We started the morning off a little later than planned but not by much. Straight to the beach, there weren’t many people there only a few. It was cool and windy but not bad, I enjoyed but Amanda was a little cold by the time we left. We were much more awake today with the beach stroll followed by good coffee. From there we headed east in to Florida pretty much just to say we went! Then north towards Tennessee, we still needed our photo props so we hit up a Target and got a few things but not what we were wanting. We left with the mind to go by Hobby Lobby on the way, in Montgomery. I’m keeping you in the dark about the props on purpose, you’ll see soon enough!
Living so far inside Texas we don’t see out of state license plate frequently. It takes about 7 plus hours to get out of Texas in any direction from where we are not counting Mexico which is only 30 minutes. Today we covered that same distance and went from Alabama through Florida and Georgia to Tennessee. Biggest change was the speed limits, I didn’t enjoy the much lower speeds! And gas prices, we haven’t seen any under $3 pretty much since we left Texas. We were finding it cheaper but only because weve been going to Costco for all of our fill ups.
As we’re were leaving I got a text from a ministry friend that works and lives in Del Rio. He saw my FB post of pictures on the beach, he and his wife were in Gulf Shores which was right next to where we were. Then Amanda saw a FB friends post she as in Gulf Shores as well, how crazy is that!
On this drive I was wishing we could get to the interstate quicker, I don’t mind back roads but not when we have somewhere to be. We drive a black suburban which closely resembles our Texas State troopers tahoe cruisers. Needless to say we get a little extra respect when coming up behind people until they notice we’re aren’t the popo! No respect and parting of the seas for us here with all the Highway patrols in these parts in cars.
We made it to Hobby Lobby and searched high and low for what we needed, spending an hour and a half there. We grabbed all kinds of things from all over the store, putting them together to to make our idea come to life. I think it turned out great Amanda’s to much of a perfectionist to think it’s that good but it is and y’all will love it when you see it.
After Montgomery it was a quick stop by Birmingham’s Costco to top off then on to Ft Payne to meet an old high school friend for dinner. It was a 90’s county music cover duet show by yours truly all the way there. This was suppose to be an afternoon coffee stop but our prop gathering runs put us severely behind schedule. It was good catching up, this friend was close with Amanda through high school and played a roll in us eventually getting together. Dinner was good, a hibachi grill, we filled up on veggie sushi rolls, seaweed salad, and a vegetable hibachi.
The county side changed drastically as we got into Tennessee I wish we could have seen it in the daylight but it was pitch black. It’s seems so much darker here with the tall trees combined with the hills we were getting into. We pulled up to the resort a little after 11. We still had to get unloaded and I needed to finish some research on your adventure tomorrow. While I searched maps and trail info Amanda worked on the prop, it turned out great. The condo is a little dated but cute, I’d say 600 or so square feet but laid out well. A nice front porch that connects with our neighbor and a private lanai off the master. A full but small kitchen open to the living room with a decent sized bed and bath. As I was putting clothes in the closet and dresser I told Amanda who are we kidding putting stuff up here all while we keep shoes all around our bedroom and underwear on our bedroom chairs! I really think bedroom chairs and sofas are just intermediaries for clean clothes that haven’t quite made it home yet.
We’re off in the morning to stop by the concierge to finish our check-in. Then off to a couple water falls and some huge rock arches close to the Kentucky border.