Road Trip Zoo Move Day 1

Grovetown, GA to Smyrna/Nashville, TN - 362 Miles

We got up around 7a, got right to work cleaning and packing and loading the truck. Cassandra came over to help mid-morning and stayed until we pulled out of the driveway. Phil also came by and helped load the truck for about an hour. 

The walk through with the landlord was originally scheduled for 11a, but Sunday afternoon it was pretty clear that we wouldn’t even be close by then, so I called and rescheduled for 3p. As the new deadline loomed, we were pretty certain that we weren’t going to have everything out and clean by 3, but the landlord showed up right on time anyway (of course)! He was very understanding and is only keeping enough out of our deposit to replace the bathroom door, two window screens, and some blinds in the front room (a few were destroyed thanks to Bento and Rousey). These were all costs I expected and am happy to incur to not have to deal with the repair/replacement myself.

We finally pulled out of the driveway around 6p but still then weren’t actually on the road. We had to make stops at the vet for Chou’s prescription cat food and some Alprazolam prescribed for Bento, at Atlanta Bread Co for food (for me and mom since our car went to the vet), at Arby’s for food (for Scott & Andy with the truck), at Walmart for an air mattress (for Andy) and the Budget rental location to pick up the towing dolly.

The towing dolly was an adventure all in itself, the instructions are printed on big labels that are pasted to each of the wheels, but the bottom half of them has worn or torn off. It took some maneuvering but the Civic was finally loaded on the dolly and secured for travel.

It was 8:30p when we pulled on to Highway 20, heading west.

The three cats were in their carrier and didn’t make a sound. The two dogs are in the back with a baby gate rigged up between them and the front seats (this was a necessity, all the quick stops we made trying to get out of town were a little hampered by a dog jumping up in to whichever front seat had been vacated). Stinkerbell was riding in a soft sided carrier that she had spent all day in while we were finishing the move-out.

Our progress was decent and reasonably uneventful, we were originally planning to stop at a friend’s house in Smyrna, TN (just outside of Nashville). We made a stop at a rest area to let the dogs do their business, at which time I gave Bento an Alprazolam (Xanax in a doggie dosage). The prescription said 1-2 pills every six hours for anxiety, and he was wound pretty tight after seeing us empty the house and then be cooped up in the car for several hours. At this stop I also let the cats and Stinkerbell out of their respective carriers, Stink took up residence in my lap, and Maui decided he wanted to be there, too. Stink wasn’t thrilled with having Maui sitting on top of her, so she scrambled out from underneath and climbed up onto his back. She laid down, straddling him like a cat straddles the back of a couch, her tail dangling in his face. He didn’t seem to mind too much. Then Minx decided she wanted to be in the front window on the dash, so she climbed up next to the steering wheel, stepping on the windshield wiper/wash/turn signal stick, filling the windshield with cleaner and wipers working furiously.

The next stop was at a gas station, to fill the truck and top off the car. While stopped there, we had a quick pow-wow and decided that arriving at a friend’s house at 2a and THEN setting up a tent and finding all of our things did NOT sound like fun.

Mom did some research on her phone and called the La Quinta in Smyrna, reserving us a room with two queen beds. We pulled in around 2:30a and soon decided it would be beneficial to have a second room, as Andy was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted and there was not enough room to put out his air mattress.

I had decided the cats would stay in the car, they have a litter box, carrier and blankets, and the big water-cooler style water bowl stays in the car. I fed them and bid them goodnight.

In the motel, Bento was getting more and more hyper, trying to escape out the door, jumping up on both beds, looking out the window. I thought that maybe eating dinner would calm him down some, but first I gave him another Alprazolam since it had been 4 or 5 hours.  I served the dogs dinner, with their usual twice daily dosage of Benadryl. 

About 10 minutes later Bento started falling in to things and stumbling. As his body stopped cooperating, his mind was wound tighter and tighter, shortly the poor dog was high as a kite. Pupils the size of dinner plates, but legs that moved like they had 15lb weights attached to each foot.  He was confused and desperate. 

He tried jumping up on one bed, then jumping down (collapsing in a heap on the floor every time), jumping on the other bed, etc. Stumbled back and forth to the door, pushing it with his nose so it moved in the door frame, making a noise not generally acceptable in a hotel at 3a. 

By this time, I was so exhausted I could not handle the stress that came with accidentally over-medicating my dog.  I started to have my own panic attack. 

Panic attacks for me aren't hyperventilating, they are vomiting and diarrhea. I spent the next six hours trying to control myself, after having established that Bento wasn't likely to die from his experience (I called the vet) but it would have to wear off.

I finally got to sleep around 9a Tuesday morning, and slept for two hours.

When you get caught between the Moon...

I have to admit, Katie and I got a LOT accomplished that Tuesday morning while my nephew was in school.

After the donut shop we continued our journey to the Flat Iron district.

Conveniently located just across the street was something on Katie's NYC bucket list: Eataly. I had never heard of the place, but according to Katie it is somewhere Mario Batali and other Food Network folks like to shop, which is enough to interest me! (random vague side note: I saw a guy there that I KNOW is on tv, but I haven't figured out who he is yet...)

The whole place is one big store, make that HUGE store, but broken down into different areas and stalls and mini-shops and restaurants.

I got a big kick out of the boards next to the Vegetable Butcher:

But also really enjoyed all the different shapes and colors of foods and drinks. I was in foodie/photo heaven!

I think I could have stood at the pasta counter eternally...

...but we had to hop back on the subway and pick up the little man from pre-school and head home for a nap.

MORE Tuesday (to be continued...)

...Now I Need a Little Give And Take...

On Tuesdays and Thursdays my nephew attended pre-school.

Katie and I dropped him off just before 8a on Tuesday and made a quick stop at the Starbucks nearby before getting on the subway headed for Chelsea.

We got off the subway and walked down 21st Street (I think) to the Chelsea Market.

We walked through starting from the Food Network end where Masaharu Morimoto has his restaurant and bought freshly baked bread twists from a bakery before coming out onto 9th Avenue where we circled back around and took 21st to 10th Avneue and up the stairs to the High Line.

I won't go into a full description of the High Line (I'll let Wikipedia do that for me), but I will summarize by saying that it is a former raised railroad track converted into a park.

At one point it runs beneath the Standard Hotel.

The landscape design was very nicely done and I could have spent all day up there.

We walked to the end of the High Line and then headed toward the Flat Iron district. On the way we came across a fancy donut shop.

We were much more impressed with the decor in the shop than the donuts, the prices, OR the customer service...

but how often do you get to disco while peeing?

(Tuesday's escapades to be continued...)

There's Nothing You Can't Do...

When we last left our heroine (that'd be me), I had spent the Saturday of my trip to New York City walking and walking and walking, eating, karaoke-ing, walking some more, and finally sleeping.

Sunday morning my nephew Jackson had a birthday party to attend, so I was able to sleep in a little while until he and Katie returned. Most of the day was spent entertaining Jackson and trying to keep him out of the way so Katie could pack for their move to Virginia.

We decided to get pizza for dinner, so we walked a few blocks away to Famiglia Pizzeria. We had them make us a large - half "Veggie" and half "Fresca" (basically a margherita).

I had intended to try multiple kinds of pizza and cheesecake while in New York, only managed to have two different restaurant's offerings of pizza, and only ended up having cheesecake (although six different varieties) from the Whole Foods next door to where I was staying.

We went to bed at a reasonable hour Sunday night to prepare for our big morning out on Monday.

Katie had acquired tickets for the two of us to attend a taping of the Wendy Williams show. I will admit that I had never heard of Wendy Williams, but watched a clip or two of her on youtube before leaving on my trip, so I thought I had an idea of what I was in for.

I had no idea that I was going to be in for a crazy dance party and that Katie and I would have a ton of air-time. Wendy Williams herself is a riot, and the taping segments were fun, but the REAL entertainment is the audience-warmer, Kevin.

Kevin is a hoot. He gets everyone up and dancing and singing and laughing. He flirts with the entire audience and made us all feel welcome and like there was nowhere else in New York we would rather be RIGHT THEN.

If you are in the audience, you are instructed to dress "fashionably", so I decided this was probably my one chance to wear heels and get away with it. I chose a pair that are pretty awesome, but that I also have quite a bit of experience wearing, so that I wouldn't be uncomfortable walking a fair distance or standing in them for quite awhile. Unfortunately, we were running a little bit late, so we walked much faster than those shoes are intended for, and I ended up with blisters on my feet on only my third day in New York.

After getting back to the apartment we watched the playback of our appearance on the show, took naps (thank goodness for 2.5 year olds that take naps!) and I finished off the evening with a big salad and some middle eastern and Indian food from Whole Foods.

Fortunately, they healed quickly and I had several other pairs of shoes to wear throughout the week to avoid making the injuries any worse.

It's Up To You...

A week ago at this time I was gallavanting through NYC.

My nephew Jackson is two-and-a-half, and wakes up every day around 6a or 6:30a. When you are all living in a tiny apartment, there is not much sleeping in. Kevin had come up from Richmond for the weekend, so the four of us went to Central Park together for a walk and a little bit of running-around time.

Kevin took Jackson back to the apartment and Katie and I hopped on the subway to 42nd/Times Square. We walked through Times Square (Lego store!) and over to Rockefeller center before getting back on the subway and heading to the Soho area.

We walked from there to Ground Zero (quite a walk!) by way of Bowery, through Little Italy and down Church Street and Broadway.

This is one of the buildings under construction (many things under construction there of course).

St. Paul's Chapel is a Trinity Church is across the street from Ground Zero and has survived many New York disasters. It was opened in 1776 and was one of the only buildings in the area left standing in the "Great Fire" of 1776. When the World Trade Center collapsed, it again was nearly untouched and became a haven for rescue workers.

Katie and I took the subway back uptown and I got to take a little nap while Jackson was still sleeping.

Saturday evening we went to dinner at Dhaba, a fabulous Indian restaurant. We then met friends for drinks at Me Bar, which is next to the Empire State Building (and located in the top of a LaQuinta, of all things).

After taking an obligatory picture of the landmark, we continued on to Boho (West) for some Karaoke. Katie had apparently been touting my abilities as a vocalist, so I was thrown into singing a couple of songs. I chose "Everything" by Michael Buble (which I have never sung publicly before, and had forgotten completely about the a Capella key change at the end... OOPS!) and Katie chose for me to sing "Stay" by Lisa Loeb. I was backed up significantly by the rest of the patrons.

There was a rather large group of people from New Jersey that inundated the bar shortly after we arrived. After they pretty much took over the place (and managed to gas us out more than once - thanks, dude) we decided to call it a night and parted ways with the girls that had come out with us.

Kevin, Katie and I took the subway back up to Times Square and then walked through so I could take some pics with all of the lights.

We then ducked in to the M&M's store about 10 minutes before closing since none of us had ever been to one. I picked up a postcard for my Dad, and Kevin picked up what turned out to be some VERY expensive M&M's.

We got back on the subway and headed uptown to the apartment, crashing into bed (the couch for me) soon after.

Traveling Hot Sauce Saleswoman

Boy have I been busy!

I had the greatest of intentions to blog daily (HA!) or at least weekly (hardly!) once I officially became a housewife.

The truth is that I traded one full-time job for another, maybe even two. While I am indeed now a housewife, I am also now the driving force behind the Homeward Bound Hot Sauce roller-coaster. (If you have been a faithful reader and not figured out what this hot sauce thing is all about, I'll be happy to talk your ear off about it!)

Between trying to get the house into a better general state and filling hot sauce orders, I haven't had much time to do all the project-y things I'd like to tackle now that I supposedly have some free time.

I HAVE been able to start to tackle a few things, like embroidering penguins onto a pair of Converse for my nephew, and sending out the stack of remaining Christmas presents that have spent the last five months next to our front door.

I traveled to Portland, OR for two weeks in March/April to help my Mom with her last big project at work before she retires this summer, to visit my best girlfriend and her newborn baby (and her other three children), and to visit my best guy-friend and clean out my Vancouver house. It was wonderful to spend so much time in what I consider to be my "Home Turf" and it really helped me get motivated to dive into our dream of making the hot sauce what ultimately takes us home to the Pacific Northwest.

After I returned home to Georgia I was able to reschedule my surgery for the middle of June. Once that was taken care of it enabled me to schedule the other pieces of my summer.

My sister and brother-in-law and our nephew have been living in New York City for the last year and are moving to Virginia. This was my last chance to visit them here (and maybe my last chance ever for free lodging), so I booked my tickets once our tax return came back and arrived at La Guardia airport on Friday evening around 6p.

I took a cab to Katie's building and we spent the evening catching up and making our initial plans for the week.

I have taken about 300 pics so far and uploaded over 200 to Facebook, I'm having an amazing time seeing the sites and appreciating all the artistry and nature in this huge city.

I still have a few things to see (and EAT) before I head home early this Friday morning.

Housewifery: Month 1 (& Trip Home Part 2)

Previously on Housewifery...

Flying cross-country with a large growth in your abdomen is not the most comfortable way to travel... I've had problems sitting for long periods of time for many years, mostly due to the fact that my legs are pretty long and most modes of transportation (other than First Class of course) are not set up for anyone taller than about 5'2".

When flying from Augusta (we have a small airport here) I either end up going by way of Augusta, GA to Charlotte, NC to Phoenix, AZ to Portland or Augusta, GA to Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX to Portland.

I actually prefer going through DFW for two reasons, one is that the longest leg of the trip ("long leg" ha ha ha) is only about 3.5 hours as opposed to 4.5, and DFW has a Red Mango. When I flew home in October 2010 I tasted Red Mango frozen yogurt and consequently had to have frozen yogurt a few times a week once I got back to GA. There's a few places here in town that are good - not quite Red Mango good, but good enough!

Anyway... In planning this very last-minute trip to Portland, I decided to keep it a secret from my best friend back home, Monica. She had just had a baby and we had talked a couple of days previously when I told her I wouldn't probably be able to visit for at least a month.

I attempted this deception with the help of a couple of friends and thought I was terribly clever. Of course, I have a terribly BIG MOUTH and couldn't just say nothing, so I said silly things on facebook that made everyone curious and posted silly pictures (friends suggested captions like "Where Bees Get Their Haircuts" and "...you're in an elevator - mind the gap!") that would only make sense if you knew where I was.

Of course, Monica is no dummy and figured the whole thing out before I ever got on the plane in Augusta. I had arranged a dinner at the couple's house where I was supposed to surprise Monica. I could tell immediately when she saw me that she knew, because her "surprised" face was total crap.

She was still happy to see me, and it was awesome to get to hold Baby Kennedy.

Dinner was of Middle Eastern inspiration and we enjoyed freshly made falafel, tabbouleh, tzatziki, salad and some quite good store-purchased hummus, baba ganoush and pita. Several other friends joined the festivities and it was great to get caught up with them.

During this evening we remarked on Kennedy's hair (she was born with quite a bit) as it likes to stick straight up unless it's pretty heavily coated with something... giving rise to the nickname "Baby Hedgehog".

I worked with Mom on Wednesday and Thursday during most of the day, and Friday morning.

Housewifery: Month 1 (& Trip Home Part 1)

My first month as a housewife went like a tornado! Fast and furious and chaotic!

I had one week at home that went perfectly as planned: menu plan, house cleaning, etc. I spent some good time outside and enjoyed a book and coffee every morning, planted some flowers in the back yard, got the front door looking cute...

Then on Sunday of my second week it all went to heck!

My mom works for the Portland Public Schools District in their Nutrition Services department. Mom has always been a computer whiz, and her current role involves troubleshooting a software upgrade that the entire school district uses to order the food for the cafeterias.

This may sound like a simple thing, but it is a HUGE task with many parts and several things literally were lost in translation from the old system to the new system, causing her HOURS of tracking down problems and fixing them, in addition to notifying the software company of various bugs so they could be fixed on THEIR end.

I had called Mom on Sunday (3/27) to catch up, and after filling her in with my first week at home, she said she had planned to call me anyway. She was overwhelmed at work and desperately in need of help. Would I be willing to fly out and spend a few days helping her if she paid for my plane ticket? FREE TRIP HOME? Are you kidding? Of COURSE!

I asked when she was thinking and she said "Tuesday". I asked "THIS Tuesday? As in two days from now?" and she assured me it was that immediate. I conferred briefly with HusBean and then told her I'd see if I could find a ticket. As we were out and about headed to lunch I went online with my phone to Priceline and managed to find a round-trip ticket from Augusta to Portland for that Tuesday for about $600 with taxes and fees. That's a pretty good price for a 2-day lead time.

I decided that since I don't have a work schedule to be concerned about I would stay a bit longer and scheduled my return ticket for April 12th (our 3-year anniversary).

I immediately started notifying friends and family in the Portland area of my imminent arrival and asked if anyone needed sauce... Within 24 hours I had presold $200 worth of sauce and had to cut off the orders because I didn't have any more room in my TWO suitcases AND we were out of bottles!

I carefully distributed my clothes and sauce (88lbs worth) between the two suitcases and my two carryons, and boarded the small plane in Augusta on Tuesday afternoon. I flew first to Charlotte, NC and caught a connection to Phoenix, AZ. From Phoenix I flew directly to Portland, arriving about 20 minutes early at 10:40p.

Mom and Lou picked me up - this was fortunate because it was pretty tough moving ALL of my luggage by myself. I gave Mom the light stuff and I dragged the two (wheeled!) suitcases.

With me and all of my belongings safely crammed in the car, we headed home to Clackamas.

Hot-Iced-Tea

Sorry for the month-long sabbatical (better than six months, eh?)... I took a trip to Atlanta and then four days later went to the west coast for a week and then worked a 54 hour work-week and then... I slept.

Scott and I just came in from weeding the pepper garden, harvested our first home-grown habaneros and some cayenne and cowhorn peppers, and an early girl tomato.

Last night I dreamed about habanero sweet iced tea. I think I'm going to try it.

Firsts

In the last ten days I've had several new experiences.

First Time in over Ten Years that I weigh 120lbs.: I had a doctor's appointment a week ago on Tuesday and initially my doctor was alarmed that I had lost another five pounds until I told her that years ago before I ever went on birth control I weighed 105 to 115 and always had a hard time keeping on weight. Since they had drawn blood and run a bunch of tests on it a month ago and not found anything, she decided not to stress to much about it.

(The pic on the left is from around 2004 and the one on the right is from last weekend. I know, 2004 isn't ten years ago, but it's a good example of me closer to 140-150lbs.)



First Solo Hotel: Last Tuesday evening I drove to North Charleston, SC and stayed at a LaQuinta for the evening. I had a Pier 1 meeting the next morning in Summerville, SC and didn't want to get up at 5:30am on Wednesday to drive several hours when I wasn't totally sure where I was going. Also, since I need more sleep than most people, I figured it was wiser to travel one way the same day as the meeting instead of being tired when I arrived and tired before even heading home.

Once I arrived and checked in, I crossed the parking lot and had a quick dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I was ready for bed and had brought my own small fan for white noise, so I was soon relaxing and dozing off... when I realized that it was the first time I've ever spent a night in a hotel or motel by myself. I've flown by myself many times, but it was my first time staying overnight alone in a commercial bed. Consequently the night was spent sleeping for about an hour at a time and then waking up because I thought I heard something. Not quite as restful as planned, but I survived.

First Waffle House: On my way back from Summerville I was hungry and in the mood for a grilled cheese sandwich. Here in the south, there is not a plethora of Denny's every few miles, so I had to settle for something else. I called my friend Rochelle to double check that Waffle House would be able to fill my grilled-cheese needs. It was pretty good. And only $1.95!

First time being referred to as a "Powerhouse": On Friday morning our latest temporary Regional Manager came to visit our store. I had not had the opportunity to meet Joe (the RM) at my meetings in Summerville, so I felt it was important to give him a face to go with the voice since I had been on two of the conference calls this last month. I was there for all of his two-hour visit and my boss and I kind of tag-teamed the whole thing. Once I left (to go home and go back to bed - of course) he told my boss "She's a real powerhouse! You'd better make sure she knows YOU are the manager and she's your assistant..."

Since he had never met us before and doesn't know our working dynamic, this is actually a big compliment and not an issue at all. I have no problem acknowledging my boss' authority and support it 100%. All the associates know this and I don't think there is any question that I am ever trying to usurp her position. The reason it is a compliment is that just in case I ever have the opportunity to apply for the Store Manager position, I think it would be a point in my favor.

First Albino Skunk: Later on Friday (after my nap), Amy and I met downtown Augusta at the New Moon Cafe for coffee and a stroll. We browsed through an antique store and talked with a plant shop owner and then as we were heading back to our vehicles, I saw a man carrying what looked like a very fluffy Pomeranian. As we got closer I changed my mind and thought it was a large Persian cat. Then I realized it was an albino skunk! The skunk's name is Maryland and her owner Jeff let me hold her for a bit. She was very snuggly and sweet.



First Okra: Yesterday I was off work and not feeling well at all. We had limited supplies of food in the house and since my throat hurt the only thing that sounded good was mashed potatoes. I went to a nearby KFC and ordered a mashed potato bowl (potatoes, corn, gravy & cheese) minus chicken, and saw something that looked tasty. I asked if it was okra and the server confirmed my suspicions and offered me a taste. I ordered an entire side.





First Pier 1 Ad: I've been working for Pier 1 Imports since November and today in the mail rececived the first ever flyer or ad in my lifetime. I guess they finally figured out where I live.

My trip...

This is going to be mostly pictures, at least at first... with a bit of narration in between.

Friday I left Key West around 4:30pm. This was the plane I took to Fort Myers.

I got to sit next to the pilot.


The views were amazing.

After a quick connection in Houston, I arrived into Portland around 11pm and after being picked up, was immediately dropped off to join Chelsea's bachelorette party.

They had already completed three events and were now salsa dancing and doing karaoke.

I closed out the night with Billy Joel's Piano Man and Monica and I went back to her house and everyone crashed.

Saturday morning I was supposed to be at the dressmaker's house at 9am, and once Monica and I made a quick trip to Starbucks and wandered around the long way, we arrived. The dress fit fine, and she measured the hem.

Then we proceeded with the days' events - church, lunch, a wedding in Salem. Through the course of the day I managed to down about four times my usual caffeine quota and had no nap. This lead to my anxiety attack Sunday morning around 1:30am that lasted until around 6am... I finally got to sleep around 7:30am and slept until 10am, when I got up and had to go and fetch my bridesmaid dress.

The wedding on Sunday was at Bridal Veil Lakes, a beautiful location a bit outside of Portland up the Columbia Gorge. The wedding theme was 70's...and the guests were also requested to dress in theme.
It was quite a large turnout and the whole afternoon was a riot. I disintegrated into a walking heap of sleep around 6:30pm (the wedding started at 3pm) and Mom and Lou took me back home where I crawled into my bed on the couch and didn't get up until 10am on Monday.

Monday was Monica's birthday, so we started off the day with breakfast with another friend and one of Monica's sisters-in-law at Biscuits Cafe in Clackamas. We enjoyed fabulous omelettes that come with pancakes AND hashbrowns.
After a day of shopping, 30 of us gathered at Claim Jumper in Clackamas to celebrate her birthday, then I went back to Mom's, packed, tried to nap, and was dropped off at the airport at about 11:15pm. I checked in and my flight left just after midnight.

This trip was way too quick. I barely had time to breathe.

Insomnia Strikes Again...

...Although I gave it every opportunity.

Since my boss gave me today AND tomorrow off (I fly out tomorrow afternoon), I slept in today until about 4pm before getting up and running a few errands.

Steph and I had breakfast/dinner at Denny's after I spent about 45 minutes at my optometrist's office getting my one remaining pair of glasses fixed.

Once my hunger was satiated, I went too a Bealls Outlet store (we don't have these in the northwest - it's a bit like a Ross, which we also have here) to score some jewelry to wear for the wedding I am in on Sunday, which is themed The 70's.

Since I came home I've been mostly vegging on the couch while sometimes processing laundry and packing my suitcase.

I couldn't find the cord to hook my ipod up to my laptop, so I took a quick trip to Walgreens and then Albertsons (both in vain) to try and find one. I may have to take a trip to Radio Shack in the morning, but if they are more than about $10 I'm not interested in spending the money on something we have four of somewhere in the house.

The animals all seem to be confused as to why I'm up at this hour, two of the cats are alternately sleeping on my laptop case and the dog is staying close - he is already missing Scott (who left for his business trip this morning).

I'm watching Iron Chef which is VERY interesting, probably the most interesting episode (to me) so far. The secret ingredient is melons, and they have to have the majority of the offerings have a frozen component.

There are several very interesting bits of technology: and "anti-griddle" which is a super-cold freeze plate, a "blast freezer", and of course, several ice-cream machines.

I will probably go to bed soon, even though I still have a lot to do - my brain and it's habit of wanting to be asleep at this hour are starting to kick in.

Day 19, Slacker Season 2008

Hello! I'm back! Okay, I'm in Miami, but I'm back to taking care of my poor blog.

I learned today that one of my favorite people IN THE WORLD (Hi Lou!) reads my blog every day! That is so exciting. If I have any lurkers, show yourself sometime so I feel a little less like I'm typing just to hear myself think.

Jenny joined me on Thursday for our regular Girls Day Off and we enjoyed a manicure (me) and pedicure (Jenny) at Nadine's Salon and Day Spa and then went conveniently downstairs to the Square Grouper restaurant and had a lovely lunch. I had the black bean veggie burger again and Jenny had the Mediterranean Plate.

We shared a slice (or rather, a few bites of a slice) of Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie and then hit the road north.





I have driven the road from Miami to Key West several times, and had no idea there was an alternate to the "eighteen mile stretch". As I was about to take the left side of the road in Key Largo, Jenny informed me that there is a much more interesting route along Card Sound Road.

I agreed to try it out and stayed straight at the pertinent junction instead of veering to the left. The first portion follows along North Key Largo before there is a turn and the traveler is actually ON Card Sound Road. Both portions of the trip are quite lovely and the view on the bridge over Little Card Sound and Barnes Sound is fabulous as well.




We hit the Turnpike around 6pm and found our way to our hotel - a lovely Quality Inn in the Kendall area. After checking in and depositing our bags in the room, we checked out the pool and then drove a few blocks to a fabulous mall we had noticed en route to the motel.

The Falls is an outside mall that has waterfalls and pools throughout the center of the complex. It is quite beautiful and peaceful. We shopped until about 7:50pm and then took off heading for the airport, following signs that are supposed to lead us ultimately to the airport.

Mom's flight was supposed to land at 8pm, and by my estimation, I thought we were about 15 minutes away from the airport. The signs put us onto one parkway and then pointed to another exit, which we took. Then there were no more signs.


I really didn't want Mom to have to wait in the belly of the parking garage alone, so I was anxious to make it to the airport quickly. Every time we thought that we were maybe heading the wrong direction, we would see an airplane overhead heading in the same direction as we were, and getting closer to the ground!

Finally we saw the all-important sign again and within minutes we were at the airport and picked Mom up. We took her back to the motel to unload her stuff and then to a Benigans a few blocks away for a late dinner before going back to the motel and heading to bed for the night.

***(Yes, that gas price is $4.05 for regular. In Key West we pay $4.29)***