We left fairly early Monday morning and headed back to Valdosta. We did make a stop at the Jacksonville Trader Joes, because when you don't have a local Trader Joes, you have to make a haul when you find one, amiright? The cookie butter alone...oh my.
We made it back to Sara's house right as the solar eclipse was starting. If there was anything I regretted about this particular trip, it was that I was so far away from eclipse totality. Eh, it's ok. If I'm still alive in 7 years, hopefully I'll get to see it then. At any rate, we all got our stylish cardboard glasses and headed out to the backyard to watch the moon go by. It was still pretty cool, even at 94% totality! It got dimmer outside, and the temperature cooled off considerably, but it wasn't so drastic that it looked much different than just a cloudy day. Still...cool stuff!
Afterwards, Sara and I decided to end our vacation with a bang by getting a couple of Red Box DVDs, getting into our PJs at 4:30 in the afternoon (do NOT judge us), and watching two of the worst movies we've seen in years, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" (the dungeon octopus lady is worth checking out, heh) and "Snatched" with Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn...bless their hearts. Still, though, it was nice to hang out and relax.
There was one aspect of the day that wasn't so much fun. I haven't mentioned it before now, because it was very sad, but Sara's 13 year old Jack Russel terrier Scrappy had been very sick. The vet didn't know what was wrong with him, but he had stopped eating and drinking, and would pretty much just follow you around with big, puppy dog eyes, albeit with occasional bursts of barking, but mainly, he just wanted to be held. The vet didn't think he'd make it for very long, but he hung in there the whole time we were in Florida, and seemed to be about the same when we came back. I was glad to be able to see him again, because he was a very sweet dog. So during the movies, Scrappy and I cuddled on the couch, I petted him, and I told him what a good boy he was. I also explained that he didn't need to worry, because when he was ready to go, my own boys would be waiting to play with him when he got to the other side. Needless to say, Sara and I loved on and cried over that dog a lot that afternoon. (Kind of like I'm crying now thinking about it, damnit.) As it turned out, Scrappy hung in there for another few days before Sara finally had to make the call take him to the vet. That's never an easy decision, but it was the best one. He was a very good boy. :(
We basically just hung out, watched TV and talked until I had to go to bed. It was low key, but nice. It was a long drive back to Huntsville, so I was going to have to get up fairly early and gird my loins to drive with the semi-trucks. The next morning I got up, said my goodbyes, and headed home.
As luck would have it, when I was getting my GPS ready for the drive, it gave me a meandering, slightly longer, yet Atlanta-avoiding route home. It was only about 45 minutes longer and instead of driving up I-75, it sort of wobbled through west Georgia, back into east Alabama and headed north. I was fine with that, and as it turned out, it was a much more pleasant drive. Mostly it was rural highways, and some of the roads were so backwoods that it made where I grew up look positively metropolitan, but I managed to avoid the big groups of 18 wheelers and heavy traffic. If I have to complain about anything (and I'm beginning to think that I do, haha) it was that I had no idea where I was for most of the trip. I didn't even realize I'd made it back into Alabama until I passed a sign for Roanoke, Alabama, which I'd never heard of! I found out that I don't know about an awful lot of places in my home state, but I'll remedy that one of these days.
I made it home just after 2:00, and I was glad to see my house. After hauling my stuff in, I immediately took off my pants and fell asleep for about an hour! I love Sara, and her family is awesome, but they haven't reached Kelly Doesn't Wear Pants Around Them status (a high honor, of course, ha!) as of yet, so it had been a long week!
It was a really wonderful trip and I am so glad Sara and I got a chance to get together and act silly for a few days. It's hard when you live so far away from your best friends. Sometimes you don't realize how much you miss them until you get to see them, which makes spending time with them all the better, but the leaving part sucks. It's still worth it, though. :)
So there you have it, folks, a tale for the ages! It had it all: danger, intrigue, exotic locations and lots and lots of food! Hopefully time and circumstance will allow me to visit her, and my other far away friends, so that I can have more adventures to tell you about! Thanks for reliving it with me!
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 05, 2017
Friday, August 25, 2017
BLOGGED AFTER THE FACT: PART 1 - HELL IS FULL OF SEMI TRUCKS
Hello, friends and random Internet people who've never been here before!
I went on an adventure last week! Sara (one of my best friends in the world) and I have been wanting to go on a girl's only trip for some time now, and after talking about it for a year or two we finally decided to do it!
Sara, who is used to organizing things for her family, basically planned it for us. I'm very grateful for that! She found a nice Air BnB apartment (this one, which was awesome and you should go and stay there too) which is located in New Smyrna Beach, FL. I'd never even heard of New Smyrna Beach. It was charming and small, had all kinds of shops and restaurants, and it wasn't anything like Panama City Beach, which is a plus. Trust me.
My part of the adventure actually started on Thursday morning, because I was going to be driving down to Sara's house, which is located in Valdosta, Georgia. I'll admit, I was a little nervous about driving all that way alone. After getting my license, I was never allowed to take long trips by myself (I was quite sheltered. Heh.) and even when I became an adult, driving long distances my myself was heavily discouraged by my family. I'd love to say that I thumbed my nose at them and went where I wanted anyway, but when you have people who you love and trust telling you all kinds of horrible things, it can get in your head. HOWEVER...I finally decided that I needed to be an adult and do this thing, because I'm way too old to have people telling me what I should and shouldn't do, don't you think? (Yeah, 39 IS a little old to come to this conclusion. I know this. Bite me.)
At first the drive was fine. I had my audio novel going and my GPS directing me through some twisty little north/east Alabama roads. I was so chill and wondering why I had waited so long to do this. Then I hit I-75 and was transported into straight up flaming hell, and hell is full of semi-trucks. I've driven on interstates before, and I've driven next to 18 wheelers, but I swear to you, almost the moment I merged onto I-75 I was surrounded by these things, and I was not prepared. It doesn't help that this particular road is very wide and full of traffic, all going much faster than I had anticipated, but Brunhilde is a small car, and being surrounded by giant trucks unnerved me. I know it wasn't anything horrible, really, but since it was the first time driving I-75 myself around all the traffic, I was very nervous. Actually, I did pretty well, all things considered. I managed to make it to Atlanta and take the proper exit to the perimeter roads so that I didn't have to drive straight through the city (another level of hell altogether) and had just made it to the other side of Atlanta when I almost died. It was my fault, because I didn't realize the lane beside me was a merging lane, and I was trying to speed up to get ahead of this big semi. He sped up too, and I had to slam on my brakes to keep from getting destroyed. It rattled me so badly that I had to take the next exit and sit in a parking lot until I could stop shaking. Once I got back on the road, and further away from Atlanta, things got a little better. It was still unnerving to get surrounded by semi-trucks, but at least the traffic thinned out a little. After that, my main issue was that the last leg of my journey was 127 miles of straight road, and I'd catch myself sort of zoning out while watching the lines go by. I know road hypnosis, but I'd never experienced it like that before. Bleh.
Anyway, as you can see, I finally made it to Sara's house in one piece! Thank goodness! She and her family had just moved into this house last summer, and so it was all brand new and gorgeous. Her three dogs tried to eat me the minute I stepped into the house, but they are all small, so I wasn't too worried. We sat and talked until Ron, her husband, came home and then we all set out to Parent Teacher night at Sara's stepson's high school. Yep, I went to parent teacher night. I told them I'd just pretend I was Sara's sister wife if anyone asked. Ron liked that idea, haha! When we got back, we all sat around and talked until bed time. Sara and I needed sleep because we were heading out to Florida the next day! Woo-Hoo!
I went on an adventure last week! Sara (one of my best friends in the world) and I have been wanting to go on a girl's only trip for some time now, and after talking about it for a year or two we finally decided to do it!
Sara, who is used to organizing things for her family, basically planned it for us. I'm very grateful for that! She found a nice Air BnB apartment (this one, which was awesome and you should go and stay there too) which is located in New Smyrna Beach, FL. I'd never even heard of New Smyrna Beach. It was charming and small, had all kinds of shops and restaurants, and it wasn't anything like Panama City Beach, which is a plus. Trust me.
My part of the adventure actually started on Thursday morning, because I was going to be driving down to Sara's house, which is located in Valdosta, Georgia. I'll admit, I was a little nervous about driving all that way alone. After getting my license, I was never allowed to take long trips by myself (I was quite sheltered. Heh.) and even when I became an adult, driving long distances my myself was heavily discouraged by my family. I'd love to say that I thumbed my nose at them and went where I wanted anyway, but when you have people who you love and trust telling you all kinds of horrible things, it can get in your head. HOWEVER...I finally decided that I needed to be an adult and do this thing, because I'm way too old to have people telling me what I should and shouldn't do, don't you think? (Yeah, 39 IS a little old to come to this conclusion. I know this. Bite me.)
At first the drive was fine. I had my audio novel going and my GPS directing me through some twisty little north/east Alabama roads. I was so chill and wondering why I had waited so long to do this. Then I hit I-75 and was transported into straight up flaming hell, and hell is full of semi-trucks. I've driven on interstates before, and I've driven next to 18 wheelers, but I swear to you, almost the moment I merged onto I-75 I was surrounded by these things, and I was not prepared. It doesn't help that this particular road is very wide and full of traffic, all going much faster than I had anticipated, but Brunhilde is a small car, and being surrounded by giant trucks unnerved me. I know it wasn't anything horrible, really, but since it was the first time driving I-75 myself around all the traffic, I was very nervous. Actually, I did pretty well, all things considered. I managed to make it to Atlanta and take the proper exit to the perimeter roads so that I didn't have to drive straight through the city (another level of hell altogether) and had just made it to the other side of Atlanta when I almost died. It was my fault, because I didn't realize the lane beside me was a merging lane, and I was trying to speed up to get ahead of this big semi. He sped up too, and I had to slam on my brakes to keep from getting destroyed. It rattled me so badly that I had to take the next exit and sit in a parking lot until I could stop shaking. Once I got back on the road, and further away from Atlanta, things got a little better. It was still unnerving to get surrounded by semi-trucks, but at least the traffic thinned out a little. After that, my main issue was that the last leg of my journey was 127 miles of straight road, and I'd catch myself sort of zoning out while watching the lines go by. I know road hypnosis, but I'd never experienced it like that before. Bleh.
Anyway, as you can see, I finally made it to Sara's house in one piece! Thank goodness! She and her family had just moved into this house last summer, and so it was all brand new and gorgeous. Her three dogs tried to eat me the minute I stepped into the house, but they are all small, so I wasn't too worried. We sat and talked until Ron, her husband, came home and then we all set out to Parent Teacher night at Sara's stepson's high school. Yep, I went to parent teacher night. I told them I'd just pretend I was Sara's sister wife if anyone asked. Ron liked that idea, haha! When we got back, we all sat around and talked until bed time. Sara and I needed sleep because we were heading out to Florida the next day! Woo-Hoo!
Saturday, July 06, 2013
BLOGGED ALONG THE WAY: BIG SKY EDITION
(Have courage, dear friends, this tale is almost over!)
5/26/2013 Bozeman, MT to Minneapolis, MN to Atlanta, GA to Huntsville, AL
We had to get up at the butt crack of dawn and get back to the airport. I don't know why, but there was something completely disheartening about this flight that took off while it was still dark outside. Usually I equate getting up before dawn to go somewhere with an adventure, but I was so tired that all I could equate it with this time is being water boarded. The Bozeman airport is very nice, though, so if you've got to be up that early, it isn't a bad place to be I guess.
Unfortunately, I didn't make any fun single serving friends on the plane this time. It was really just very uneventful. I'm fairly certain I slept on and off until we landed in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. That airport is just flat out awesome. It was like hanging out in an episode of The Jetsons! At the different concourses, they have eating areas and every chair has an iPad docked there for people to use. That is kind of brilliant, because that lets everyone check the internet/weather/news without having to drag out their own computers or tablets. They also let you order food from the snack bars! Ah, we live in the future, you guys!
This was the longest leg of our flight home, and I swear the woman in front of me had a complete come apart on the plane. I'm not sure if she was scared of flying, or if she was very sir sick, or what, but she was making me nervous. The flight was very bumpy, and I'll admit that I had a couple of moments of saying goodbye to my loved ones in my head, but this lady...oy. She had pulled a blanked over her head and was rocking back and forth so hard that she was bouncing the seat, and she was moaning. The lady in the same row of seats (who I'm fairly certain didn't know her, just from their conversation) started patting her on the back and trying to soothe her, all while flagging down a flight attendant for a handful of air sick bags. I expected her at any moment to go all "THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE WING OF THE PLANE!" and have to be tackled by the airplane staff. Luckily, we landed before that could happen. I sincerely hope that woman just drives cross country the next time she needs to get somewhere, because that was just too much.
The Atlanta leg of the trip was uneventful (I still hate the ATL airport) and we finally got home! Steve and I were worried that we'd miss the tiny Sunday window of time, literally only 30 minutes, that we could pick up Butler from the kennel, so I sent Mr. Lee and Steve on ahead to get him while I got the luggage and waited. I was worried Butler would think we'd abandoned him! Plus, tomorrow is a holiday and the kennel would be closed, and we didn't want to pay for an extra day if we could help it. I grabbed the bags and waited until they drove to Huntsville and back, and then we went home! I'm so very glad to be here! I'm also glad tomorrow is a holiday and the office is closed so that I can sleep!
It was a wonderful, wonderful trip and I'm so glad I got to go! I am always amazed at the beauty and variety of our country. Seriously, you all need to go out there if you can!
5/26/2013 Bozeman, MT to Minneapolis, MN to Atlanta, GA to Huntsville, AL
We had to get up at the butt crack of dawn and get back to the airport. I don't know why, but there was something completely disheartening about this flight that took off while it was still dark outside. Usually I equate getting up before dawn to go somewhere with an adventure, but I was so tired that all I could equate it with this time is being water boarded. The Bozeman airport is very nice, though, so if you've got to be up that early, it isn't a bad place to be I guess.
Unfortunately, I didn't make any fun single serving friends on the plane this time. It was really just very uneventful. I'm fairly certain I slept on and off until we landed in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. That airport is just flat out awesome. It was like hanging out in an episode of The Jetsons! At the different concourses, they have eating areas and every chair has an iPad docked there for people to use. That is kind of brilliant, because that lets everyone check the internet/weather/news without having to drag out their own computers or tablets. They also let you order food from the snack bars! Ah, we live in the future, you guys!
This was the longest leg of our flight home, and I swear the woman in front of me had a complete come apart on the plane. I'm not sure if she was scared of flying, or if she was very sir sick, or what, but she was making me nervous. The flight was very bumpy, and I'll admit that I had a couple of moments of saying goodbye to my loved ones in my head, but this lady...oy. She had pulled a blanked over her head and was rocking back and forth so hard that she was bouncing the seat, and she was moaning. The lady in the same row of seats (who I'm fairly certain didn't know her, just from their conversation) started patting her on the back and trying to soothe her, all while flagging down a flight attendant for a handful of air sick bags. I expected her at any moment to go all "THERE'S SOMETHING ON THE WING OF THE PLANE!" and have to be tackled by the airplane staff. Luckily, we landed before that could happen. I sincerely hope that woman just drives cross country the next time she needs to get somewhere, because that was just too much.
The Atlanta leg of the trip was uneventful (I still hate the ATL airport) and we finally got home! Steve and I were worried that we'd miss the tiny Sunday window of time, literally only 30 minutes, that we could pick up Butler from the kennel, so I sent Mr. Lee and Steve on ahead to get him while I got the luggage and waited. I was worried Butler would think we'd abandoned him! Plus, tomorrow is a holiday and the kennel would be closed, and we didn't want to pay for an extra day if we could help it. I grabbed the bags and waited until they drove to Huntsville and back, and then we went home! I'm so very glad to be here! I'm also glad tomorrow is a holiday and the office is closed so that I can sleep!
It was a wonderful, wonderful trip and I'm so glad I got to go! I am always amazed at the beauty and variety of our country. Seriously, you all need to go out there if you can!
Just don't step in a thermal area!
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