He has a surprising time with the in-laws.

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The idea of a weekend with the in-laws didn't rank high on my list of things for a fun weekend. Julie and I had been married two years and I had avoided most of those obligations. Her parents lived outside the country since her father worked overseas for most of his career. His company moved him and his family wherever they needed his talents.

Now after an early retirement her parents had moved back to the U.S. and bought a home on a small acreage near the west coast. Their new home was a couple hundred miles away from us in...