Guess Who Came Back Bearing Gifts?

Eric's back from his trip West. He flew to Seattle, Washington in order to ride along with a friend who was driving to Anaheim, California and back for a video gamers convention. This friend, who he met on-line, is slightly older than Eric. He's also married, but has no kids.

I'll admit, the first thing I thought when Eric explained the trip to me was, PEDOPHILE!

I mean, why else would a married man who plays video games (aka computer games) want my little boy to drive thousands of miles with him? I told Eric what I thought. He assured me that he knew the guy pretty well (as well as you can know an on-line friend) and that he was big enough to take care of himself.

He had a point. He is, after all, almost 20. And, like 6 feet tall. Oh yeah, he probably weighs at least 250 pounds. Besides, married men playing video games isn't as unusual as it once was.

Anyway... Eric's back. And he brought gifts. This is where I'd post a picture of myself smiling, if I had one handy. But I don't. So, you'll just have to see the gifts and imagine me sitting here grinning.

Actually, while you're imagining the grin, try to picture my shaky fingers on the keyboard. The result of drinking an entire pot of Seattle's Best Vanilla Bean coffee.

Yum.

Okay, I didn't drink a whole pot. Just a mug and a half. But I have a very large mug. It's as big as my face.

He brought back some Hazelnut coffee, too. Just like I'd ordered. So they weren't really gifts. But he did bring back a surprise bottle of wine.

Are you thinking what I thought for a millisecond? (Great, he's traveling with a pedophile "friend" who buys him wine, too.)

Actually, I thought the wine was a nice touch. It's to thank me for my navigation. Which is kind of a neat idea since I apparently navigated them right past the Eagle Castle Winery in Paso Robles, California. The wine is a nice 2006 Trinity (a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvingnon and syrah).

The more I think about it, the more I think I should add a picture of me, with my coffee mug, grinning. So here ya go...

I told you it was big. I even said, "As big as my face."

The coffee was fabulous, by the way. I'll fill you in later on the wine, which I plan to share with some visiting friends next week.