Shooting in Sparta

Sep 172010

I’m a little late to the party but I show up with the second Japanese bike.

Mark is an amazing host. We have flip juice, cold cuts, cheese, and crackers galore!

Baa is playing Jenga.

Mark shows off his new cell phone. Those two black tear drops are cracks in the screen. The whole point of flip phones is to help protect the screen but for some reason, Mark managed to crack his screen with his phone closed in his pocket.

Jason is testing his luck at the lottery ticket machine. He doesn’t win because the machine is not working today.

You heard it here first. The great metropolis of Sparta has officially opened it’s new sports bar. Come bowl. Come drink. Come socialize.

We have a small technical failure. Mark sets the hot pizza on the candle and now the plate has bonded to the candle with melted wax.

Since Rocketman wanted to join the broken collar bone club, he has to do shoulder exercises like rolling up a weight. I can’t even do one rotation.

Jason is on fence duty. One is driving. One is opening the fence. One is riding in the car <– that one is me.

We are given a handful of balloons and told to tie them to low hanging branches.

Mark says he shoulder doesn’t bother him much but you see him rubbing his shoulder here. He’s taking a supervisory role at the moment in the balloon blowing task.

Now he’s getting to work!

Jason is wearing his white shirt so he takes over as the manager. He has a look of disgust at his migrant farmer workers. They are clearly not blowing up balloons fast enough.

The finished product

We start our lesson on handling guns. This is ammunition.

This is a gun, more specifically a pistol – Walther P22.

This is how you hold it and point it.

Take a wide steady stance and exhale.

Jason and I practice the wide stance. Thank goodness we’re not in a bathroom stall.

Mark practices with a small metal target. It’s been shot so many times that the posts are almost gone.

Mark lets Jason load the ammo first.

Then it’s my turn.

I get my first try at the balloons. Mark stands behind to make sure I’m being a good student.

Next we move on to the rifle, a Ruger 10/22.

Mark tries to tune in the sight for us. We are shooting a relatively long range for a rifle like this.

Jason gives it a try. Notice that hearing protection is essential.

I shoot a balloon from this distance and am done for the day.

Mark works with the sight and tries again.

I retire to the vehicle because the bugs are too much for me.

Mark and Jason take turns going military style. Mark later discovers he is laying in a bed of poison oak – not cool!

I guess shooting makes you hungry because we make our way to lunch. We have a debate about Freeborn’s or all you can eat southern food.

Shatley Springs wins and we roll over to this popular spot hidden away.

They keep a room of antiques just for show. I go inside and decide it smells funny and leave after taking the photo.

Three of us are ready for our eats!

It’s like Cracker Barrel with all of the rocking chairs.

What’s not like Cracker Barrel is the church singing. There is a captive audience.

We go inside and the old timey decor is the theme. Fortunately the funny smell from the other antique room is not the same.

We have many discussions about the racial make up of the clientelle.

We barely take a few sips of our drinks as the food starts rolling out. It’s all home cooked southern food that is every bit as delicious as it looks and smells. We all take a turn with the red eye gravy – a mix of grease and coffee. I’ve never heard of this before but it tasted very nasty. The rest of the food is wonderful especially the fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy.

This is not a joke but the water (in the red container) is so wonderful. Since I don’t drink soda or tea, water is often my beverage of choice. This water comes from the springs and is clean, clear, and has no aftertaste.

Mark is enjoying his biscuits.

You should check out Shatley Springs if you’re in the area. It’s a bit tucked away but it’s worth the find!

We return to Baa.

Nicky and Hayden are so sad begging for food.

We get a lesson in apples. Here Mark lets us get all the apples that we want for free!

Apple connoisseurs.

Mark has these made in Tommy’s memory. I have one on my car as well. Tommy would do it!

Baa has managed to knock over the Jenga blocks.

This is a really strange game but Mark puts a rubber worm on his fishing pole and proceeds to cast it at Baa. For some reason Baa is terrified of the bait and will run in every direction to get away from the worm. Mark continues to cast repeatedly as Baa runs every which way. It is rather entertaining and gets Baa the exercise that I suppose all goats need.