Just got back from a wonderful weekend stay with friends in Gulf Shores. One of our friends owns the condo that we stayed in. She rents it out during prime summer season and we learned first hand the dark side of that enterprise.
The complex is high end all the way. The first three floors are for parking. The elevators even have glassed in waiting areas that are air conditioned. Each unit has a wonderful view of the Gulf. Each unit has an "owner's closet" that is locked, and are used for storage of items such as kitchen supplies, beach items, etc.... The owner as not been back to her unit since early summer, since it has been rented out. The rents, at the going market rates, are not cheap, especially in the prime summer months.
The owner, upon entering her unit, began her walk through, making a mental list of items out of place, and worse, missing. The couch had a cigarette burn (no smoking policy) and other holes. The couch material was stained from spills and sunscreen from bodies just back from the beach. Placemats were gone. Kitchen towels were missing. The stainless steel refrigerator had a noticeable dent in it. Two favorite blankets were nowhere to be found. The bathroom wall was damaged from improper use of the shower. The favorite scented candle was nowhere to be found. The list was growing.....
The hidden key to the owners closet was missing. The realtor brought by the spare. Once the door was opened, the closest was almost bare. Cleaning fees are charged to get the unit ready for the next guest. Repairs and replacement costs come out of the owner's pocket. What kind of people do this? The renters pay a lot of money for their stay, and do this????
The complex has a right-of-way on the side that allows city crews access to the beach. This is also a complementary access for the residents across the street. Yesterday, I personally spent 30 minutes picking up trash that had been left on the beach: plastic water bottles, tent stakes, candy wrappers, and even an aluminum can that had washed up on the beach.
A group of beach goers were confronted by the beach patrol for having glass beer bottles beachside. Two of them turned their bottles up and chugged away as they were walking to the garbage can. Then they got into a "nasty debate" once the officers went on their way.
The older couple next to us said that they had been coming here in late August for over 30 years and this was the worst that they had ever seen. I picked up more trash on my exit to the walkway.
I know and hope I'm preaching to the choir, but, when you are there, try your best to be green and leave the beach a littler nicer than you find it. Bitch session over.
Retired in 2012. I'm trying to out run old age and boredom. So far, I'm winning the race!
Monday, August 31, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
Flora Bama
Figured I was done with beach posts for this year, but noooo! One of my friend girls on this trip mentioned that she had never been to the Flora Bama. With the party I was with, she was about to get baptized!
It's been a while since I've been out tonking. I forgot about all the prep work that goes into it when you are with four mature women. As many blocks as these gals have been around, you would think there would be a few short cuts? The answer to that is a definite NOT!
Now, the Flora Bama ain't your average uptown, pretty up, gotta be seen kinda joint. But, these ladies did all the necessary prep work for their night on the town. They learned long ago to never ask for permisson, but they did make the customary phone calls to their spousal unit's to let them know where the were headed for the evening, just in case a call was made to them later in the wee hours from the county jail!
It's seemed that hours of prep work went by just for the baths, makeup and hair treatments. Then they gave each other that look over to make sure that nothing was out of place, and no body parts were showing. After thirty years of marriage you would think I would be used to this! Give me 15 minutes and I'm cleaned up and ready to go!
The youngest of our party, the sweet thang that had never been, had done put on a pair of three inch heels. Bets were made that she would probably break an ankle walking across the gravel parking lot!
We arrive at the state line. Already blue lights are flashing. This is a sign to drive through traffic to slow you ass down, because the foot traffic on a Friday night is nonstop. This joint got its male from its location, sitting right on the Florida - Alabama state line.
For you first timers, don't forget to take a $5 bill with you for the cash only cover charge. If you forget, not to worry, as there are plenty of ATM'S that will dispense you some money at $3 a pop. ID'S are required unless you are like me and have the Grey hair that gets you a free pass.
The Flora Bama is built to withstand everything but a hurricane. It's constructed out of wood poles beams and boards, held together by steel rods and cables. The floor is one big deck. Cleanup is easy, just pull out the pressure washers and hose it down!
In every nook and cranny, there is a bar for you to get you favorite adult beverage. To keep the math simple, the sales tax is included in the listed price of everything sold in this fine establishment.
There are two main stages at the Flora Bama, the "tent room", and the "bra room". During prime beach season there are usually two bands playing at the same time.
It has been a while since the spousal unit and I had been here so we took some time to tour the place. We found the kitchen and knew we would be back since we had not eaten anything all day. Then we discovered the "liquor room". All four walls were covered in half gallon bottles of adult beverages, standing upside down, pouring their contents into a dispensing machine that runs throughout the complex, to all the liquor guns preparing all the mixed drinks. We stood there in absolute amazement. This ain't your average run of the mill honky tonk afterall, this is the Flora-Bama!
The joint was a buzz with a tank full of men, young and old, looking to practice their latest pickup lines on all the unsuspecting ladies in attendance. Folks of all ages make their way to this honky tonk mecca.
All I can say to these fellas is good luck!
The women these days travel in packs. Young and old, they travel in groups of four to fourteen! Some are just friend girls out to complete their day at the beach with some teasing tossed at the few brave young bucks that attempt an conversation or try to grab a dance or two. This is also be considered a cougar den, with recent divorces waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting buck!
The latest trend, is for herds of young ladies to arrive in limos, all decked out in similar tank tops or with a costume theme. This is the last flight for a single dove that is on her way to being "poked"! Yep! That was what was one one of the shirts! These girls are doing the Bachelorette bash for their bride. One last throw down before the big event!
Young bucks beware! Some of these packs of does bring their own Mother Superiors with them. You can spot them huddling in the corner, keeping a watchful eye on their young brood!
One of the stage rooms is referred to as the 'bra room" for obvious reasons, once you have entered the room. Bras of all colors and cup sizes are hanging from cables that cross the ceiling. Some gals come prepared, with a cheap offering picked up at a discount store. Others, in the frenzy, toss up their expensive undergarment without a second thought, blaming their consumption of a few adult beverages as the reason for their lapse in judgement!
The exit is as interesting and the entrance. Taxi cabs are lined up twenty deep to escort you and your party safely home. Yep! Tonight was quite an experience and good send off for the end of beach vacas, summer 2015!
It's been a while since I've been out tonking. I forgot about all the prep work that goes into it when you are with four mature women. As many blocks as these gals have been around, you would think there would be a few short cuts? The answer to that is a definite NOT!
Now, the Flora Bama ain't your average uptown, pretty up, gotta be seen kinda joint. But, these ladies did all the necessary prep work for their night on the town. They learned long ago to never ask for permisson, but they did make the customary phone calls to their spousal unit's to let them know where the were headed for the evening, just in case a call was made to them later in the wee hours from the county jail!
It's seemed that hours of prep work went by just for the baths, makeup and hair treatments. Then they gave each other that look over to make sure that nothing was out of place, and no body parts were showing. After thirty years of marriage you would think I would be used to this! Give me 15 minutes and I'm cleaned up and ready to go!
The youngest of our party, the sweet thang that had never been, had done put on a pair of three inch heels. Bets were made that she would probably break an ankle walking across the gravel parking lot!
We arrive at the state line. Already blue lights are flashing. This is a sign to drive through traffic to slow you ass down, because the foot traffic on a Friday night is nonstop. This joint got its male from its location, sitting right on the Florida - Alabama state line.
For you first timers, don't forget to take a $5 bill with you for the cash only cover charge. If you forget, not to worry, as there are plenty of ATM'S that will dispense you some money at $3 a pop. ID'S are required unless you are like me and have the Grey hair that gets you a free pass.
The Flora Bama is built to withstand everything but a hurricane. It's constructed out of wood poles beams and boards, held together by steel rods and cables. The floor is one big deck. Cleanup is easy, just pull out the pressure washers and hose it down!
In every nook and cranny, there is a bar for you to get you favorite adult beverage. To keep the math simple, the sales tax is included in the listed price of everything sold in this fine establishment.
There are two main stages at the Flora Bama, the "tent room", and the "bra room". During prime beach season there are usually two bands playing at the same time.
It has been a while since the spousal unit and I had been here so we took some time to tour the place. We found the kitchen and knew we would be back since we had not eaten anything all day. Then we discovered the "liquor room". All four walls were covered in half gallon bottles of adult beverages, standing upside down, pouring their contents into a dispensing machine that runs throughout the complex, to all the liquor guns preparing all the mixed drinks. We stood there in absolute amazement. This ain't your average run of the mill honky tonk afterall, this is the Flora-Bama!
The joint was a buzz with a tank full of men, young and old, looking to practice their latest pickup lines on all the unsuspecting ladies in attendance. Folks of all ages make their way to this honky tonk mecca.
All I can say to these fellas is good luck!
The women these days travel in packs. Young and old, they travel in groups of four to fourteen! Some are just friend girls out to complete their day at the beach with some teasing tossed at the few brave young bucks that attempt an conversation or try to grab a dance or two. This is also be considered a cougar den, with recent divorces waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting buck!
The latest trend, is for herds of young ladies to arrive in limos, all decked out in similar tank tops or with a costume theme. This is the last flight for a single dove that is on her way to being "poked"! Yep! That was what was one one of the shirts! These girls are doing the Bachelorette bash for their bride. One last throw down before the big event!
Young bucks beware! Some of these packs of does bring their own Mother Superiors with them. You can spot them huddling in the corner, keeping a watchful eye on their young brood!
One of the stage rooms is referred to as the 'bra room" for obvious reasons, once you have entered the room. Bras of all colors and cup sizes are hanging from cables that cross the ceiling. Some gals come prepared, with a cheap offering picked up at a discount store. Others, in the frenzy, toss up their expensive undergarment without a second thought, blaming their consumption of a few adult beverages as the reason for their lapse in judgement!
The exit is as interesting and the entrance. Taxi cabs are lined up twenty deep to escort you and your party safely home. Yep! Tonight was quite an experience and good send off for the end of beach vacas, summer 2015!
Friday, August 28, 2015
Been a Good Run, to the Beach
The signs of beach season coming to a close are everywhere it seems. Wasn't it just yesterday that we made a our first trip of 2015? It was a last minute trip to Orange Beach the day before good Friday. Now, here it is, the weekend before Labor Day. As they say down here, any day is a good day, at the beach!
We had cold days. We had wet days. Some were overcast, and others there no clouds to be seen. Some days rhe wind did not move. Other days you had to protect your eyes from the stirring sand.
The most frequent smell was that of coconut sun screen being sprayed into the air, only a small portion of it found its intended target.
Our newest beach toy for 2015 has been our Yeti Rambler cup. This cup is awesome with its ability to keep ice all day long. Margaritas stay frozen until fully consumed.
We have some new favorite restaurants that were discovered this year. The best part, not a single chain was among them!
We knew the end was near just by looking at the calendar. Other signs have been as obvious. The road down to Gulf Shores was fairly clear. There was absolutely no wait at the restaurant last night. The gift and souvenir shops have merchandise marked down 50 to 75 percent off. Businesses are re-displaying their "now hiring" signs again.
The beaches are no longer crowded. The high school kids and college students have abandoned this place til next spring. The most common sighting on this day was couples with pre-school aged children, and friend girls making one last dash trip to the beach.
College football will be in full swing come next weekend. Tailgating will soon be the major family activity.
Fear not beach sand and the sound of the surf. I will not forget you. Reservations for 2016 have been made. I have already purchased new beach chairs and umbrellas for spring! Thank you for providing my joy and relaxation for the last six months. I have a lot of life yet to live, and I hope to spend most of it with you! And the spousal unit, of course.
We have one more day to enjoy this sand and surf before we call it a wrap. Oh, and there is one.more new restaurant for us to try!
This concludes the beach blogs for this year. Fear not though, there is always something new and different happening while tailgating. Can't wait! I'll be seeing some of you there! #hobbylobby and #hailstate!
We had cold days. We had wet days. Some were overcast, and others there no clouds to be seen. Some days rhe wind did not move. Other days you had to protect your eyes from the stirring sand.
The most frequent smell was that of coconut sun screen being sprayed into the air, only a small portion of it found its intended target.
Our newest beach toy for 2015 has been our Yeti Rambler cup. This cup is awesome with its ability to keep ice all day long. Margaritas stay frozen until fully consumed.
We have some new favorite restaurants that were discovered this year. The best part, not a single chain was among them!
We knew the end was near just by looking at the calendar. Other signs have been as obvious. The road down to Gulf Shores was fairly clear. There was absolutely no wait at the restaurant last night. The gift and souvenir shops have merchandise marked down 50 to 75 percent off. Businesses are re-displaying their "now hiring" signs again.
The beaches are no longer crowded. The high school kids and college students have abandoned this place til next spring. The most common sighting on this day was couples with pre-school aged children, and friend girls making one last dash trip to the beach.
College football will be in full swing come next weekend. Tailgating will soon be the major family activity.
Fear not beach sand and the sound of the surf. I will not forget you. Reservations for 2016 have been made. I have already purchased new beach chairs and umbrellas for spring! Thank you for providing my joy and relaxation for the last six months. I have a lot of life yet to live, and I hope to spend most of it with you! And the spousal unit, of course.
We have one more day to enjoy this sand and surf before we call it a wrap. Oh, and there is one.more new restaurant for us to try!
This concludes the beach blogs for this year. Fear not though, there is always something new and different happening while tailgating. Can't wait! I'll be seeing some of you there! #hobbylobby and #hailstate!
Maroon Alert
Yesterday was supposed to be just an ordinary day of the week. The Spousal unit has a business meeting in Macon, at the local hospital. I was the chauffeur for the day, and dropped her off at the appointed time. With two hours to kill, I decided to make a side trip to the Country Store Bakery, in Brooksville. These fine ladies have an awesome pastry counter, and the sooner you get there, the better.
No sooner did I enter the door, and take one look at the pastries, my phone goes off. The spousal unit's meeting was over sooner than expected and she was ready to go.
On my way back to Macon to pic her up, I get the following text message from our son Morgan, a senior at MSU:
"There has been a shooting on Campus. I am fine in ece main office. Morgan called me and she is looked in her classroom in the dark. We are as safe as we can get and the shooter was last seen heading towards Lee Hall. Away from both of us. Just FYI. "
The text was received by both of us. Lots of messages back and forth. I went to social media to see if it was a topic. Within a minute of getting Morgan's text, it was all over Facebook!
It turned out to be a lone student with lots of problems and he was deemed an immediate treat to himself and others. Mississippi State University immediately issued a "Maroon Alert", effectively locking down the entire campus.
Within 30 minutes, the all clear was issued. The troubled student was in custody. No shots fired, and no one hurt. The alert system was initiated and it worked.
We were within 30 miles of campus, and LaNelle had to have her arms around her baby. We met at one of our favorite eateries, and we had the longest family hugs that he have had in a long time.
Classes were to resume at 2:00, with tolerances for those too tramatized from the days experience.
Today is a new day, and life is back to normal, as much as it can be. Mommas and Daddies have had their chat with their college kids, and the kids have promised to be more aware of their surroundings, mine included.
Mississippi State University did the right thing by issuing the "maroon alert". The plan worked. For the most part, students did as they were instructed. The plan will be reviewed and I'm sure will be tweaked for the parts that did not go as planned.
As a parent, I am grateful that this plan is in place. Social media proved that not everything you read is accurate. Things evolve very quickly, and facts tend to take on lives of their own.
We promised to have group family hugs more frequently, and for other reasons than a potential tragedy. Hope you do the same!
No sooner did I enter the door, and take one look at the pastries, my phone goes off. The spousal unit's meeting was over sooner than expected and she was ready to go.
On my way back to Macon to pic her up, I get the following text message from our son Morgan, a senior at MSU:
"There has been a shooting on Campus. I am fine in ece main office. Morgan called me and she is looked in her classroom in the dark. We are as safe as we can get and the shooter was last seen heading towards Lee Hall. Away from both of us. Just FYI. "
The text was received by both of us. Lots of messages back and forth. I went to social media to see if it was a topic. Within a minute of getting Morgan's text, it was all over Facebook!
It turned out to be a lone student with lots of problems and he was deemed an immediate treat to himself and others. Mississippi State University immediately issued a "Maroon Alert", effectively locking down the entire campus.
Within 30 minutes, the all clear was issued. The troubled student was in custody. No shots fired, and no one hurt. The alert system was initiated and it worked.
We were within 30 miles of campus, and LaNelle had to have her arms around her baby. We met at one of our favorite eateries, and we had the longest family hugs that he have had in a long time.
Classes were to resume at 2:00, with tolerances for those too tramatized from the days experience.
Today is a new day, and life is back to normal, as much as it can be. Mommas and Daddies have had their chat with their college kids, and the kids have promised to be more aware of their surroundings, mine included.
Mississippi State University did the right thing by issuing the "maroon alert". The plan worked. For the most part, students did as they were instructed. The plan will be reviewed and I'm sure will be tweaked for the parts that did not go as planned.
As a parent, I am grateful that this plan is in place. Social media proved that not everything you read is accurate. Things evolve very quickly, and facts tend to take on lives of their own.
We promised to have group family hugs more frequently, and for other reasons than a potential tragedy. Hope you do the same!
Saturday, August 22, 2015
What's Next?
Everybody has one of those neighbors, you know, the most unfriendliest individual that God could find to put next door. I've been in my house for 20 years, and mine has been there right with me for 19!
I've never actually had a confrontation with him because everytime I see him outside, he runs back inside. He has had no problem coming over and raising hell with the Spousal Unit, or our dog sitter when we are out of town. He retired from government service and I can see why. Revenge is sweet, and it has always been mine :-).
The dude has these yap dogs that are constantly doing their thing, day in, and day out. When Henry and the Browns are out, they go over to the fence and give it right back, raising it to a whole nother level! The neighbor can't stand it and will make his critters come inside. Other times I have been know to throw a tbone over the fence after a good gnaw, to give them a treat, and shut them up. Every now and then, apparently, one of those dogs throws it back over the fence. Then one day, after I had driven off, the dude knocks on the door, and raises hell with the spousal unit instead of me!
The dude put up a fence long ago, and nature took its course, sprouting sweet gum and other trees next to it. I have planted several fruit trees near it as well. Trees on that side of the yard tend to either die or have stunted growth from some kind or "special treatment" coming from the other side.
One day, the Reservoir Patrol knocked on my door. A "neighbor" had reported that I was illegally burning trash in my backyard. I replied, "nope, no trash burning here!" The officer said he had to inspect, so off the the back yard we went. No trash fire, just my grill smoking away with ribs, deer sausage, and chicken wings. I asked him if he needed to take some in as evidence, and he said "no need for that, but that stuff sure looks good!" I then asked him "and I guess that you can't tell me that that particular neighbor reported this incident?" With a chuckle, and a positive nod, he said no, he could not.
When he moved in, he up in a satellite dish in his yard between us, inside that fence of his, of course. We planted a group of crepe myrtle all along our fence line. Eventually he had to move his dish over since the crepe myrtle had grown tall enough to interfere with his reception. I had some volunteer crepe myrtle come up, so I transplanted them further along the fence line. Guess who has bee having to raise his satellite dish every few year! Lol!
As we were leaving for our latest roadie trip, I noticed an AT&T service truck next door. After a little discussion, I learn that he is installing Uverse, including the cable network! Damn! Guess he ran out of satellite cable!
So, now. What's next?
I've never actually had a confrontation with him because everytime I see him outside, he runs back inside. He has had no problem coming over and raising hell with the Spousal Unit, or our dog sitter when we are out of town. He retired from government service and I can see why. Revenge is sweet, and it has always been mine :-).
The dude has these yap dogs that are constantly doing their thing, day in, and day out. When Henry and the Browns are out, they go over to the fence and give it right back, raising it to a whole nother level! The neighbor can't stand it and will make his critters come inside. Other times I have been know to throw a tbone over the fence after a good gnaw, to give them a treat, and shut them up. Every now and then, apparently, one of those dogs throws it back over the fence. Then one day, after I had driven off, the dude knocks on the door, and raises hell with the spousal unit instead of me!
The dude put up a fence long ago, and nature took its course, sprouting sweet gum and other trees next to it. I have planted several fruit trees near it as well. Trees on that side of the yard tend to either die or have stunted growth from some kind or "special treatment" coming from the other side.
One day, the Reservoir Patrol knocked on my door. A "neighbor" had reported that I was illegally burning trash in my backyard. I replied, "nope, no trash burning here!" The officer said he had to inspect, so off the the back yard we went. No trash fire, just my grill smoking away with ribs, deer sausage, and chicken wings. I asked him if he needed to take some in as evidence, and he said "no need for that, but that stuff sure looks good!" I then asked him "and I guess that you can't tell me that that particular neighbor reported this incident?" With a chuckle, and a positive nod, he said no, he could not.
When he moved in, he up in a satellite dish in his yard between us, inside that fence of his, of course. We planted a group of crepe myrtle all along our fence line. Eventually he had to move his dish over since the crepe myrtle had grown tall enough to interfere with his reception. I had some volunteer crepe myrtle come up, so I transplanted them further along the fence line. Guess who has bee having to raise his satellite dish every few year! Lol!
As we were leaving for our latest roadie trip, I noticed an AT&T service truck next door. After a little discussion, I learn that he is installing Uverse, including the cable network! Damn! Guess he ran out of satellite cable!
So, now. What's next?
Friday, August 21, 2015
30 Years and Beyond
Ok, been married to the spousal unit for over 30 years. We've lived in two rentals, now on our second home, have had four dogs, one cat, a few fish, and two boys that have reached adulthood.
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge. Several midlife crisis episodes have been survived, I got my truck and she got her little red sports car.
We survived years of high school band camp, and finally recovered from all the travels with select soccer. Youngest is in his last year of college, so the life as college student parent tailgater will soon come to an end. Then what???
We have our slice of heaven already determined, a stretch of sugar white sand called the Florida Pan Handle. Time sharing gives us four weeks, and that suits us just fine. I'll always be on the hunt for deals on beach chairs and umbrellas, and will be continually working on the recipe for the perfect Ziparita.
A bunch of life lessons have been learned in 30 years, some you share and others folks just have to discover on their own.
You learn to have your own backup list of possible restaurants to pick from when you ask your spousal unit "where would you like to eat this evening, dear?" Females can hesitate on this one sometimes and before you know it, you are dining on quiche and finger sandwiches.
Always use a GPS for navigation. This tool is a marriage saver. If you miss a turn, you can always count on the device to say."recalculating!" I relearned this trick this week when I didn't turn it on during our trip to Nashville.
It's a good idea to make sure you know the color of the day. When you reach this age, and you separate when you get outletmalled, having on the same colored outfit comes in handy when trying to locate your spousal unit browsing through the clearance racks.
When it comes to birthdays, there are unspoken rules that apply to birthday cakes. Under no circumstances are you to eat the last piece of her birthday cake, even if it has been on the cake plate for a week. Do not touch!
When it comes to family matters, it's all about the hens. They are of the same feather and will always cluck together. The men, and inlaws have no vote and no say. Once they have clucked to a decision, it's full steam ahead. Just keep you eyes open and your mouth closed and you will survive another family gathering.
When communicating with your children at these family events, it's best to use hand signals or even text each other, even when sitting in close proximity to eat other. No point giving away your secret plans with a verbal response.
When pumping gas at the local Kroger, never use all of the points on your fillup. If you do, your ears will be forever ringing with the words "did you use all the points???"
When it comes to your health and welfare, plenty of direct marketing plans and products will enter your household. Resistance is futile because her friend or relative needed one more participant in their circle of partners. "Honey this product is the latest rage, and I just have to give it a try!"
Social media is an area where you must tread lightly. Some spouses don't like to be tagged in your posts, so you might want to use a code name, thus "the spousal unit" was born. Be careful to change the names and circumstances when telling a yarn from the hood, as some of your friends will think it's them and all of a sudden you are either unfriended or blocked.
When acting as the chauffeur for your better half, remember to keep your thoughts to yourself, and only make suggestions when asked for your opinion. Listening to conversations between family members my not be good for your health.
Life is an adventure and it should be shared with a partner. I found one that is a keeper, my best friend, and the love of my life. There will be good times and an occasional bad. Keep the communication channels open and do things together. Eventually both of you will look back and laugh at those times together, whatever the outcome.
Our latest adventure together comes to and end today. But guess what, another picks up tomorrow!
Life is good!
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge. Several midlife crisis episodes have been survived, I got my truck and she got her little red sports car.
We survived years of high school band camp, and finally recovered from all the travels with select soccer. Youngest is in his last year of college, so the life as college student parent tailgater will soon come to an end. Then what???
We have our slice of heaven already determined, a stretch of sugar white sand called the Florida Pan Handle. Time sharing gives us four weeks, and that suits us just fine. I'll always be on the hunt for deals on beach chairs and umbrellas, and will be continually working on the recipe for the perfect Ziparita.
A bunch of life lessons have been learned in 30 years, some you share and others folks just have to discover on their own.
You learn to have your own backup list of possible restaurants to pick from when you ask your spousal unit "where would you like to eat this evening, dear?" Females can hesitate on this one sometimes and before you know it, you are dining on quiche and finger sandwiches.
Always use a GPS for navigation. This tool is a marriage saver. If you miss a turn, you can always count on the device to say."recalculating!" I relearned this trick this week when I didn't turn it on during our trip to Nashville.
It's a good idea to make sure you know the color of the day. When you reach this age, and you separate when you get outletmalled, having on the same colored outfit comes in handy when trying to locate your spousal unit browsing through the clearance racks.
When it comes to birthdays, there are unspoken rules that apply to birthday cakes. Under no circumstances are you to eat the last piece of her birthday cake, even if it has been on the cake plate for a week. Do not touch!
When it comes to family matters, it's all about the hens. They are of the same feather and will always cluck together. The men, and inlaws have no vote and no say. Once they have clucked to a decision, it's full steam ahead. Just keep you eyes open and your mouth closed and you will survive another family gathering.
When communicating with your children at these family events, it's best to use hand signals or even text each other, even when sitting in close proximity to eat other. No point giving away your secret plans with a verbal response.
When pumping gas at the local Kroger, never use all of the points on your fillup. If you do, your ears will be forever ringing with the words "did you use all the points???"
When it comes to your health and welfare, plenty of direct marketing plans and products will enter your household. Resistance is futile because her friend or relative needed one more participant in their circle of partners. "Honey this product is the latest rage, and I just have to give it a try!"
Social media is an area where you must tread lightly. Some spouses don't like to be tagged in your posts, so you might want to use a code name, thus "the spousal unit" was born. Be careful to change the names and circumstances when telling a yarn from the hood, as some of your friends will think it's them and all of a sudden you are either unfriended or blocked.
When acting as the chauffeur for your better half, remember to keep your thoughts to yourself, and only make suggestions when asked for your opinion. Listening to conversations between family members my not be good for your health.
Life is an adventure and it should be shared with a partner. I found one that is a keeper, my best friend, and the love of my life. There will be good times and an occasional bad. Keep the communication channels open and do things together. Eventually both of you will look back and laugh at those times together, whatever the outcome.
Our latest adventure together comes to and end today. But guess what, another picks up tomorrow!
Life is good!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Nashville, Omni Style
One of the side benefits of traveling with the spousal unit to conferences are the accommodations. This week we are in Nashville, downtown, at the Omni Hotel. This is one of those fancy hotels were valet parking is the only option. The Public parking lots are at least several blocks away and the hotel doesn't have its own parking garage.
The lobby is massive, as most are. Check in is a breeze. There are 21 floors, and we were lucky enough to get a room on the top floor. Their are two sets of elevators, with one set that services the middle floors and the other handles the rest. As in most big cities, the elevator requires a room key to access floors 2 through 21.
The rooms are plush, with beds that surround you in comfort. the shower is big enough for a party, and the water spray is hot, hard, and steamy. The view from the 21st floor is awesome. You very quickly spot the AT&T batman building in the distance. The glass window does tend to pop and snap as the occasional breeze presses against it.
The cafe was interesting. They had a very limited lunch menu. The feature sandwich items included a pimento grilled cheese sandwich and the specialty burger with pimento cheese as the featured ingredient. The server offered up a basket of biscuits and muffins. We finally figured out that these treats were hold overs from the breakfast bar from an hour earlier. A selection of jellies and jams were included to wet your appetite for the entree sandwich that was on its way.
At the table across the way, I got tickled. the woman had a fancy bottled water in front of her, and she was dipping pats of butter into the jelly and eating it with her table knife. I'm assuming she had already consumed a biscuit or two!
Entering the elevator later in the day i had one of those moments. I reached for my key as a young gal entered the door. As I was pressing my door key on the magnetic reader, the door closed. The girl began freaking out, "OMG! Where are floors 5-15!??" I chuckled, but then noticed the panic in her eyes. I calmly said "access to those floors are on the other elevators" as I pressed "open". She quickly said thanks as she dashed out the door.
The Omni is in a great location. The Country Music Hall of fame is next door and the Bridgestone Arena is across the street. And, Broadway Ave is just two blocks away. If you are coming for an event downtown, I highly recommend this.place.
Time to try one of the other eating establishments here then off to the Hall of Fame, the adventure for the day!
The lobby is massive, as most are. Check in is a breeze. There are 21 floors, and we were lucky enough to get a room on the top floor. Their are two sets of elevators, with one set that services the middle floors and the other handles the rest. As in most big cities, the elevator requires a room key to access floors 2 through 21.
The rooms are plush, with beds that surround you in comfort. the shower is big enough for a party, and the water spray is hot, hard, and steamy. The view from the 21st floor is awesome. You very quickly spot the AT&T batman building in the distance. The glass window does tend to pop and snap as the occasional breeze presses against it.
The cafe was interesting. They had a very limited lunch menu. The feature sandwich items included a pimento grilled cheese sandwich and the specialty burger with pimento cheese as the featured ingredient. The server offered up a basket of biscuits and muffins. We finally figured out that these treats were hold overs from the breakfast bar from an hour earlier. A selection of jellies and jams were included to wet your appetite for the entree sandwich that was on its way.
At the table across the way, I got tickled. the woman had a fancy bottled water in front of her, and she was dipping pats of butter into the jelly and eating it with her table knife. I'm assuming she had already consumed a biscuit or two!
Entering the elevator later in the day i had one of those moments. I reached for my key as a young gal entered the door. As I was pressing my door key on the magnetic reader, the door closed. The girl began freaking out, "OMG! Where are floors 5-15!??" I chuckled, but then noticed the panic in her eyes. I calmly said "access to those floors are on the other elevators" as I pressed "open". She quickly said thanks as she dashed out the door.
The Omni is in a great location. The Country Music Hall of fame is next door and the Bridgestone Arena is across the street. And, Broadway Ave is just two blocks away. If you are coming for an event downtown, I highly recommend this.place.
Time to try one of the other eating establishments here then off to the Hall of Fame, the adventure for the day!
Nashville Kats
Yesterday I took a stroll down Broadway Avenue, the home to the Nashville tourist music scene. It reminded me a little bit of Beale Street in Memphis and the French Quarter in New Orleans.
The first thing you notice is the music in the streets. The sounds are coming from open door bars and honky tonks, from street corner musicians, and from speakers that are strategically located along your path.
Like the two other locations mentioned above, this street no longer has businesses in operation from years past. They have been replaced by the bars & honky tonks, eateries, tshirt and souvenir shops, and a few stores selling country leather goods like hats, belts and boots.
The music is like no other. It's slow, sometimes a bit twangy, but always telling a story. If you actually listen to it you get some amusing storylines. Never will forget the first time I heard "my girlfriend fell in love with my tractor!" Seriously???? Just hope it was a Deere!
These musicians are obviously in love with their craft. Almost all have an acoustic guitar hanging off their back. Of course, you also have the drummer with his sticks, and the electric bass player.
The street corner guy gets up earlier than most so that he can grab his spot so he can be ready for the tourists that will come along with money to be dropped into a cup, bucket or open guitar case. These pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and occasional dollar make up this musician's lively hood. It may be enough to cover a meal or two for hopefully a day or two. They all can play. They have all learned that they also must be able to sing a song or two. Some look up at you, hoping.your hand is coming out of your pocket. Others sing with their eyes closed trying to kill the hunger pain from all those missed meals. Their dreams of making it big one day faded long ago, but their heart is still in it for the love of their music.
As you walk by the honky tonks around the noon hour, you can get wrapped up in the sounds coming from inside. One peek inside and you see a group of musicians working the stage in the hopes of eventually being discovered. It's too early in the day for that to happen, but you have to practice your craft living off the early crowd tip jar til an evening slot opens up. You notice that even during the lunch hour, all these places have one thing in common. The folks occupying the tables and bar stools are snacking, but have been consuming beer. What's a country song without a few empty beer bottles on the table???
I'm not much into this country music scene they have going on up here in Nashville. No jeans, boots or cowboy hat for me, just baseball cap, shorts and flippers do me just fine.
I'm headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is next to the Omni Hotel. I figure I'll learn a few things along the way, might even be humming "my girl friend fell in love with my tractor" by the end of the tour!
The first thing you notice is the music in the streets. The sounds are coming from open door bars and honky tonks, from street corner musicians, and from speakers that are strategically located along your path.
Like the two other locations mentioned above, this street no longer has businesses in operation from years past. They have been replaced by the bars & honky tonks, eateries, tshirt and souvenir shops, and a few stores selling country leather goods like hats, belts and boots.
The music is like no other. It's slow, sometimes a bit twangy, but always telling a story. If you actually listen to it you get some amusing storylines. Never will forget the first time I heard "my girlfriend fell in love with my tractor!" Seriously???? Just hope it was a Deere!
These musicians are obviously in love with their craft. Almost all have an acoustic guitar hanging off their back. Of course, you also have the drummer with his sticks, and the electric bass player.
The street corner guy gets up earlier than most so that he can grab his spot so he can be ready for the tourists that will come along with money to be dropped into a cup, bucket or open guitar case. These pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and occasional dollar make up this musician's lively hood. It may be enough to cover a meal or two for hopefully a day or two. They all can play. They have all learned that they also must be able to sing a song or two. Some look up at you, hoping.your hand is coming out of your pocket. Others sing with their eyes closed trying to kill the hunger pain from all those missed meals. Their dreams of making it big one day faded long ago, but their heart is still in it for the love of their music.
As you walk by the honky tonks around the noon hour, you can get wrapped up in the sounds coming from inside. One peek inside and you see a group of musicians working the stage in the hopes of eventually being discovered. It's too early in the day for that to happen, but you have to practice your craft living off the early crowd tip jar til an evening slot opens up. You notice that even during the lunch hour, all these places have one thing in common. The folks occupying the tables and bar stools are snacking, but have been consuming beer. What's a country song without a few empty beer bottles on the table???
I'm not much into this country music scene they have going on up here in Nashville. No jeans, boots or cowboy hat for me, just baseball cap, shorts and flippers do me just fine.
I'm headed to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is next to the Omni Hotel. I figure I'll learn a few things along the way, might even be humming "my girl friend fell in love with my tractor" by the end of the tour!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Lifers
Had the opportunity to have dinner last night with the spousal unit and five of her high school classmates. We were on our way back from from a day trip and the six, all originally from the Greenwood area decided to meet up in Grenada. Kinda special for five to go out of their way to meet up with a fellow classmate for a meal and fellowship.
These six are just a few from the Pillow Academy class of 79 that usually gather when several "out of towners" make a visit to the old stomping grounds. Word spreads and before you know it, their old band is back together for another evening of catch up.
In a matter of minutes the conversations pick up from their last gathering. Everybody goes down the list: health is good, kids are fine, car died, new boat already has a hole in it, did you hear about so & so, and what are you going to order? Some, its all about the grandkids, others have one finishing college, while still others have one just an incoming freshman. Big laugh about being empty nesters, then chuckles for those who's nest will never be empty for one reason or another.
It was refreshing to be a bystander. To watch the interaction between these life long friends was my reward for being married to one of these lifer's. I felt kinda special, being the only "outsider" allowed into the inner circle of this friendship. I didn't have this growing up, so I soak it up when I get the chance to see it.
Before you knew it, three hours had past. The plates were cleaned, and the margarita glasses were now empty. No new cures for cancer were found, and politics and current events had been left at the door. The circle of life for these 79'ers has been completed one more time. . Today's session was done. The tab was paid, and goodbyes were said in the parking lot.
I hope I get another opportunity to witness another gathering of these 79'ers, friends for life!
These six are just a few from the Pillow Academy class of 79 that usually gather when several "out of towners" make a visit to the old stomping grounds. Word spreads and before you know it, their old band is back together for another evening of catch up.
In a matter of minutes the conversations pick up from their last gathering. Everybody goes down the list: health is good, kids are fine, car died, new boat already has a hole in it, did you hear about so & so, and what are you going to order? Some, its all about the grandkids, others have one finishing college, while still others have one just an incoming freshman. Big laugh about being empty nesters, then chuckles for those who's nest will never be empty for one reason or another.
It was refreshing to be a bystander. To watch the interaction between these life long friends was my reward for being married to one of these lifer's. I felt kinda special, being the only "outsider" allowed into the inner circle of this friendship. I didn't have this growing up, so I soak it up when I get the chance to see it.
Before you knew it, three hours had past. The plates were cleaned, and the margarita glasses were now empty. No new cures for cancer were found, and politics and current events had been left at the door. The circle of life for these 79'ers has been completed one more time. . Today's session was done. The tab was paid, and goodbyes were said in the parking lot.
I hope I get another opportunity to witness another gathering of these 79'ers, friends for life!
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Sam's in Madison
Okay, the location has been open for a week. I figured, mid-day, on a Tuesday, would be a convenient time for a quick stop. I was headed in that direction anyway to go to Home Depot, Kroger, and to get my hair did, so why not!
The new location is just off the interstate, between Madison Avenue, and Hwy 462, near the Miskelly's Furniture store. Mary Hawkins definitely had her hands in determining the final design. I have seen the same store layout in other communities, but the store front is strictly Hawkinsville.
The parking lot was overflowing with cars. The shopping cart drop offs had carts tossed in there every which way possible. One of the handicap carts was trapped in the middle with no way out! Entry is easy, just show the door guardian your id card and away you go!
I went in with a purpose and a mission, to get a couple of briskets and port tenderloins to cook for tailgating. You couldn't get I in too big of a hurry because of all of the shopping carts. I'm not even sure why someone that is handicapped would even venture into this place. Those handicap carts don't hold much, and each of the items weighs at least 5-10 pounds each! But the more I think about it, this might be a physical therapy session for some!
I looked up, and saw a crowd that had formed around a table set up, giving away free samples. The vendor was dressed in a red chef's coat and a red chef's hat. He was buttering slices of French bread with a variety of flavored butter offerings. My knowledge of Sam's and the type of folks that they hire, told me that this guy was no chef! But, he was a talker! He musta had 25-30 standing around his table waiting for that sample of buttered French bread. He reminded me of those amazing cooks on those television infomercials on late night TV! The next table was giving away free samples of some type of orange juice. They were dispensing the juice in medicine cups!
I made my way over to the meat counter. They had what I wanted, fully trimmed out beef briskets. I compared them to those that are precooked, and confirmed that precooked, vacuumed sealed stuff was not for me. Grabbed two briskets and also found a double pack of port tenderloins. Tailgating here we come!
Even in Madison, the crazies come out! Dude goes to self checkout, finishes, then bam! "Ma'am does this thang take cash?" "No sir, see right there on the register, credit or debit only"!
I then overhear this couple that were obviously friends of sorts, but were from out of town. Man sees woman "Ain't you from Yazoo City?" "Yes sir!" the woman replies. Then she says " Aren't you married to so and so? "I hear'd you was gonna be a grandpappy!" The man replies "Yep, working on the last name on this one!" Lordty, only in Sam's, and in MADISON!!! These people were cracking me up! I had to get outta there before I started laughing!
I made my way to checkout. Like a lot of the newer stores, this one had a self checkout. You swipe, your card, tell it to credit the card with your charges, then use the UPC gun to record your purchases.
I had three items, done in no time flat!
The guy next to me had a full card, and he was slowly getting the self checkout done. When he had completed scanning all of his items, he looked a little puzzled, and began scratching his head. He then asks the checkout clerk "Ma'am does this thang take cash?" The clerk replies "No sir, see right there on the register, credit or debit only"! Gotta love it. Where in the hell does Sam's find these people? Now remember, I'm in MADISON!!!!
Needless to say, I did not stick around to see how he ended up settling his account. I worked my way to the entrance. Everybody seemed to be old time Sam shoppers, with their receipt at the ready for the black magic marker lady to put her mark! I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. World record time for being in a brand spanking new Sam's!
It sure seems that it doesn't matter where you place a Walmart or Sam's. The crazies will find them and they will come! They have definitely found the new Sam's in MADISON!!!!
The new location is just off the interstate, between Madison Avenue, and Hwy 462, near the Miskelly's Furniture store. Mary Hawkins definitely had her hands in determining the final design. I have seen the same store layout in other communities, but the store front is strictly Hawkinsville.
The parking lot was overflowing with cars. The shopping cart drop offs had carts tossed in there every which way possible. One of the handicap carts was trapped in the middle with no way out! Entry is easy, just show the door guardian your id card and away you go!
I went in with a purpose and a mission, to get a couple of briskets and port tenderloins to cook for tailgating. You couldn't get I in too big of a hurry because of all of the shopping carts. I'm not even sure why someone that is handicapped would even venture into this place. Those handicap carts don't hold much, and each of the items weighs at least 5-10 pounds each! But the more I think about it, this might be a physical therapy session for some!
I looked up, and saw a crowd that had formed around a table set up, giving away free samples. The vendor was dressed in a red chef's coat and a red chef's hat. He was buttering slices of French bread with a variety of flavored butter offerings. My knowledge of Sam's and the type of folks that they hire, told me that this guy was no chef! But, he was a talker! He musta had 25-30 standing around his table waiting for that sample of buttered French bread. He reminded me of those amazing cooks on those television infomercials on late night TV! The next table was giving away free samples of some type of orange juice. They were dispensing the juice in medicine cups!
I made my way over to the meat counter. They had what I wanted, fully trimmed out beef briskets. I compared them to those that are precooked, and confirmed that precooked, vacuumed sealed stuff was not for me. Grabbed two briskets and also found a double pack of port tenderloins. Tailgating here we come!
Even in Madison, the crazies come out! Dude goes to self checkout, finishes, then bam! "Ma'am does this thang take cash?" "No sir, see right there on the register, credit or debit only"!
I then overhear this couple that were obviously friends of sorts, but were from out of town. Man sees woman "Ain't you from Yazoo City?" "Yes sir!" the woman replies. Then she says " Aren't you married to so and so? "I hear'd you was gonna be a grandpappy!" The man replies "Yep, working on the last name on this one!" Lordty, only in Sam's, and in MADISON!!! These people were cracking me up! I had to get outta there before I started laughing!
I made my way to checkout. Like a lot of the newer stores, this one had a self checkout. You swipe, your card, tell it to credit the card with your charges, then use the UPC gun to record your purchases.
I had three items, done in no time flat!
The guy next to me had a full card, and he was slowly getting the self checkout done. When he had completed scanning all of his items, he looked a little puzzled, and began scratching his head. He then asks the checkout clerk "Ma'am does this thang take cash?" The clerk replies "No sir, see right there on the register, credit or debit only"! Gotta love it. Where in the hell does Sam's find these people? Now remember, I'm in MADISON!!!!
Needless to say, I did not stick around to see how he ended up settling his account. I worked my way to the entrance. Everybody seemed to be old time Sam shoppers, with their receipt at the ready for the black magic marker lady to put her mark! I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. World record time for being in a brand spanking new Sam's!
It sure seems that it doesn't matter where you place a Walmart or Sam's. The crazies will find them and they will come! They have definitely found the new Sam's in MADISON!!!!
Monday, August 10, 2015
Back to School!
Back in the days of employment you could always tell it was the first day back at school. By 7:30, Lakeland Drive would be backed up from the Pearl River Bridge, all the way to Northwest Rankin Middle School. These days I don't go near Lakeland Drive til after 8:30!
The weeks leading up to "first day" included finding a copy of the "school supply list" and heading off to the stores like it was a treasure hunt. Then, Walmart and others caught on and had the lists waiting for you as you entered the store. Others, like Kroger, would have them pre-packaged for you as an enticement to buy the supplies from them.
For us, part of our summer ritual was looking for just the right backpack. It was totally taboo to use one two years in a row! Along came the block scheduling, kinda like the college thing, and suddenly it became smart to have two! As you would head out the door to drop off your kids at school, it would hit you, "ok, is this A day or B day"?
In the early years lunches were easy. "I wanta buy my lunch" was the most common choice of the day. One year, in elementary school Morgan announced that he wanted to take his lunch. He liked the food, but because his last name was Weems, he was always the guy at the end of the line, but if you brought your lunch, you were the first to enter the cafeteria. Then, the fryers were removed from the cafeterias and all you heard was "Ain't buying, the food is yucky! " Oscar Mayer lunchables became the food choice of the day. Once my boys were able to drive themselves to school, they quickly learned to skip lunch and head to a fast food joint after school with their friends. Don't try to order a slushie from Sonic between 2 and 4, no spaces and the machine will already be sucked dry on those early hot school days of August!
Nowadays all you have to do is open up Facebook to see the pictures the Mom's are taking of their kids before they head off on the first day back. Some mom's of older kids do a posting of TBT'S of their kids in younger days.
This is the final year for my youngest, now a senior at Mississippi State. No more school supply shopping for us. Morgan now buys the e-version of most of his text books. No more notebook paper, since he records all of his notes electronically. And, he still stays away from the everyday cafeteria food
Thank God for Student Union food courts!
Good luck to all my friends with kids and grands now heading back to school. And, Best of luck with that "new math" called "common core"!
The weeks leading up to "first day" included finding a copy of the "school supply list" and heading off to the stores like it was a treasure hunt. Then, Walmart and others caught on and had the lists waiting for you as you entered the store. Others, like Kroger, would have them pre-packaged for you as an enticement to buy the supplies from them.
For us, part of our summer ritual was looking for just the right backpack. It was totally taboo to use one two years in a row! Along came the block scheduling, kinda like the college thing, and suddenly it became smart to have two! As you would head out the door to drop off your kids at school, it would hit you, "ok, is this A day or B day"?
In the early years lunches were easy. "I wanta buy my lunch" was the most common choice of the day. One year, in elementary school Morgan announced that he wanted to take his lunch. He liked the food, but because his last name was Weems, he was always the guy at the end of the line, but if you brought your lunch, you were the first to enter the cafeteria. Then, the fryers were removed from the cafeterias and all you heard was "Ain't buying, the food is yucky! " Oscar Mayer lunchables became the food choice of the day. Once my boys were able to drive themselves to school, they quickly learned to skip lunch and head to a fast food joint after school with their friends. Don't try to order a slushie from Sonic between 2 and 4, no spaces and the machine will already be sucked dry on those early hot school days of August!
Nowadays all you have to do is open up Facebook to see the pictures the Mom's are taking of their kids before they head off on the first day back. Some mom's of older kids do a posting of TBT'S of their kids in younger days.
This is the final year for my youngest, now a senior at Mississippi State. No more school supply shopping for us. Morgan now buys the e-version of most of his text books. No more notebook paper, since he records all of his notes electronically. And, he still stays away from the everyday cafeteria food
Thank God for Student Union food courts!
Good luck to all my friends with kids and grands now heading back to school. And, Best of luck with that "new math" called "common core"!
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Tailgating 2015, ready or not!
Okay football Saturday sports fans, time to start prepping because tailgating is 30 or less days away!
At MSU, we went through the reseating process year two. Got my seats moved in closer to the 50 yard line, and higher up, near the portal. Tickets arrived this week. highest price, $70 for the Alabama game. Man cub already has his fall schedule confirmed where he doesn't have classes on Friday afternoons. This is very important for freshmen parents, if you are expecting your student to secure you a prime spot for tailgating! No Bulldog parking spot for us, but plans are to get there well before four hours before kickoff to be able to unload close to the spot, then off to our favorite pay to park spot in the student commuter parking lot!
At TSUN, out seats got shuffled around a bit because the old ones were classified as part of the "best in the house". To keep them, there was going to be a $1,000 per seat (times 4) capital contribution, in addition to the $400 per seat Rebel Club fee, on top of the season ticket price. At luck would have it, only moved over one section, and a few rows up, but 3 seats are one one row and the fourth two rows back. Parking spot is in the same location, thankfully!
The spousal unit has already scouted out the local tailgating location. The grass has been replaced with pine straw. Hopefully the ground will be firm enough to hold up all those fancy 3 inch stacked heels.
I'm upgrading to a bicycle wheel garden cart for Starkvegas this year, hoping it will allow us to get to the car with everything in tow and to exit the campus earlier than past years. I've still got my pull along little wagons for the overflow.
The TSUN crowd is gonna be in for a treat this year. Man cub and built a corn hole game this summer. As heavy as it is, we'll find out whether it makes return visits. I can just see it: loser has to do something silly, that they might regret as the afternoon begins to fade toward kickoff!
Our friend Charla is working on a new chandelier for the tent. Gina will have the tablecloths tighter than a pair of skinny jeans on a coed. Don't even think of spilling food or drink on them the first week. and We added a couple of round tables last year. Wonder what else awaits us????
Can't wait to see all the new fashions. All those freshmen parents better have their act together and have on the correct shirt come game time. The funniest thing from a few years ago was this young coed all decked out in her finest, even showing off her summer tan. Problem was she wore ankle socks all summer and she wear wearing sandals. Gotta watch that tan lines girls!!! Last year I almost fell out of the chair when I saw three generations of women, with the same hair style, same color of dress, all knee high!
Several of the youngsters and I have plans to set our chairs close to the roadside on University Avenue as it enters the Grove. We are tempted to print up signs, one side with "pour it out!" and the other side with "let them pass"! The "LTP" side will only be used on an exception basis: Grandmaw getting busted, momma toting a baby in the other hand, etc.....
I'm hoping to see some new variety in the tailgating food items as well. Chicken fingers have been a tailgating staple for years. For the women folk, its always about the chippy dippy, and some kind of calorie free desert. For me, its all about carnivore, bring on the meat! I've got a buddy in the carnival food business that would make a killing with his red velvet funnel cake with cream cheese icing! Now wouldn't that be the bomb!
All that said, ARE YOU READY?????
#HOBBYLOBBY and #HAILSTATE!
At MSU, we went through the reseating process year two. Got my seats moved in closer to the 50 yard line, and higher up, near the portal. Tickets arrived this week. highest price, $70 for the Alabama game. Man cub already has his fall schedule confirmed where he doesn't have classes on Friday afternoons. This is very important for freshmen parents, if you are expecting your student to secure you a prime spot for tailgating! No Bulldog parking spot for us, but plans are to get there well before four hours before kickoff to be able to unload close to the spot, then off to our favorite pay to park spot in the student commuter parking lot!
At TSUN, out seats got shuffled around a bit because the old ones were classified as part of the "best in the house". To keep them, there was going to be a $1,000 per seat (times 4) capital contribution, in addition to the $400 per seat Rebel Club fee, on top of the season ticket price. At luck would have it, only moved over one section, and a few rows up, but 3 seats are one one row and the fourth two rows back. Parking spot is in the same location, thankfully!
The spousal unit has already scouted out the local tailgating location. The grass has been replaced with pine straw. Hopefully the ground will be firm enough to hold up all those fancy 3 inch stacked heels.
I'm upgrading to a bicycle wheel garden cart for Starkvegas this year, hoping it will allow us to get to the car with everything in tow and to exit the campus earlier than past years. I've still got my pull along little wagons for the overflow.
The TSUN crowd is gonna be in for a treat this year. Man cub and built a corn hole game this summer. As heavy as it is, we'll find out whether it makes return visits. I can just see it: loser has to do something silly, that they might regret as the afternoon begins to fade toward kickoff!
Our friend Charla is working on a new chandelier for the tent. Gina will have the tablecloths tighter than a pair of skinny jeans on a coed. Don't even think of spilling food or drink on them the first week. and We added a couple of round tables last year. Wonder what else awaits us????
Can't wait to see all the new fashions. All those freshmen parents better have their act together and have on the correct shirt come game time. The funniest thing from a few years ago was this young coed all decked out in her finest, even showing off her summer tan. Problem was she wore ankle socks all summer and she wear wearing sandals. Gotta watch that tan lines girls!!! Last year I almost fell out of the chair when I saw three generations of women, with the same hair style, same color of dress, all knee high!
Several of the youngsters and I have plans to set our chairs close to the roadside on University Avenue as it enters the Grove. We are tempted to print up signs, one side with "pour it out!" and the other side with "let them pass"! The "LTP" side will only be used on an exception basis: Grandmaw getting busted, momma toting a baby in the other hand, etc.....
I'm hoping to see some new variety in the tailgating food items as well. Chicken fingers have been a tailgating staple for years. For the women folk, its always about the chippy dippy, and some kind of calorie free desert. For me, its all about carnivore, bring on the meat! I've got a buddy in the carnival food business that would make a killing with his red velvet funnel cake with cream cheese icing! Now wouldn't that be the bomb!
All that said, ARE YOU READY?????
#HOBBYLOBBY and #HAILSTATE!
Lines, Lines, Everywhere a Line!
As a retiree, with no set calendar except for vaca's you would think I would be ok standing in a line or two, or three. Nope, even with ton's of visits to Orlando's amusement parks, I have not gotten used to lines. Yesterday, our vaca departure from Panama City Beach day, was especially so!
I at least got a head start the night before, retrieving a luggage card and making one trip for car packing. But, there is always that wait for the elevator. Nothing worse for the door to open, and it is headed in your direction, but full of people. Or, the door opens, folks step off, then you see the arrow pointed in the wrong direction!
Finally the car is packed, and we have scanned the room one last time for anything we missed. Learned this the hard way when the spousal unit left her favorite bra on the back of the bathroom door. The resort mailed it to her just fine, but then we find two pairs of my drawers in the same envelope!
We are out of the resort earlier than we have ever been. Yes! time for breakfast at our favorite eatery, "Another Broken Egg". Thankfully, we got there early enough to miss the crowd, but by the time we finished, the wait line was 30 people deep!
At the suggestion of our friend Jenn, we took Hwy 79 North, to Hwy 20, and then Hwy 331 north to I-10. You can take Hwy 98 West over to HWY 331, but Jenn indicated that there as a lot of construction happening on Hwy 331, plus all the traffic coming from 30AAAAA! The spousal unit has a maps app on her apple I-phone that shows you traffic. Before we completed the stretch of Hwy 20, she checked he map app. She yelled "wow!". The bay bridge on Hwy 331 was backed up all the way to Hwy 98! Glad we took the route we did!
Our entry onto I-10 is about 40 miles east of the Crestview-Niceville exit, which goes to the Mid Bay Toll Bridge to Destin. As we were passing this exit, I looked south on this road and traffic was backed up heading north as far as the eye could see. The only breaks were from the stoppages caused by the color red on the traffic signals!
I knew it was going to get worse once we got past Pensacola and into Alabama. Yep! five miles out from the Loxley, the traffic came to a crawl. As we approached Daphne, lots of cars were merging into the right lane. We exit the Interstate just as you approach Mobile Bay. Traffic is much less congested on old Hwy 98. On the bridge, if anybody has a wreck you are screwed! You can see the lack of progress of the Interstate traffic headed for the tunnel from Hwy 98. We just stayed the course! As you approach Mobile, you notice most cars are in the left lane, all anticipating a quicker trip under Mobile Bay through the old Bankhead Tunnel. Not me! We head to the Bay Bridge, then take I-65 south back to I-10. This route is a bit longer, but it relieves the stress of Mobile Bay and we hate taking Hwy 98 through west Alabama.
Too early for a lunch stoppage because of the breakfast feast a few hours earlier. As we approach the Hwy 63 exit at Moss Point, I figure, what the heck, time for a little Shedheading! Just a few miles further west on I-10 is the Shed! WE got there about 1:30. I've never seen the line so long, out the door, into the parking lot!
This line got kinda amusing. The spousal unit and I both took turns going to the restroom. There was a young gal at the door selling cold beverages and handing out menus. I don't remember much of what she said because I was busy staring at the ring hanging from her nose! Another worker was sitting on a table as you entered the door. He was covered in piercing and ink, even showing off the tattoo on the inside of his lip. He was the life of the wait line, telling the stories from people asking him "how are you going to earn a good living with all this body art? He laughs and follows that with my Dad owns this place, I'm not going anywhere!" I also had to chuckle at the family behind me in line. The dad decided that the family would split 1.5 racks. His teenage son replied, "but Dad, I don't know what that is!" I'll bet he became a Shedhead by the end of his meal!
Back in the road, no traffic at all. We Took Hwy 57, The Shed exit, north till we ran into Hwy 98 south of Hattiesburg. Our OnStar GPS system just about had a duck figuring out where we were!
More lines in my future. Football Saturdays are just around the corner!
I at least got a head start the night before, retrieving a luggage card and making one trip for car packing. But, there is always that wait for the elevator. Nothing worse for the door to open, and it is headed in your direction, but full of people. Or, the door opens, folks step off, then you see the arrow pointed in the wrong direction!
Finally the car is packed, and we have scanned the room one last time for anything we missed. Learned this the hard way when the spousal unit left her favorite bra on the back of the bathroom door. The resort mailed it to her just fine, but then we find two pairs of my drawers in the same envelope!
We are out of the resort earlier than we have ever been. Yes! time for breakfast at our favorite eatery, "Another Broken Egg". Thankfully, we got there early enough to miss the crowd, but by the time we finished, the wait line was 30 people deep!
At the suggestion of our friend Jenn, we took Hwy 79 North, to Hwy 20, and then Hwy 331 north to I-10. You can take Hwy 98 West over to HWY 331, but Jenn indicated that there as a lot of construction happening on Hwy 331, plus all the traffic coming from 30AAAAA! The spousal unit has a maps app on her apple I-phone that shows you traffic. Before we completed the stretch of Hwy 20, she checked he map app. She yelled "wow!". The bay bridge on Hwy 331 was backed up all the way to Hwy 98! Glad we took the route we did!
Our entry onto I-10 is about 40 miles east of the Crestview-Niceville exit, which goes to the Mid Bay Toll Bridge to Destin. As we were passing this exit, I looked south on this road and traffic was backed up heading north as far as the eye could see. The only breaks were from the stoppages caused by the color red on the traffic signals!
I knew it was going to get worse once we got past Pensacola and into Alabama. Yep! five miles out from the Loxley, the traffic came to a crawl. As we approached Daphne, lots of cars were merging into the right lane. We exit the Interstate just as you approach Mobile Bay. Traffic is much less congested on old Hwy 98. On the bridge, if anybody has a wreck you are screwed! You can see the lack of progress of the Interstate traffic headed for the tunnel from Hwy 98. We just stayed the course! As you approach Mobile, you notice most cars are in the left lane, all anticipating a quicker trip under Mobile Bay through the old Bankhead Tunnel. Not me! We head to the Bay Bridge, then take I-65 south back to I-10. This route is a bit longer, but it relieves the stress of Mobile Bay and we hate taking Hwy 98 through west Alabama.
Too early for a lunch stoppage because of the breakfast feast a few hours earlier. As we approach the Hwy 63 exit at Moss Point, I figure, what the heck, time for a little Shedheading! Just a few miles further west on I-10 is the Shed! WE got there about 1:30. I've never seen the line so long, out the door, into the parking lot!
 |
| Price you pay from leaving the beach on a Saturday |
 |
| Just Glad it wasn't the line to pee! |
 |
| large combo plate: ribs, chicken, pork and brisket |
This line got kinda amusing. The spousal unit and I both took turns going to the restroom. There was a young gal at the door selling cold beverages and handing out menus. I don't remember much of what she said because I was busy staring at the ring hanging from her nose! Another worker was sitting on a table as you entered the door. He was covered in piercing and ink, even showing off the tattoo on the inside of his lip. He was the life of the wait line, telling the stories from people asking him "how are you going to earn a good living with all this body art? He laughs and follows that with my Dad owns this place, I'm not going anywhere!" I also had to chuckle at the family behind me in line. The dad decided that the family would split 1.5 racks. His teenage son replied, "but Dad, I don't know what that is!" I'll bet he became a Shedhead by the end of his meal!
Back in the road, no traffic at all. We Took Hwy 57, The Shed exit, north till we ran into Hwy 98 south of Hattiesburg. Our OnStar GPS system just about had a duck figuring out where we were!
More lines in my future. Football Saturdays are just around the corner!
Friday, August 7, 2015
Panama City Beach
PCB was the beach destination of my youth way back when. Most of those strip motels are now gone, replaced with lots of high rise condo units, just like Destin, Orange Beach, and Gulf Shores have become.
Lots of similarities to those places: Got the same sugary white sandy beaches. Got the same emerald green waters. Got the same kind of high rise condos. And, they have the very same traffic gridlock, if not worse.
The best thing to happen to the Emerald Coast Line was the relocation of HWY 98 further inland. This has pulled the drive through traffic out far enough to free up the old road lanes for us tourists taking up residence along the shoreline. But for most of the day, from June through mid August, it is bumper to bumper traffic.
PCB has gotten a bad rap from the activities that occur in the spring. MTV's arrival for spring break did nothing but put a black eye on a great location. After Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach shut down the 24 hour party atmosphere, PCB took up the slack. The City Council is supposed to put an end to the alcohol abuse next spring. We will see....
If you are looking for a tourist destination, put PCB on your list. Be mindful of the traffic during prime summer season, but its like that all along the coast that time of year. The old Miracle Strip amusement park of my youth is long gone, but there are plenty of other attractions to take up the slack where the sun and surf leave off.
Pier Park is a major tourist attraction, with plenty of shopping and quite a few dining options. There is now a Dave and Busters for you to enjoy. They fill up your tummy and empty your wallet at your kid's delight! There are also Walmart, Target, Publix and other retailers in close proximity to were we stayed.
For us, it helps that we have friends that live and work in the area and this cuts down on the decisions we have to make.
As most of you know, I-10 travel from June to mid August is murderous from west of Mobile to the Loxley exit. Same can be said for the Mid Bay Bridge going into Destin. For us, the best travel times are before June, and the third week of August and beyond. Most families still have kids in school during these times, Thank God!!
This weekend ends our summer beach runs for 2015. The spousal unit's cousin at Navarre Beach my put up with us a time or two before winter. I've already got new umbrellas and chairs at the ready for 2016 and I've got my buddy Clearance looking for a new beach cart, wide wheels of course!
More blog posts will be on their way soon because tailgating season is just 30 days away! Stay tuned!
Lots of similarities to those places: Got the same sugary white sandy beaches. Got the same emerald green waters. Got the same kind of high rise condos. And, they have the very same traffic gridlock, if not worse.
The best thing to happen to the Emerald Coast Line was the relocation of HWY 98 further inland. This has pulled the drive through traffic out far enough to free up the old road lanes for us tourists taking up residence along the shoreline. But for most of the day, from June through mid August, it is bumper to bumper traffic.
PCB has gotten a bad rap from the activities that occur in the spring. MTV's arrival for spring break did nothing but put a black eye on a great location. After Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach shut down the 24 hour party atmosphere, PCB took up the slack. The City Council is supposed to put an end to the alcohol abuse next spring. We will see....
If you are looking for a tourist destination, put PCB on your list. Be mindful of the traffic during prime summer season, but its like that all along the coast that time of year. The old Miracle Strip amusement park of my youth is long gone, but there are plenty of other attractions to take up the slack where the sun and surf leave off.
Pier Park is a major tourist attraction, with plenty of shopping and quite a few dining options. There is now a Dave and Busters for you to enjoy. They fill up your tummy and empty your wallet at your kid's delight! There are also Walmart, Target, Publix and other retailers in close proximity to were we stayed.
For us, it helps that we have friends that live and work in the area and this cuts down on the decisions we have to make.
As most of you know, I-10 travel from June to mid August is murderous from west of Mobile to the Loxley exit. Same can be said for the Mid Bay Bridge going into Destin. For us, the best travel times are before June, and the third week of August and beyond. Most families still have kids in school during these times, Thank God!!
This weekend ends our summer beach runs for 2015. The spousal unit's cousin at Navarre Beach my put up with us a time or two before winter. I've already got new umbrellas and chairs at the ready for 2016 and I've got my buddy Clearance looking for a new beach cart, wide wheels of course!
More blog posts will be on their way soon because tailgating season is just 30 days away! Stay tuned!
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Beach Condo Living is the Life For Me!
If you're gonna do a beach vaca, you might as well do it right! For us, the stays in hotel rooms are long gone. Not enough family members have ever been interested in renting a multi bedroom beach house, so beach condo high rise it is!
If you get a high enough floor, the views are amazing. You get the early sunrise coffee drinking views, and the end of the day cocktail sunsets from your balcony. You get a good look at the sky and water conditions before making your departure for the beach. If you are up early enough, you can occasionally see the dolphins swim by. But heaven forbid you hang anything off the balcony. The resident Barney Fife will be on you in no time flat!
The kitchens are usually stocked with all the pots and pans that you will need, except for a dad gum muffin pan. I now possess one in my condo supplies box! Usually there are enough paper goods and towels to get you to mid week when they are supposed to come by for a midweek cleaning and restocking of l the towels, new sheets, and other odds and ends. Most units have a washer, dryer combo in your unit, so you can depart with cleaned laundry instead of the OMG, laundry! when you walk through your door at home.
If the road traffic is unbearable on your arrival, wait til after 10:00 p.m. to make your basic grocery run. This will take some of the arrival day stress off of you. You can then make an early morning run for the other items that were not available or fresh on your initial shopping run.
We try to cook at least two evening meals in the condo, mostly on days where you are too worn out to go stand in a line waiting for a table. Boiling or baking shrimp or making some type of pasta dish makes meal prep a no brainer.
Some of these complexes offer several grilling stations, being gas or charcoal. This trip we had neither, and I have been having grilling withdrawal pains. I had to walk through the local Starbucks to smell something burning to ease the pains.
When you are walking about the complex going to and from the beach, please wear a shirt or cover up until you reach your destination. These young girls are very distracting and have gotten me in trouble a time or two. And, the last thing a woman wants to do is stand shoulder to shoulder with a fella covered in body hair!
Once you get beach side, its a good idea to check the flag color of the day. This typically tells you what to expect when you get to the water's edge. If you bring your own umbrella, be sure to also bring a sand anchor. We have already seen several umbrellas take flight on windy days. One hit me in the back of the head!
If you are going to layout on a sheet or towel o a windy day, please be considerate of the people around you when shaking sand off on a windy day. I'm still chewing and spitting out some body else's sand.
If you are going to play your favorite country tunes, turn it down a bit. None of your neighbors want to hear a song about "my girlfriend fell in love with my tractor!" And if you are going to talk and ramble on and on all day about absolutely nothing of importance, please lower your voice so that your neighbors can enjoy the crashing of the waves, instead of your brother's shack up girl friend that might be ya'lls third cousin twice removed!
My all-time worst pet peeve is this aerosol spray suntan lotion. Two thirds of the can ends up in the air. There is nothing worse than a two ton beach whale leaving a scent of coconut shrimp in the air! Lotion people, lotion!
Be mindful to not bring bottles to the beach, and what trash you bring, you should also leave with. If you see some that has been left, be a good beach citizen and pick it up and dispose of it the proper way.
When preparing for departure, you can pack the car with all of the beach supplies and all the other non essential stuff that won't be needed in the morning.
Remember, the month of August is a good time to be looking for sales of replacement items in your beach supplies inventory. I've already stockpiled new charis and umbrellas for beach season 2016!
Happy Beaching everybody!
If you get a high enough floor, the views are amazing. You get the early sunrise coffee drinking views, and the end of the day cocktail sunsets from your balcony. You get a good look at the sky and water conditions before making your departure for the beach. If you are up early enough, you can occasionally see the dolphins swim by. But heaven forbid you hang anything off the balcony. The resident Barney Fife will be on you in no time flat!
The kitchens are usually stocked with all the pots and pans that you will need, except for a dad gum muffin pan. I now possess one in my condo supplies box! Usually there are enough paper goods and towels to get you to mid week when they are supposed to come by for a midweek cleaning and restocking of l the towels, new sheets, and other odds and ends. Most units have a washer, dryer combo in your unit, so you can depart with cleaned laundry instead of the OMG, laundry! when you walk through your door at home.
If the road traffic is unbearable on your arrival, wait til after 10:00 p.m. to make your basic grocery run. This will take some of the arrival day stress off of you. You can then make an early morning run for the other items that were not available or fresh on your initial shopping run.
We try to cook at least two evening meals in the condo, mostly on days where you are too worn out to go stand in a line waiting for a table. Boiling or baking shrimp or making some type of pasta dish makes meal prep a no brainer.
Some of these complexes offer several grilling stations, being gas or charcoal. This trip we had neither, and I have been having grilling withdrawal pains. I had to walk through the local Starbucks to smell something burning to ease the pains.
When you are walking about the complex going to and from the beach, please wear a shirt or cover up until you reach your destination. These young girls are very distracting and have gotten me in trouble a time or two. And, the last thing a woman wants to do is stand shoulder to shoulder with a fella covered in body hair!
Once you get beach side, its a good idea to check the flag color of the day. This typically tells you what to expect when you get to the water's edge. If you bring your own umbrella, be sure to also bring a sand anchor. We have already seen several umbrellas take flight on windy days. One hit me in the back of the head!
If you are going to layout on a sheet or towel o a windy day, please be considerate of the people around you when shaking sand off on a windy day. I'm still chewing and spitting out some body else's sand.
If you are going to play your favorite country tunes, turn it down a bit. None of your neighbors want to hear a song about "my girlfriend fell in love with my tractor!" And if you are going to talk and ramble on and on all day about absolutely nothing of importance, please lower your voice so that your neighbors can enjoy the crashing of the waves, instead of your brother's shack up girl friend that might be ya'lls third cousin twice removed!
My all-time worst pet peeve is this aerosol spray suntan lotion. Two thirds of the can ends up in the air. There is nothing worse than a two ton beach whale leaving a scent of coconut shrimp in the air! Lotion people, lotion!
Be mindful to not bring bottles to the beach, and what trash you bring, you should also leave with. If you see some that has been left, be a good beach citizen and pick it up and dispose of it the proper way.
When preparing for departure, you can pack the car with all of the beach supplies and all the other non essential stuff that won't be needed in the morning.
Remember, the month of August is a good time to be looking for sales of replacement items in your beach supplies inventory. I've already stockpiled new charis and umbrellas for beach season 2016!
Happy Beaching everybody!
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Door Locks
Years ago, during one of our trips to Orlando, we had troubles with the door locks on our last night in the Condo. We decided to make the best of our last night and catch the fireworks display at the WDW Magic Kingdom. All done, we headed back to the hotel.
We had already packed up most things since we had an early morning flight home. We arrive at our door after midnight. Guess what, none of the four keys would work on the door. We sent Matthew to the front desk to get the keys recoded. What are the odds that none of our keys would work? Matthew arrives back with the new keys, and no luck! WTH????
We called the front desk, and they said a maintenance man would be right over. Turns out the magnetic lock have an internal battery that had run dry. No key was going to open that door. The maintenance man called another maintenance man who arrived with a "Sheppard's hook". He slid that sucker under the door, grabbed the handicap door handle, and opened the door. Yes! we are in! Thirty minutes later, the door lock was operational with a new set of batteries installed. By now it was past 2:00 a.m. Four hours we were headed to the airport. Don't remember much about that trip, but I will never forget about that damned door lock experience.
Fast forward to August 2015. We just checked into our condo in Panama City Beach. 26 floors of Condo heaven, right on the beach! Keys in hand, we head to the room. Twelfth floor, bet the view is gonna be great. Well crap. Keys don't work on the lock! Flashback to Orlando trip! Three keys and all we get is a red flashing light. Well, at least the lock battery works! A maintenance guy just happens to walk by, and he tries his super secret magic button. It doesn't work! I then remember that I gave the fourth key to our friends that will be staying with us. Where in the heck are they??
Something inside tells me to knock on the door. To my delight, their daughter open the door! She hard turned the deadbolt on the door when they came in 10 minutes earlier. Apparently the deadbolt lock turns off the magnetic code within the door.
What is it about me and door locks on vacation! Now I have two sets of memories about vacations and magnetic locks to clutter my brain! Where there I two, number three can't be far behind!
We had already packed up most things since we had an early morning flight home. We arrive at our door after midnight. Guess what, none of the four keys would work on the door. We sent Matthew to the front desk to get the keys recoded. What are the odds that none of our keys would work? Matthew arrives back with the new keys, and no luck! WTH????
We called the front desk, and they said a maintenance man would be right over. Turns out the magnetic lock have an internal battery that had run dry. No key was going to open that door. The maintenance man called another maintenance man who arrived with a "Sheppard's hook". He slid that sucker under the door, grabbed the handicap door handle, and opened the door. Yes! we are in! Thirty minutes later, the door lock was operational with a new set of batteries installed. By now it was past 2:00 a.m. Four hours we were headed to the airport. Don't remember much about that trip, but I will never forget about that damned door lock experience.
Fast forward to August 2015. We just checked into our condo in Panama City Beach. 26 floors of Condo heaven, right on the beach! Keys in hand, we head to the room. Twelfth floor, bet the view is gonna be great. Well crap. Keys don't work on the lock! Flashback to Orlando trip! Three keys and all we get is a red flashing light. Well, at least the lock battery works! A maintenance guy just happens to walk by, and he tries his super secret magic button. It doesn't work! I then remember that I gave the fourth key to our friends that will be staying with us. Where in the heck are they??
Something inside tells me to knock on the door. To my delight, their daughter open the door! She hard turned the deadbolt on the door when they came in 10 minutes earlier. Apparently the deadbolt lock turns off the magnetic code within the door.
What is it about me and door locks on vacation! Now I have two sets of memories about vacations and magnetic locks to clutter my brain! Where there I two, number three can't be far behind!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
August 1 Roadie Trip To PCB
Great idea, pass up June and July and wait til August for the great migration south, to the land of surf and sand, can't wait for a margarita in my hand! This trip ' s destination would be the Wyndham at Panama City Beach. Lots of families are done, now getting ready for back to school activities. Trip will be a breeze. What the hell was I thinking???
The signs of what was to come began showing themselves only a few miles outa town. We usually take hwy 18 from Brandon, to Puckett, then hwy 13 to Mendenhall to get onto Hwy 49, the pathway south. We miss all the stop and go through Richland and Florence. The road is two lane, but fairly straight, and hardly any traffic.
As we are entering hwy 18, we are now behind one truck pulling a tiny house and another pulling a septic tank, guessing they are headed to the same destination. No biggie, I'll just pass them up the road a bit. Dang is this Saturday isn't the biggest traffic day of the summer! Lots of on coming cars, with no chance to pass. Finally, an open strip!
I look, and there is on coming in the far distance. No biggie, plenty of time. Before I can merge left, I see this car from about 5 lengths back jump out to pass! That's 5 behind me, and there are two in front of me! The dude had a motor, and is gone in a flash. Then, he takes the time to honk loudly at the truck pulling the tiny house as he takes the lead, with only about 4 car lengths to spare. As he left us behind, his cruising speed had to have been 70+ on a roadway meant for 55. I began praying for MHP to be just around the corner, ready with a welcome wagon speed trap. No luck. :-(
Hwy 49 is usually a busy highway, but you would think it would be less traveled on A Saturday. Like hell! We planned for our first stop to be in Magee for a morning bite, a McD's breakfast sammich! The traffic at the first red light in this small town was over 40 car lengths, WTH??? I quickly exited onto the frontage road, and passed all of those vehicles lined up at the light. Even with.all the stop signs, I was way ahead of that line. McD's here we come!
We get into the order line, finally, the order screen. "Sorry sir, we stopped breakfast items five minutes ago, 10:30. Ok, chicken wrap it will be. Pay window fine. Pickup window "sorry sir, we're still prepping, please pull over into pickup spot #2. Really???
Meanwhile, back to traffic! Once we are past Hattiesburg on hwy 98, we prefer to take hwy 63 down to Moss Point to get on I-10. The traffic.flow approaching Mobile gets heavy, and on this day we opted to go the back Bay Bridge route. Glad we did.
Once we were over the bridge and thru the dells, the I-10 bridges were just a couple of miles ahead. As we approached, all you could we was bumper to bumper cars in both directions, creep, creeping along. We stayed on hwy 98 till we reached Daphne, then we re-entered the intersate. This sucker was packed all the way to the Loxley exit to Gulf Shores.
Being the foodie that I am, it was hard to pass up the Steak & Shake on I-65. The service has been bad the last few stops. We opted for the Pensacola location near the Cordova Mall, less than five miles off the interstate. Place was packed, and the service was excellent. I found out from the manager that they also owned the Mobile locations. Told him my experiences, "Frisco Melt with no special sauce" and other stuff. He didn't appear to be surprised by my comments. Said, yeah, we just put a new staff of managers. AWESOME!
The rest of the trip was uneventfull, til.we reached the Destin Bay Bridge, at 4:30 in the afternoon! Thankfully we had our SUNPASS decal on the windshield! I'll bet we passed over 100 cars waiting to pay the $3 toll!
Don't think that Panama City Beach traffic was any better. "Go home" traffic was at a crawl. Finally made it to our destination, whew! Looks like the last week of August or later will be in our future for next year and beyond!
More to come!
The signs of what was to come began showing themselves only a few miles outa town. We usually take hwy 18 from Brandon, to Puckett, then hwy 13 to Mendenhall to get onto Hwy 49, the pathway south. We miss all the stop and go through Richland and Florence. The road is two lane, but fairly straight, and hardly any traffic.
As we are entering hwy 18, we are now behind one truck pulling a tiny house and another pulling a septic tank, guessing they are headed to the same destination. No biggie, I'll just pass them up the road a bit. Dang is this Saturday isn't the biggest traffic day of the summer! Lots of on coming cars, with no chance to pass. Finally, an open strip!
I look, and there is on coming in the far distance. No biggie, plenty of time. Before I can merge left, I see this car from about 5 lengths back jump out to pass! That's 5 behind me, and there are two in front of me! The dude had a motor, and is gone in a flash. Then, he takes the time to honk loudly at the truck pulling the tiny house as he takes the lead, with only about 4 car lengths to spare. As he left us behind, his cruising speed had to have been 70+ on a roadway meant for 55. I began praying for MHP to be just around the corner, ready with a welcome wagon speed trap. No luck. :-(
Hwy 49 is usually a busy highway, but you would think it would be less traveled on A Saturday. Like hell! We planned for our first stop to be in Magee for a morning bite, a McD's breakfast sammich! The traffic at the first red light in this small town was over 40 car lengths, WTH??? I quickly exited onto the frontage road, and passed all of those vehicles lined up at the light. Even with.all the stop signs, I was way ahead of that line. McD's here we come!
We get into the order line, finally, the order screen. "Sorry sir, we stopped breakfast items five minutes ago, 10:30. Ok, chicken wrap it will be. Pay window fine. Pickup window "sorry sir, we're still prepping, please pull over into pickup spot #2. Really???
Meanwhile, back to traffic! Once we are past Hattiesburg on hwy 98, we prefer to take hwy 63 down to Moss Point to get on I-10. The traffic.flow approaching Mobile gets heavy, and on this day we opted to go the back Bay Bridge route. Glad we did.
Once we were over the bridge and thru the dells, the I-10 bridges were just a couple of miles ahead. As we approached, all you could we was bumper to bumper cars in both directions, creep, creeping along. We stayed on hwy 98 till we reached Daphne, then we re-entered the intersate. This sucker was packed all the way to the Loxley exit to Gulf Shores.
Being the foodie that I am, it was hard to pass up the Steak & Shake on I-65. The service has been bad the last few stops. We opted for the Pensacola location near the Cordova Mall, less than five miles off the interstate. Place was packed, and the service was excellent. I found out from the manager that they also owned the Mobile locations. Told him my experiences, "Frisco Melt with no special sauce" and other stuff. He didn't appear to be surprised by my comments. Said, yeah, we just put a new staff of managers. AWESOME!
The rest of the trip was uneventfull, til.we reached the Destin Bay Bridge, at 4:30 in the afternoon! Thankfully we had our SUNPASS decal on the windshield! I'll bet we passed over 100 cars waiting to pay the $3 toll!
Don't think that Panama City Beach traffic was any better. "Go home" traffic was at a crawl. Finally made it to our destination, whew! Looks like the last week of August or later will be in our future for next year and beyond!
More to come!
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