the party

we flew into chicago early saturday. we had a late flight into o'hare (4 p.m.) , but it was really too late and we wold have come into holland well past 10 p.m. way too late.

also, denise was having her birthday party at jojo's and we wanted to make it.

so we switched flights late friday and made it onto a 6:20 a.m. flight. we woke up at 3:30 a.m. to get our shit straight and headed to the airport. it was nuts, but we were off, landing at 9:05 at o'hare. we made it back to holland at 3 p.m., naped and prepared for the party.

it was wild. los bandits took the stage and they jammed. the small dance floor was scattered full of the same denise crowd that included aida, lisa, rick, diana, her sisters, mig, dawn and me, as well as a few other crazies. we jigged and jived and sweated. it was awesome.

the music was just loud enough, but it didn't overshadow conversation much and they mix it up with different songs and styles. i danced everything from los lonely boys "heaven" to the righteous brothers "loving feeling" to ramon ayala's "un rinconsito en el cielo." my hair was drenched. it's as if i'd run a mile or something.

we hunkered down and met the crowd of crazies. i told dawnie as we left that it's a good crowd of folks. i dig em. they all know each other. dawn and i are the newest ones to come into that crowd. some have known each other for many years. yet, dawn and i fit right in with them. they are a generous group of people, accepting and embracing.

all in all, a nice way to end our vacation.
happy birthday, d.