'Twas a mission of mercy and a nice jaunt too. I had to pick up my daughter from her mother in Louisiana a week early, so I told my nephew in Houston that I'd see him a week early too. We drove 12hrs to La, stayed the night, then a few more hrs to Texas. We stayed 3 days with my nephew and his family. On the second day he took us swimming in Galveston. That was the first time I've been in the ocean since I left Trinidad in 1981 at the age of 14! I didn't realise until then how much I missed the smell of the sea. We spent 6 days zigzagging through 6 states on the way back home. In all, we saw bits and pieces of 7 states: Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. Lots of hotels, lots of swimming pools, lots of restaurants and one brake job. We took notes about everything, including every single meal we ate. Maybe I'll write a book about my adventures one day. Then I'll be able to use the most effective pickup line ever: "Hello. I'm fabulously wealthy."

Darn it all. I still have 458 characters remaining. Maybe I can use them up with some silly stuff just to fill space. No? OK, I'm done for now.