Traveling Through

I know that this post has been a long time coming. I have finished the Southeast Tour, and I have to say that the last two weekends were blockbusters. Two weekends ago, I traveled with my mother and brother to Florence, AL, where we lived until I was eight. We watched the University of North Alabama homecoming parade (complete with new lions Leo III and Una) with friends from long ago and then headed to an Italian restaurant for a 7-year catch-up. It was wonderful to see such good friends again and to get to hang out with my family. After lunch, we toured campus with its new fountains and lion enclosure, drove past our old school, church, and home, and finished off the day with Rainbow Sherbet at Trowbriges. What a deal! Carl was very patient, listening to all of our reminiscing and only reminding us a few times that he was only one year old when we left, so no, he didn't remember that, and no, he didn't really care. We had a lovely time.

Last week was Fall Break at BSC, and I decided to make a work trip into a fun trip and visit Natalie in Jackson and Abbott in New Orleans. The drive was broken up by church visits along the way to prosthelytize for BSC and long phone conversations with my mother and Carrie. Natalie has a cute little apartment that she has obviously worked very hard to decorate. As she says "apparently, I have a very defined style." I also got to see some college friends of my parents with their now-almost-college-aged daughters. We hung out with her friend Joan on Wednesday night and then I got on the road again to NOLA.

I found NOLA after a 3-4 hour drive in the driving rain. To give you some idea of how hard it was raining, I drove about 60 the entire way, and I don't drive 60 (sorry, Mommy). Abbott lives on St. Charles Ave. in the middle of Uptown, and she took me to a cute little French bistro down the street. We then spent the rest of the afternoon catching up and watching Grey's. Jocelyn, her 2nd grade sister, had sent Flat Stanley to live with Abbott for a while as a school project, so we showed Flat Stanley the city--French Quarter, the levee, the zoo, and Tulane Law School, complete with beignets at Cafe du Monde. It was a delightful touristy day. That evening, we put Flat Stanley to bed early and then headed to the "Barrister's Ball," commonly known as the Law School Prom. It was held at the New Orleans Aquarium and was absolutely a blast. I got to meet Abbott's law school friends and we played until the morning.

When we finally awoke the next morning, I traveled back to Jackson, just in time for some QT with Natalie and then a little blues and BBQ at Natalie's favorite Blues cafe. It was a blast, and we met some very colorful characters. Let's just say that if you ever find a book titled Mississippi Queen written by one Ironing Board Sam, you ought to buy it--it will be a great read! Sam did eventually leave us and his autobiography so that we could hear a wonderful blues band. The next morning I went to church with Natalie and Joan, we took naps, and then I headed back home with a stop in Tuscaloosa at the Maharaja of India with Skye, who regaled me with stories of Michigan.

So, the Southeast Tour is complete with only a few small side-trips left to make. I have only a month left at my BSC job, and then I'll be heading to Murfreesboro for a while. So, if you're in Birmingham, be sure to catch me now. Still no news on the application, though I've made progress in getting my pre-departure information ready. Kelly is checking on everything again this week, and I am emailing and calling as much as possible. I'm almost ready!