"Red"neck Date!

I have to give credit to Kellie for writing most of this. I just edited it a bit.

Last Friday night we went on a double date with our friends Kellie and Jeremy Bryson. The date ended up being guys' choice and I have to give Tim props for originality. He wanted to take us to the SHOOTING RANGE! Yeah, I know, Jeremy with a gun - I was scared too (J/K)!

So anyway, we headed over to Pflugerville to the first part of our "red"neck evening: at RED's Indoor Shooting Range. I've only fired a gun once and it wasn't at a range. I was attempting to shoot a jackrabbit in the foothills of Provo. This was all a new experience for me - from the incredibly LOUD sound a fired gun makes in an indoor range to the real rednecks yuckin' it up behind Red's counter.

Tim and Jeremy did a great job showing Kellie and me how to safely load, handle and fire Tim's three different handguns. I tried all three: a 9mm, a 40 caliber and a 380. I first fired the 40 caliber. It took me a while to carefully go through all the steps in my head that the guys showed us: how to pick up the gun, how to correctly hold it, where to look when firing and how to position my body and arms for the kick from the actual gun discharging. Kellie said "I think the kick had me scared the most. From all the stories I heard in general about the "kick" in a gun, I guess I expected it to be a lot harder and more painful than it actually was. But it wasn't so bad, Thank Goodness!" The actual sound vibrations of the other guns firing in the range bothered me the most. I have to admit that I was nervous about handling a firearm. I didn't want to make any mistakes.

I next tried the 9mm. I liked shooting it and the 380 better. I had better aim with both of them. I made the mistake while shooting the 9mm of putting my thumb on the top of my right hand instead of on my left hand. This brought my thumb just under the barrel so when it shot the barrel scraped the knuckle. I felt like such a beginner!!! The whole event made me nervous. I am grateful that Tim taught me how to use the guns, so that I will be prepared to use it if I need to.

So I guess my weapon of choice for the evening was the 40 caliber, but I don't think the shooting range will be my next hobby. I'm glad for the experience, but it was one of those moments for me when I realized how we take life so easily for granted. A gun is a powerful instrument that we see so much of in the movies and on TV that I'd lost that perspective of what it can do. Holding and firing one gave me a lot more respect for its capabilities.

Okay, I got a little deep there for what was supposed to be a funny blog of a redneck date. So after we "blew away" a wad of moola on range fees and ammo, and tossed around a few more one-liners with the "Red's"neck employees, we climbed back into our car and drove around looking for some dinner.

Now if you were looking to continue on the "red"neck theme where would you suggest for dinner? RED Robin, of course!!! We all four got cozy in a booth, gawked over a girl's wicked-outrageous eyeglasses a couples tables away (wish I'd gotten a pic of those - they were indescribable!), and pounded down some dee-lish burgers and fries. I also introduced Jer and Kellie to Red Robin's Campfire Sauce. I highly recommend it - Utah fry sauce pales in comparison.

Overall, it was an original evening! But then again we don't get out much, so I guess the fact that we actually went out was original. I know - LAME! Enjoy the pics, though!