Lemme give you a hint: It’s not that hard. Our lateness and general lack of organization is only highlighted further when we attempt a major undertaking, such as our summer trip to the beach.
Yes, friends, today’s the day. We left the great state of Arkansas for the sandy shores of Destin. However, today is Day 1, which means that we didn’t actually reach the beach today - instead, we spent most of the day in southern Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama - which is always interesting. And “interesting” here means “seeing lots of things that make you glad you don’t live in Mississippi or Alabama.” You might think it’s a stretch for a person from Arkansas to have those opinions, and if you do, well then, I know you didn’t drive past a billboard today which existed to inform the citizens of Mississippi that statutory rape is indeed A CRIME. Because some people need a reminder.
Other highlights from the day:
- 7:15 am - My parents and Elizabeth roll out. We’ll catch up later.
- 9:00 am - The time we’ve set to leave town.
- 10:00 am - The time we’re really going to leave, having told ourselves 9:00 to give ourselves an extra hour. We’re tricky like that.
- 11:00 am - When we really leave. AWESOME. Oh, but yeah, we still need to go by Target…
- 11:52 am - Bryan starts to tumbl, but then decides he shouldn’t type and drive, and gets me to type the rest for him, with my thumbs, on his iPhone, which I can’t stand doing. My thumbs don’t work that way. He changes his mind three times about how exactly he wants to phrase his one sentence caption, by which point I am about ready to throw the iPhone out the window. Or him. Or both.
- Noon - we start listening to The Mysterious Benedict Society on audiobook, which is our saving grace on this trip since at some point last night we realized that we could not find our portable DVD player for the car. Did you catch that? 8 hour car ride. Kids. No DVD. This does not a happy vacation make…
- 1:00 pm - We go to McDonalds. The server’s name is Tequila. Insert jokes here.
- Rest Of The Afternoon: Kudzu. Aforementioned billboard. Will asks for a snack every 13.8 minutes. Approximately.
- 6:00 pm - We roll into Hattiesburg and realize that our friends are there too and it’s time for dinner. How fun! And unexpected! Bryan gets some funky shrimp that I hope don’t make him sick later. Also unexpected.
- 7:30 pm - Back in the car. Begin going the wrong way. I “suggest” we turn around. Realize it was the right way. Turn around again. Stop back at the same restaurant we ate dinner at because I already have to visit the little girl’s room again.
- 7:45 pm - Back on the highway, Bryan says to me did I just miss our exit? I think we’re setting some kind of record.
- 8:00 pm - Really, finally, back on the right road. I take deep breaths and try to remember everything I love about my husband. He’s wishing the Yukon came with ejector seats.
- 9:00 pm - Coming into Mobile, we realize that there is apparently no law, code, or restriction of any kind concerning exactly how close to the highway that fireworks can be detonated. This is a serious problem, Alabama. We’re talking feet. It’s like a war zone out there.
So now we’re finally here, ready for sleep, and more adventures tomorrow. Hope you had a great 4th!
Bryan’s right, you are very good at this (blogging) thing. Weather I wanted to or not I’m going to have to keep up with the feeds now… I love how you guys are so tied into the interwebs.
Tell Bryan I’m leaving at 3:30 every day next week.
-Adam
Yay for vacation! So excited to get online and see you’re at the beach!! Have a wonderful time!
I knew there was a reason I loved hanging out with y’all… We can keep up! Why does leaving ALWAYS involve one more stop at Target?
we saw the same billboard and i turned to paul and said- this trip is bloggable. you just wrote it for me…
sometimes all it takes is a gentle reminder. like a billboard.