Day One Retreat Notes

...I ride with Mr. Bailey, pulling the trailer in his pickup.

...First stop: at the Woodstock QuickTrip. I panic…where is my wallet? Oh, there it is. Lee spots an owl perched on the Bells Ferry Exit sign. Mrs. D would be proud.

...Second stop after 145 miles, in LaGrange.

...Third stop: Before Montgomery for more gas…150 miles. We hear Jason Bourne got car sick. Who was the driver?

...Fourth Stop: Greenville, AL at the Bates House of Turkey, for an early lunch. Mr Bailey eats a forkful of potato salad…while passing a semi!

Signs you’re in Lower Alabama…

…live armadillos scampering about.

…An old Ford Maverick made into a hot rod. Actually cool.

…Looking up we spy buzzards circling, and a casino blimp.

…if anyone needs furniture, there’s plenty standing beside the road.

We exit at mile 37 as the vans finish lunch at the mile 89 rest stop. With the huge lead, we consider how many holes we can get in. DJ’s Diner must be a swingin place…they have karaoke Sundays at 4 pm. They can’t get too wild…across the street there’s the Pope’s BP station. Not to be outdone, I spy PaPa Murphys Pizza in Foley. Don’t know if I’d get my hair cut next to a vegetable stand, at a salon called Tangles. Also passed the happy Shack Hippie Boutique. Do hippies frequent broutiques? The go cart track and Waterland roller coaster were also tempting. Not driving on a seven hour trip makes for plenty of boring notes.

...We do decide we have time to order po’boys at Bubba’s Oyster Bar, then determine time is sort, so we wolf down the early supper quickly. We unload the luggage, then walk down the driveway to welcome the caravan, holding shovels. Our efforts are greatly appreciated…especially the shovels we wave, and the pirate hat I wear.

...I’m too stuffed to eat much at the group dinner, which of course is my favorite…BBQ brisquit. Mallory has a good idea, wearing a wrist brace while she eats, so she doesn’t hurt herself. Haley gets a potato chip salad. I have a big time serving dinner, next to Mrs. Switzer.

...Mrs. Smith and Hanson, Mr. Taylor and Bailey, and I practice the Angel Skit. We all needs lots of practice. That night at bedtime, Julie & Denise inadvertently said back to back lines, including “I have a headache”. Lee and I lug our “tiny” duffles up a spiral staircase to our upstairs room. We share the third floor with a wild bunch: Michael, Caleb, Matthew, & Jason. I have to get on Caleb when I hear he