Pleep Supervises Pack Up

FLASHBACK: A couple of weeks prior to departure, Pleep insisted Ed make a trial run at loading the VW for the drive to Florida. He was concerned that there were too many boxes and that there would not be enough room for Delete and him to be in the car. After noting all the dimensions of the car, Ed assembled the boxes to simulate how things would load into the car. It was like putting a 3-d jigsaw puzzle together but it appeared that everything would fit.

With departure scheduled for Wednesday night, Pleep insisted the car should be packed on Tuesday night. He didn't want to take any chances that something important (like him) would be left behind. After carrying all the boxes into the kitchen, Pleep commented that several of them were quite heavy. Even if everything might fit into the care, he was concerned that the gross vehicular weight (GVW) might be exceeded leaving him with no ride to the beach. Pleep insisted that Ed weigh every box, Peggy record the weight and Ed then calculate the total weight. The total weight of all the boxes was 325 lbs. Pleep was very relieved since the GVW for the VW Jetta Stationwagon TDI is 900 lbs. This meant that none of the actual occupants had to subject themselves to a weigh in before getting in the vehicle. Pleep said he was going to toss Delete if it came down to a close call.

After several hours of sorting out the best way to get everything in the car, Ed managed to load all the boxes plus assorted other small items. The last items to load in before departure are several bottles of Boulevard Smokestack Series Doublewide IPA, Gainey Red Wine, Patak Rogan Gash and Jalfrezzi, the overnight bags, computers, and gadgets. The car is very full but Ed managed to retain full visibility. Departure is scheduled for 18:00 CDT. The targeted stopover is Clarksville, TN. If everything runs smoothly, that means 1 gas stop and an ETA of around 2:00. Expected arrival in Daytona Beach Shores is 15:00 EDT. Pleep is hoping to blog from the road to keep all his fans up to date.

Pleep Celebrates With Laguna Blanca's All Around Most Outstanding Boy

It was a big day at the Parker house. Pleep was very excited to be there to help celebrate Harry's eighth grade graduation. He had heard Ida on the phone discussing the fact that Harry was to receive an award at the ceremony and that it was a surprise. First Pleep had to help Ida and Harry sort out the suiting up process. Harry had never worn french cuffs before and had only limited experience with ties that weren't clipons.

After several attempts, Harry was fully suited up and everyone headed out to the yard to capture the occasion on film. Pleep and Oscar insisted they were part of the family and should be included in the family photo session. Beau also got into the act. Oscar was the star of the photo session as he sat patiently while everyone was grouped in and out of shots with Harry. The group loaded into the car and headed to school. Pleep was excited because several of the owners were in Harry's graduating class, including Brigg's who bested Peggy in the Lincecum trade and Quentin, the owner of this week's opposing team.

The ceremony started promptly with the awards being announced. Harry's friend Tyler (owner of the Gauchos) won the Service award and Pleep started getting nervous because all the awards had been announced except the top awards. The Headmaster then announced the award for All Around Outstanding Boy (aka in England as Head Boy) - Harry Parker! All Around Outstanding Boy was for academics, perseverance in the face of adversity, athletics, service, and many other characteristics. Harry looked very surprised as he headed to the stage to receive the Revere Bowl engraved with his name & the name of the award. The ceremony continued with everyone receiving their moment on stage to pick up their diploma and have an essay about them read to the audience. After the ceremony, Ida found the girl who won the top prize and made Harry take his picture with her. Pleep thought this was a clever idea until he found out he wasn't included. Of course because the Heidkamp's were involved, Harry had to take a bit of abuse about being named "Head Boy".

The whole group of 26 headed to a local Italian restaurant to celebrate the big day. There was a large banquet table set up in the outdoor section right next to the bocce ball courts. Unfortunately for Pleep, Quentin had obviously not neglected his roster so it was another tough night for the MBs.

Trade With Harry Costs Pleep Victory In MLB Monopoly

Things were off to a great start this morning for Pleep. First there was a nice hike on More Mesa with Oscar. Pleep enjoyed watching Oscar trying to catch rabbits and flush out the birds. Then everyone headed to the Parker backyard to enjoy the California sunshine. Oscar really enjoys laying around in the sun after the bunny chase.

The Parker boys suggested that a nice game of MLB Monopoly would be a good idea, especially because it was a very slow day in the California Baseball Nuts League. Pleep, flush from his recent victory over the Commish's team, was feeling lucky. He thought he had hit the big time when he landed on the NY Yankees and acquired them. Then he picked up the Padres, Texas Rangers, and the Giants. Things were looking very good for the Monkeybutters owner until all the properties were acquired and the trading started.

Pleep was very excited about all the trading but he forgot the rule - don't trade with Harry. In what he thought was a brilliant move, he traded the Yankees and the Red Sox (including one luxury box) to Harry. He did end up with a monopoly and cash but none of it lasted very long. Harry & Beau quickly dominated the game and squeezed Hanna out. At that point, Pleep deserted Peggy and joined up with Harry figuring it was the only way to salvage any chance of winning.

Pleep Visits The Commish

Pleep is very excited about his visit with The Commish and the rest of the Parker family.  The perfect weather coupled with the fact that he is in the heart of the California Baseball Nuts League means Pleep is in mokney heaven.  The first thing he did was cozy up with The Commish to discuss trading strategies.  There was a flurry of trading activity on Saturday which led to several changes in the Monkeybutters lineup for Sunday's games.  

The whole group headed out yesterday for a FIFA World Cup party to watch the USA vs. England match.  The party's host was British and he had his famiy over from England to watch with him.  The Brit contingent was very serious about the whole affair, including wearing the 3 Lions official garb and having the children in kilts.  The USA crowd was a bit more laid back and enjoyed the result much more than the Brits.

When he saw the giant Tim Lincecum Fat Head on the wall in Harry's room, Pleep did a bit of ranting at Peggy, coming close to firing her again over the Lincecum Sabatiha trade at the start of the season.  Oscar got a bit concerned about having a ranting monkey in the house so he barked at Pleep in an effort to get his attention.  Because Oscar so rarely barks, Ida stepped in to investigate and told Pleep to get over it.

Everyone in California is preparing for the big graduation event on Thursday.  Several of the key league owners are graduating.  Pleep hopes they will be so distracted they might not pay as much attention to their teams.

Pleep Enjoys Birthdays

Pleep loves parties, especially birthday parties. He found out his birthday is June 6th. Plus, several of his good friends and relatives have June birthdays - Susan Sweeney, Danny McDonough & Terry Heidkamp. Pleep was going to dig into his winnings from basketball to spring for decorations. Lucky for him, Peggy found the party decorations from one of Beau Parker's birthday events. Pleep was very happy to see everything was baseball themed. His favorite item is the noise maker. Pleep thinks the noisemakers are going to be perfect for the upcoming smackdown, league meeting with the Midwest Tigerhawks.