Mobile - Part One

Last weekend Barney and I took a road trip to Mobile to visit some friends and enjoy a little seafood and R&R.

We left work at noon on Thursday, drove for about 5 minutes and decided that we needed Mama G's nachos if we were going to make the four hour trip without starving to death. Once we finished lunch, we called the Filler's, told them we were on our way, and hit the open road. Except 30 seconds after we "hit the open road", the car started shaking and veering off the highway. Yep, we had a flat tire.

James pulled into an old house in Homewood that had been converted into a law office and just shook his head. When he got out and saw that the back passenger tire was so flat it was off the rim he looked at me and said, "Did you notice that before we got into the car?"

To which I replied, "Yes, yes I did. But I decided not to say anything in hopes that we could make it to Mobile on just our rim." He didn't even crack a smile. Tough crowd.

If I were alone, I would have called James to come rescue me. Since he was with me, I called USAA. They located us via my cell phone's GPS!

(Which is AMAZING since my directions would have been, we're in the driveway of an old house in Homewood. Do you know where the Piggly Wiggly is? Ok...don't turn there, but take a right two turns before it, we'll be about a mile on your right. I have a navigational gift.)

Right after I hung up with my agent a policemen and what I assumed was a detective (since he was in a suit) pulled in the parking lot and asked if we needed help.

I said, "YES!" and James said, "NO!" at the same time.

Since we've only had this car for four weeks and I kept reminding James that we had dinner reservations at 7:00, he gave in and let the officers help us.

All three guys decided that I should call USAA back and tell them that their services were no longer needed.

Famous last words.

So an hour, two car jacks and three sweaty guys later, the boys got the bad tire off.

It took another thirty minutes to figure out how to get the spare out from under the car. Once they did get it down, the angels sang because it was a full sized spare. We decided to take our chances and drive to Mobile on the spare.

We thanked the officers profusely and got on the road just in time for a serious thunder and hail storm.

(Note: The "detective" was really Governor Riley's son Rob, who is a lawyer and not a detective. It was an easy mistake. He did have the Horactio Cain sunglass move going on.)

After a few pit stops, we finally made it to Mobile. We quickly unloaded our stuff, changed out of our travel clothes and headed to the most amazing restaurant called NOJA. I would have taken pictures of our food (like I'm prone to do), but I didn't remember until half way through our meal and I was too full to bend over and dig the camera out of my purse. Just take my word for it, AMAZING!

The next morning while James and Mark went deep sea fishing, Erin and I dropped her boys off at vacation Bible school and went here:

It's the Battle House Spa. When Erin called and asked if I was interested in getting a massage while we were in town, I think I said something like, "I have been that interested in something since I met James!"

IT WAS GLORIOUS!!

After our massages, we grabbed lunch, picked up the boys and headed to the pool.

This is David. He is so precious. After spending the weekend with him, I found him to be a wonderful mix of rule follower, tenderness, and intellectual. He has the patience of Job with his younger brother, right up until he doesn't. He reminds me of me. I'm happy with somebody or something until "they are dead to me!" There is no in between.

This is William. It's hard to believe that this angelic face hides a temper the size of Texas. He is so independent, yet not as verbal as he'd like which just translates into the funniest temper tantrum. In the morning he'd yell, "I aunt juice" and if he'd get the wrong kind of juice, he'd get frustrated, throw his sippy cup on the floor, grunt and stomp off.

Not unsimilar to me without my morning coffee.

Since the big boys were out fishing and Erin and I were somewhat outnumbered at the pool (Erin's seven months pregnant with baby number 3), we spent the afternoon trying to avoid meltdowns with a mix of threats, ice cream, and the unspoken agreement to "not anger it!"

James and Mark's fishing trip was a huge success, but we'll chat more about that in the next few days.

Until then...