaching the Krieg house, I was quickly greeted by a very excited Golden Retriever/Poodle mix named Callie. Interesting Dog. Very smart and friendly but likes to lick a little too much for my tastes! Lindsay’s Father introduced himself…at 6’4″ and slender he is pretty good shape for being an older gentleman. Lindsay’s Mother is about 6′ tall and is very friendly…I believe I suffered a partially collapsed lung from her welcoming hug!

As it was late, I didn’t get to see much of the house and we all sat out in the living room for an hour or so just talking and getting to know each other. After that, I was led upstairs to my bedroom…which was full of books…and we called it an evening!