I'm a restless person. I don't do relaxing weekends or beach vacations. Even at the age of 46 I still got energy to burn. It finally hit me. I wanted to shoot some guns. Why? Because I've never shot a real gun in my life. I have no idea what that feels like. I've shot BB and pellet guns but not something that could kill more than a bird. But I didn't want to shoot at targets, I wanted something more challenging. So I Googled "skeet shooting in Indiana." There were a lot of choices.
We all met up at the outside the Indianapolis International Airport and headed west. The morning started out with a snow storm I was afraid the day would be a disaster. I was being coy this time and the boys didn't really know where we were going. I joined them in the care and we headed west towards Terre Haute, Indiana. I led up to the weekend by giving clues and one of the clues was "Field Marshall VonKluck's only successful strike" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znlxif61eGw).
We went through Terre Haute and up to Clinton, Indiana to McDonald Lake Rod and Gun Club (http://www.mcdonaldlake.com). I had called ahead and asked if anyone can come off the street and shoot traps. The owner said yes. We arrived and the owner knew exactly who we were by the group I described. He turned on the trap machine and told us to go ahead and head out. I explained to him I didn't think he and I were on the same page. When I said "off the street" I meant we weren't bringing guns or bullets. He sold us four boxes of shotgun shells and loaned us two used shotguns for the day.
Fortunately snow was not going to be an issue today. My plan was to make the trap shooting a competition. Before it started we needed some warm up shots. Tom and Rob took three practice shots and then handed their guns to Jay and I. I was shooting the gun Tom had shot three times. I yelled "Pull!" the trap was launched and I pulled the trigger. Of all the things I had anticipated about shooting a gun, what happened next was not one of them. The barrel and the springs and the entire insides blew up in my hands. I stood their frozen with half a shotgun in my hands. I was not scared but completely shocked by what had happened. I was assessing the situation. Was my face blown off? Did I have all my fingers? As I was processing I looked over my shoulder and Tom was bent over laughing his ass off at me. What could have been more perfect for someone's first time?
The owner quickly repaired the gun, and we were back in business. Team Jeff & Rob defeated Team Jay & Tom. The younger brothers had defeated the older ones. We got back in the car and headed towards Terre Haute to the Smith Memorial Labyrinth. (http://www.vigocounty.in.gov/eGov/apps/services/index.egov?view=detail;id=20). I thought it would be a maze with dead ends and u-turns. Instead it turned out to be meditative path. Boring!!!! We moved on.
Next we wandered around the Indiana State University campus to see what was new. Jay, Rob and Tom all went to ISU. I did not. So it was interesting for them. For me, buildings are buildings. The next stop was the Terre Haute Brewing Company. The second oldest brewery in the nation. Well there is some fudging there. Yes, it's second oldest to Yuengling, but they were shut down for prohibition and where recently reopened as a microbrew in one of the last remaining buildings of the original brewery (https://www.terrehautebrewingcompany.com). That being said the space was really cool and respectful to it's history. The beer was good and the staff was very attentive and friendly. If you're in the area please stop by.
After our beers, it was time for us to end the day with BBQ. We headed to Rick's Smokehouse BBQ (https://www.rickssmokehouse.com). It was OK. Nothing against Rick but when we have BBQ every year there has to be winners and losers. Rick's was actually better when you didn't add the sauce. The smokeyness really came out of the pork and beef but we have had better sauce.
Well that concludes 2017. Next year is Rob's turn. Can't wait to find out what he has in store for our next adventure.
