A Week At Nana and Papa's!!!

There was always something special about my week at Nana and Papa's house. I have no idea what the girls did on their week, but my week was pretty much the best week of the summer.

Nana and I typically spent one day shopping at either at Maplewood or Hampton Village. A trip to Maplewood invariably included a stop for a hot dog at the Woolworth's lunch counter. Other than that outing, most of my outings were much more fun for Nana, I'm sure.

One of my favorite activities was riding the bus downtown to play on the USS Inaugural minesweeper moored at the riverfront. Nana and I spent hours cranking the antiaircraft guns to shoot down the helicopters that flew overhead, or prowling through the depths of the ship. Nana patiently went along; even climbing the ladders between the various decks.

We also spent at least a couple of afternoons on the abandoned bridge at the end of Flyer Avenue that looked out over the Frisco Railroad yard. Nana brought a lawn chair and her crochet bag and sat there crocheting for hours as I watched the switching engines in the yard build and move trains in preparation for their journeys to who knows where.

Yes, Nana and I had a wonderful time during my week with them. I'm sure she enjoyed the outings with me much more than the girlie things she did with Debbie, Kim and Beth.

Nana always had lunch ready for all of us so we were ready to eat at precisely 12:05 when Papa got home for his half-hour lunch break each day. Papa ate lunch and headed back to work while Nana and I got back to our important activities like watching trains, playing Wiffle ball in the back yard or practicing my flycasting as Sammy the cat chased the line around the yard.

Yes, I'm sure Nana enjoyed my week there much more than a week with any of the girls. The girls probably slept in in the morning and shopped a lot - except for Debbie, of course, who probably sat and read most of the time during her week at Nana and Papa's!

One of the best parts of my week with Nana and Papa was the nightly visits to Wilmore Park to go fishing. Nana packed sandwiches, chips and cans of Vess sodas for our dinner and we left as soon as Papa cleaned up after work and headed to the park for an evening of fishing. Papa normally took a lawn chair and the newspaper. Nana took a lawn chair and her crochet bag. I fished until the gathering darkness sent us back to the car to head back home for the night.

Papa and I watched television together while Nana cleaned up from the picnic. Most nights, Papa and I took that opportunity to "secretly" munch on Indian brand Corn Chips. Papa wasn't supposed to have them because the salt set off his Gout, but that never seemed to stop him during my week there.

Yes, as I think back on it, spending a week with Nana and Papa was the highlight of the summer. I'm sure they were thrilled to pick me up to start my week with them and I'm sure they were equally thrilled to drop me off at the end of the week. Probably not as thrilled as they were to drop off the girls, though...