... and so it goes ...
Well. a few days have gone by. Thursday morning we bid farewell to Mabel, Shreveport, and Louisiana. Stripping down the luggage to a bare minimum (three suitcases, two sacks of shoes, a variety of books and magazines, and a blackbox of merlot), we set off with a full tank and a 5 gallon can of gasoline strapped into the backseat. It took about twenty miles to realize that a can of gasoline in the an enclosed space does not foster clarity of the mind; making a pit stop at a rest area just outside of monroe, la, we pulled out the bungy cords and strapped that sucker to the roof.
Oddly for the first two hundred miles, we did not look strange with our little hat precariously positioned on our roof; rather, perhaps we looked under-prepared. In mississippi and near its borders, dozens of Minivans passed with twelve or so gallon jugs strapped to their luggage rack; jacked-up trucks with old 50 gallon oil drums roamed the countryside of alabama, packing into every gas station we stopped at to syphon out the last remains of the supply. drifters like ourselves looked on aghast. The truck owners pointed at their watches and laughed as we waited our turn.
We made it though. Gas began to reappear somewhere outside of tuscaloosa. There were still lines, and of course, the prices were becoming absurd... but we paid-- there was no way to avoid it-- and we arrived safely in Birmingham where Corbett greeted us with cold beer and a gourmet dinner of grilled chicken, tomato pie, and fresh black-eyed peas,... refreshing. Later, we hit the 'garage' and met some of the local folks before turning in for the evening.
Friday morning, we awoke and said our goodbyes and good lucks (corbett is taking his first ARE exam on tuesday), and again strapped the gas tank to the roof of the car and set out for Charleston, SC. It was a really uneventful trip; for it being labor day weekend, the roads were eerily empty. We sped along and saw only one police car along the whole stretch of interstate from birmingham to augusta, ga. At augusta, we turned off down some backroad highway traveling through the beautiful countryside that is south carolina (reminded me a lot of tennessee) and reunited with six lanes of interstate about twenty miles north of charleston, arriving at Karl & Hal's house shortly there after just in time for dinner (or perhaps a little late). Dinner was marvelous as always when Hal is chef (chicken and mushrooms (tracie would love it) with slightly spicy habenero pasta were part of the menu) and was followed by an evening showing of 'a room with a view'.
Today, jess and i have been site seeing, and doing all we can to help karl with his job at the hotel. We still have much to learn as far as technique ... but we will continue trying our best in the coming days. we look forward to more days of site seeing and hard work, and hope to see Hal in his new play - opening this friday night.
I spoke to work today, and they have begun the process of reopening office in Baton Rouge. So we may be heading back west sooner than previously expected. but i am sure there will be more talk of that later as the facts come in..
Oddly for the first two hundred miles, we did not look strange with our little hat precariously positioned on our roof; rather, perhaps we looked under-prepared. In mississippi and near its borders, dozens of Minivans passed with twelve or so gallon jugs strapped to their luggage rack; jacked-up trucks with old 50 gallon oil drums roamed the countryside of alabama, packing into every gas station we stopped at to syphon out the last remains of the supply. drifters like ourselves looked on aghast. The truck owners pointed at their watches and laughed as we waited our turn.
We made it though. Gas began to reappear somewhere outside of tuscaloosa. There were still lines, and of course, the prices were becoming absurd... but we paid-- there was no way to avoid it-- and we arrived safely in Birmingham where Corbett greeted us with cold beer and a gourmet dinner of grilled chicken, tomato pie, and fresh black-eyed peas,... refreshing. Later, we hit the 'garage' and met some of the local folks before turning in for the evening.
Friday morning, we awoke and said our goodbyes and good lucks (corbett is taking his first ARE exam on tuesday), and again strapped the gas tank to the roof of the car and set out for Charleston, SC. It was a really uneventful trip; for it being labor day weekend, the roads were eerily empty. We sped along and saw only one police car along the whole stretch of interstate from birmingham to augusta, ga. At augusta, we turned off down some backroad highway traveling through the beautiful countryside that is south carolina (reminded me a lot of tennessee) and reunited with six lanes of interstate about twenty miles north of charleston, arriving at Karl & Hal's house shortly there after just in time for dinner (or perhaps a little late). Dinner was marvelous as always when Hal is chef (chicken and mushrooms (tracie would love it) with slightly spicy habenero pasta were part of the menu) and was followed by an evening showing of 'a room with a view'.
Today, jess and i have been site seeing, and doing all we can to help karl with his job at the hotel. We still have much to learn as far as technique ... but we will continue trying our best in the coming days. we look forward to more days of site seeing and hard work, and hope to see Hal in his new play - opening this friday night.
I spoke to work today, and they have begun the process of reopening office in Baton Rouge. So we may be heading back west sooner than previously expected. but i am sure there will be more talk of that later as the facts come in..
posted by zennessee at 8:24 PM
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