Weekend Run-Down

Friday:

I left for Mobile (well, actually Spanish Fort) on Friday afternoon. We were staying with Brian’s dad and stepmom there and planning to drive down to the beach on Saturday. They took me to a little mom and pop’s pizza place near their house in Spanish Fort and the three of them shared a couple of pitchers of beer. When we got back to their house, his parents crashed pretty early. So Brian and I decide we are going to take a spin on their golf cart, even though it is dark outside and the headlights don’t work. So we are zipping right along and get a couple blocks away… headed straight up hill and the golf cart dies. Completely. So we Fred Flinstone it down the hill and then resort to getting out and pushing the thing all the way back home. I was laughing hysterically while pushing and Brian was a bit intoxicated and barefoot. So this made for quite and adventure.

Saturday:

Fairly uneventful. I spent a typical day on the beach with friends and some family. The waves were incredibly high and the undertow was really strong so I didn’t get in the water too much. Not to mention my legs were still a little tired from pushing the golf cart the night before. But I did manage to make a small sand castle that I was pretty proud of!

Sunday:

I swam at Brian’s parent’s house and visited with his family. We headed home that afternoon with a couch in tow for Brian’s younger brother. It began to sprinkle on us not a mile from the house! But it didn’t last long and we didn’t see any more rain on the way up. Brian dropped me off at home and only minutes later I realized that I had left my digital camera and the keys to my brother’s house in Brian’s truck and he was headed to Millbrook. I needed the keys in order to go check on my brother’s cat. Although I had just ridden more than 2 hours back from the beach, I then had to get in my car to go get the keys… plus I wanted to take my camera on the lake on Monday. So I drove out there and had dinner with my parents… just to get a message from my sister-in-law saying that I didn’t need to go check on the cat. Oh well…

So I stopped by Wal-Mart on the way home to pick up some supplies to take to the lake with me. I got in a line with about 10 people in front of me. It was about 11:00 and there were only 2 lanes open in the whole store. I grumbled something about having 25 lanes, 2 open and employees standing around doing nothing which prompted the man in front of me to turn around and strike up a conversation. A thirty-minute long conversation mostly about his pest control business and “getting kicked by ‘the man’ while you are down.” Interesting. I was quite ready for bed by the time I got home.

Monday:

I woke up early and drove to Kelly’s house in Opelika. I was running a bit late but so was everyone else so it didn’t seem to matter. We packed up the boat and headed out on the lake. It was a little overcast at the beginning of the day but the sun eventually came out in full force and managed to burn me pretty well. By the time we got back to the house, I was scorched. We all showered off the lake water and decided to go out to dinner. When we walked out the front door of the house, I noticed that my car was absolutely covered from bumper to bumper in ants. All of our cars were parked side by side but only MY car was covered. I shrugged it off and said “Oh well, I’ll just hose off the car after dinner before I get on the road” and we went about our way.

We went to Logan’s Roadhouse Grill. We sat and talked and shared stories as people who haven’t known each other for too long always seem to do. I found myself talking about my disastrous trip to Nashville. For future reference, I should remind myself that even speaking about this trip stirs up enough bad karma that it always directly precedes a long catastrophic chain of events. We talked… and talked… and talked… and were thoroughly enjoying the conversation when we realized that we had been there over an hour and still had not received our food?? Drue went and spoke to the manager who told him that he would “check on it.” Shortly after, our waiter came by and said that he was getting it together and it should be out soon… that it was the tilapia that we ordered that held everything up.” He walked about without apologizing for our wait and not bothering to offer to refill our glasses than had been empty for nearly the whole hour. So we offered to pay for our drinks and salads. Kelly and I are both the typical kind of people who don’t like to complain and are even embarrassed when someone else sends their food back. But at that point, we gladly picked up our purses and left.

Dairy Queen became the next destination. Scott, who had not had a salad, was still hungry and me and Kelly wanted ice cream! Scott ordered a chicken sandwich and fries and they came out almost immediately. We sat and he took a big bite, made a terrible face and nearly spit the chicken out on the table. Apparently the chicken smelled and tasted like fish. I assume they fried it in the same grease… but I think if it were me, that is just not a risk I would be willing to take. At least the fries and ice cream were okay.

So, we finally head back to Kelly’s house and by now it is about 10:00 and getting really late for those of us who have to be at work early in the morning. I gather my things and start to leave and I realize that the aunts are no longer all over my car. I open the door to find that rather they are all now INSIDE the car. Lovely. So I get all of the trash out that I think they might be after… and spray some orange scented 409 since we didn’t have any big spray. It seemed to do the trick pretty well.

Finally, I get in my car and head about my way. I call my mom to let her know that I am headed back home and we had a good day on the lake. Still on the phone, about 15 miles down the road my car starts to jerk a little. I look down and realize that the gas guage which read ¼ of a tank when I pulled out of Kelly’s driveway now is below empty. No exit in sight I coast over to the side of the road. So, Kelly’s husband Drue is my new hero!! He came to my rescue with a gas can. He even followed me to the gas station and waited until I had filled up to make sure there were no more catastrophes before he headed back home.



Sigh… I got home after midnight. So today, I am extremely sunburned and very tired. The end.