Woke up at 8:05 A.M.  I think.  I had the alarm set for that anyway.  I was supposed to be at the farm at 9:00 A.M. for a Birthday Breakfast!  But the next thing I knew I woke up and my clock said 8:28.  yikes!  And I didn't really remember the first time of waking up.  I was tiiiiiired!  No time to shower this morning!  I'm late!

Went out to the Knox's house and celebrated John's 17th birthday.  And per the family tradition, they had a HUGE breakfast.  So I ate with probably 15 people!  The dish?  Strawberry crepes!  woo hoo!  Some bacon, my choice of three fruit juices...the whole bit.

I think I quit after five crepes...what a fun family!

From there I snagged John, David, and Joel, and we headed out to a good ol'-fashioned Kansas auction.  The weather was a perfect 70 degrees, and we were more than happy to spend it outside.  And it looked like all of the other guys were, too!  The whole area seemed to show up!  Even the Amish had a good showing!

It's kind of funny...the typical garb was jeans, work boots, and a hat.  And if they were dirty, that's even better.  Actually, I think we were the only guys in shorts.  This is definitely working-class America.  And I'm not goin' to lie...I was rather jealous.  I love that hard-work stuff!  And the more I sit around, the more I want to do what these guys are doin'.  I want to toil in the oil fields, I want to work on engines, I want to put in a hard day's work, I want to be dirty!  I haven't had that for...

I don't know if I've ever had it really...

We didn't buy anything, although we contemplated guns.  Turns out Kansas has no regulations on buying guns.  Just buy 'em and take 'em home!  No FOID cards needed, no ID, no nothin'!  Just cash and carry!  What a place!

From there we headed back into Chanute.  And I took notice of all of the oil fields around.  I never really realized it, but Kansas puts out quite a bit of oil.  Or at least they make it look like they do!  Fields and pumps everywhere.  John said he had a friend that made a pretty good living owning an oil company...hmm.

Went to a park in Chanute and played some basketball with some locals.

Then headed to the airport.  And let me tell you, this place was busy!  I think we had seven airplanes on the ramp at one point!  I wish every day was like that.  We call 'em "fair-weather flyers," and they do just that.  They wait for calm winds and nice temps.  And the fact that it was a Saturday brought out even more!  Jesse and Travis were headin' up in two different planes, so I asked if they would be willing to take a few people (me and the guys!).  Sure, they said.  Travis needed to fly solo, so only three of us could fit with Jesse.  David volunteered to stay home...nice guy.

So we dropped him off, then came back, and then headed up to Emporia...52 nautical miles away.  Travis took off first, then Jesse followed.  And Travis was gone.  We had him in sight for about 20 miles, then he disappeared ahead of us.  He was movin' quite a bit faster.

Landed in Emporia, checked out the FBO, sat outside and talked for awhile, then headed back.  We wanted to get a bit closer this time on the way back, but after take-off, we realized that idea was a bad idea, so Jesse pulled back and let Travis take off in the distance.  I was mighty fine with that!

Headed back to Chanute, then I headed out to the Knox's to drop the guys off.  And I had some more good food.  This time it was some crazy mixture of vegetables in a stew, some bread, some coffee cake, and some left-over home-made ice cream.  Mm mm.  So good!

Played cards with the fam until about 11:00 P.M., then headed back for the airport.  But I was kinda wired, so I went out again!  Played some more pool.

Hit the sack at 2:30 A.M.