From Beach To Country

Hello!

I  really really wish I had a good excuse as to why I haven't blogged in a couple of days, but alas, there is none!  I was in Florida up until yesterday, and yesterday I spent driving the entire length of Alabama up to Tennessee. By the way, Alabama is GORGEOUS.  Like, really really gorgeous.  But more on that later.  Let's finish up my stay in Florida first.

Ok.  So my trip to Fort Walton Beach, FL was tremendously relaxing.  Katie & Thomas both had to work during the day while I was there.  So in the mornings I would generally sleep in, lounge around, make some breakfast, do the dishes, watch TV, etc.  (It was lovely!) I probably should have gone to the beach once or twice, but I didn't have a whole lot of interest in going the the beach alone to get my white skin burnt to a crisp.  I've discovered that I like the idea of the beach.  I like looking at it.  I think I could even get on board with playing at it.  But just sitting there?  Tanning?  I think I'm too much of a city girl for that.  So instead, I'd sit on the balcony over looking the water and read.  That's my idea of vacation!

So Tuesday night, when Katie got off work, I went to go meet her at the mall she works at and we went to go  see a movie.  We saw The Help, which is actually a really really good movie.  Heartfelt, sad, touching, funny, all of it.  Well written, and extremely well acted, it was a movie I would gladly see again.  (On a side note, I read somewhere that Emma Stone is what Lindsay Lohan could have been.  And I think they're about right.  Except that Emma Stone's got [way] more talent, and apparently the brain that Lindsay seems to have misplaced just after The Parent Trap.  But I digress.)

After the movie we went to dinner at this place called McGuire's Irish Pub.  Now McGuire's isn't exactly unique.  It's basically a bar/pub like any other except for one thing:  McGuire's has decorated its walls (and ceiling) with one dollar bills.  And not just regular ones.  No, they give any customer who'd like to make a contribution a sharpie to doodle on the bill, and then a staple gun to staple it to the wall.  At first, it looks really tacky, and then you start to read some of the bills.  They're fantastic.  Katie & I contributed to the delinquency with our own bill.  I completely spaced taking a picture of the pub, because I was too taken aback with this:

even with my big mouth, how am i supposed to eat this?

This, my dear friends, is my 3/4 lb Fiery Jalapeno Burger. No, I did not finish it, but I made very good headway!  The table next to us was just as shocked as I was at the size of it.  They asked me if I  could finish it, and to my chagrin I told them I'd try.  They looked more disgusted than impressed.  Fie for shame! (Oh, McGuire's also boasted a Peanut Butter Burger.  Neither Katie or I were brave enough to try it.)

The next day I decided I wasn't going to be a total bum.  Instead, I went to go see Harry Potter in IMAX.  Yes, I'm on this trip and I've already seen more movies than I ever watch at home. That aside, Harry Potter in IMAX was only offered in 3D.  I hate 3D.  But I love Harry Potter.  And we don't have an IMAX theatre that shows regular movies anywhere near Albuquerque.  So I was in a conundrum. I decided that my desire to see Harry Potter in IMAX outweighed my hatred of 3D, so there I was, buying a ticket to a movie alone (this is the first time I've ever seen a movie alone) in the middle of the day.  I was loving it!  So I sit down at 1:09, the movie was to start at 1:10 and I realize that I forgot to wear my contacts to the 3D movie!  So I've got these ridiculously obnoxious 3D glasses on over my regular glasses, and the 3D glasses keep sliding off my head!  Apparently my right ear is not big enough to hold the glasses up.  But only my right on.  Lefty is fine!  Arg.  I'm lopsided.

3D glasses over normal glasses.  sexy, huh?

So 1:15 rolls around and the movie still hasn't started.  1:20, still nothing.  1:25, nada.  So now I'm getting frustated.  I go talk to an employee to let him know my movie hasn't started and we're going on 15 minutes late.  He looks at me and says, "Have the previews started?"  I'm dumbfounded.  What kind of a question is that?  Surely, if the previews had started I wouldn't be here asking you why my movie hadn't started yet!  So, calmly I look at him and say, "No.  Nothing has started." So he goes to tell the manager, and 25 minutes later, the movie finally starts playing.  Even the 3rd time, Harry Potter is still an awesome movie.  IMAX is pretty cool too, but my feelings about 3D remain the same.  It's ridiculous.  I don't like it.  But I could fill an entire post on why I don't like it, and this isn't the time or place.  I'll spare you that. ;)

So anyway, after Katie got off of work, we went shopping.  Now, keep in mind that for the last year I've been saving nearly every penny I've made so that I can come on this trip.  My spending embargo has been lifted!  And I've got to be careful.  Can't spend all that saved money in one place, especially since I've still got 5 weeks of my trip left, including NYC, Chicago, and LA.  Spending embargo reinforced!  Nah, but we had fun going to stores and looking at all the ugly things people try to sell these days.  Our best find was that Sunglass Hut had a buy one get on free deal, so we each got a pair of sunglasses.  Score!

where am i gonna put it all??

That night Thomas cooked dinner.  We feasted quite spectacularly on Filet Mignon cooked to perfection.  I was informed that my choice of medium to med well, was NOT ok.  I was treated to (and he was right) a med rare/medium steak, corn, and mashed potatoes.  Superb.  Katie & I then walked to the grocery store to get some ice cream, and that finished off the night.  I then managed to stay up super late watching Storage Wars!  My new guilty pleasure.  Ut oh.

Thursday I started to realize that I was leaving the next day.  So I did all my laundry.  All this laundry:

And I was starting to wonder if it was all going to fit in my suitcase. I'm learning that my stuff is expanding.  Fortunately, I have my entire car to fill in the next 6 weeks.  Maybe my gas mileage will go down by the time I'm driving home.  Let's hope not!  So after laundry, I started reading this book that I had brought.  It's Tina Fey's autobiography called Bossypants and it's AWESOME.  If you are a Tina Fey fan, go out and buy this book right now.  Like, seriously. Right now.  Don't even read the rest of my blog.  It's great.  It's got all her dry humor, all her ridiculousness as she makes fun of herself, and very blunt story telling.  I'm loving it.  I managed to read almost half the book in that first sitting.

But books aside, that night, Katie, Tom & I went to go eat dinner, and then we went down to Harborwalk to see some fireworks.  After their late start (what is with me having things start late on this trip??) the short little fireworks show was great.  It was done over the water, so you could see the reflections of the fireworks on the water, and there were all kinds of people watching it from their boats, which looked like fun.  From the balcony that we were situated on, the view was great.  Totally worth it.

fireworks over the harbor

When we got back to the apartment, we watched a little TV, and called it a night.  I would be shooting for a 7:30 am start the next morning, and I still had to pack.  So I set my alarm for 6 am, and dozed off.  6am came a little too fast.  I took a shower and packed my bags, shoving all my shoes into my backpack b/c they wouldn't fit in the regular suitcase (ut oh...), and I got everything loaded into my car.  Katie, while I was doing this, had made a veritable feast of breakfast burritos.  For a girl who never liked green chile, Katie makes a MEAN breakfast burrito, and apparently times have changed, because she likes chile now!  Hurray!  Floiridian green chile burrito down, I was getting gas & on the road by 8:15 am.

Now this drive was from Fort Walton Beach, FL to Nashville, TN.  It's basically a straight shot north through the entire length of Alabama, about 430 miles.  BUT, I decided that once again, I was going to go off the beaten path.  I was taking a detour.  And where was I going?  To the most epic thrift store in the south.  That's right.  A Thrift Store.  But not just any ol' thrift store.  I was going to the Unclaimed Baggage thrift store of Scottsboro, Alabama, about an hour out of my way.  Now, why was I doing this?  I had read online a few months ago about this place.  It turns out when airlines lose your bag, and despite their best efforts are unsuccessful at getting it back to you, your stuff just might get sold (or given?) to this thrift store where it is then sold to some average joe who's getting a good deal.  So its not just a run of the mill thrift store.  First, it's huge.  And it's full of junk, but junk mixed in with treasures.  There were iPads, computers, portable DVD players, cameras of all shapes and sizes, phones, iPhones, a billion DVDs and CDs, and a TON of clothes including wedding dresses, formal wear, underwear, shoes, purses, and everything in between.  I was quite amazed.  I didn't buy much, just a sunglasses case, but I had a blast looking around.

who buys this stuff??

Now Scottsboro, Alabama is about 100 miles away from Birmingham, and is not exactly on the way to Nashville.  The drive took me through the woods, next to lakes and rivers, and was one of the most gorgeous drives I've ever been on.  Through my brown lens polarized sunglasses, the trees were all this vibrant shade of green, and were stunning.  I was enjoying looking at all the greenery, which never gets old because I'm from New Mexico!  The drive though Alabama has been one of my favorites so far.  The roads look like they've been just cut straight through the thick forests (probably because that's exactly what has been done) and you get the sense that you're in the backwoods of some movie, or some piece of history.  I love it.

alabama

I also have discovered that I love driving on bridges over water.  Maybe that's the desert girl in me again, but the sensation of driving over a massive bridge over an even more massive body of water just gives me some sort of indescribable happiness.  That makes me sound totally weird, but it's true.  So I get a little giddy every time I drive over a stream or a river or a lake.  Love it.

alabama

fort walton beach, florida

After my Unclaimed Baggage stop, it was nonstop to Nashville.  2 hrs later, I was in Spring Hill, TN just south of Nashville where my friends Jessi & Chris live with their 3 year old, Aiden.  They live out in the country, and where they live it looks almost exactly like England.  Trees cover the narrow roads and obscure the houses.  The grass is vivid green, and the backyards are forests.  I thought I was lost at one point because my GPS took me down a dirt road that I could have sworn was someone's driveway, but Jessi assured me I was headed in the right direction, and minutes later I had arrived.

spring hill, tn

It was about dinner time, so we headed off to go eat some good southern cooking at a place called Loveless Cafe.  Its an old motel that's been turned into a restaurant that has world famous biscuits, super tasty fried chicken, and general southern goodness!  But we were tired.  We headed home, and I was out like a light by midnight.  Sleeping in til 10 was a nice little treat, and it's on to Nashville-ness today.  More on that later.

So there's your recap.  I'll try to be more consistent in the future with these blogs.  So my apologies.  Hopefully it's just a one time thing!

TALLY:
miles driven: ~2300
time spent in my car: 30.5 hours
cities visited: 13
cities slept in: 5
states driven through/in: 7

PS.  I've already been gone 2 whole weeks!!  5 more to go. Starting to miss home a bit... but not enough to come back!