Q Tour

We were up and out early this morning. A bit fearful that we would hit
some Talledega traffic. What are the odds that we'd be driving I-20 on
the same day they're running Talledega- Help me Tom Cruise. Not a
stitch of traffic- why- because everyone is already there. The fields
were packed with cars, RVs and tents. There were Nascarians for as far
as the eye could see- from the interstate to the track, for at least a
few miles. Too bad we didn't put that on the tour- a true southern
experience- chicken wings and all.

Our plan was to head towards Atlanta and stop at the Johnson's house
for a visit. The Johnson's (Bill & Sara) are dear friends and old
neighbors of my parents from Newnan. They moved out to the country on
a lovely slice of land off of Hog Liver road-what a perfect place to
wrap up this trip. Bill & Sara are two of the most creative,
productive and nicest people I know. They make mom and dad look lazy-
and that's a feat. So of course the minute we walk through the doors,
the smell of brownies baking takes immediate occupation of your
nostrils. You need to know something else about Sarah- you ain't
leavin' this house hungry, in fact you won't be leaving until you are
sufficiently miserable. The lunch items looked a little like this
Country ham
Quiche
Collards
Sweet potatoe souffle (yeah the one with the crusty top of nuts and
brown sugar)
Deviled eggs
Broccoli salad
Pear relish
Pickled okra
Biscuits
Cornbread

And then came.....
Iced sugar cookies
Brownies
Corn flake candy
(we got brownies and candy to go)

We all sat at the table out on the screened porch, where the warm fall
air and the smell of home wofted through the screens. It was all I
could do not to slither into the hammock behind me and rock myself
into happy nap oblivion.

That was two hours ago and I still feel sick. But I'd do it again miss
Sara. Always good to see them- and for an added bonus Kelly(daughter),
Zach(grandson), Brandi (childhood friend of Kelly) & Kathy (B's mom)
we're all there to share in our continued gluttony(Chris we missed
you and the family, maybe next time). I should also mention what a
sweet pea zach was- he even put himself into time out once and read us
The Brown Bear- he's two and a half. Kelly told him he should behave
so that we would speak favorably of him on the blog. I think he got
the memo.

I'm sitting in 11D on a flight back to Denver. Sipping on a Jack and
Ginger. Listening to Patty croon. Looking at the little airplane on
the screen move over the exact route we just traversed in an RV.

Some final thoughts:
-it's amazing how many dialects of the southern drawl we came across
in 4 states, some of which I couldn't even understand. Kelly's was
icing on the cake, that eloquent educated drawl that could lead you
into the deepest of hypnosis even if she was blessing your ass out.
- we actually did it. We spent 7 days together in an rv eating BBQ not
talking about religion or politics, just laughing and loving and
enjoying being there. This is noteworthy considering my dad and I find
it necessary to get into at least one dispute a visit. There were
moments dad, but we did it- we chose love and respect over being right
and being hurt.
- terry has the ability to extract more info from my mom than probably
all of us put together
- I want to take more slow long drives down country roads
- BBQ is as diverse and flavorful as the people we encountered, but
then again, equally as bland and tasteless. The lesson- keep on eatin-
you're bound to find some good true nuggets
- next time pack a camera to shoot this
- next time pick one state, or even one area of a state and explore it
with fervor- there was a lot in between that we missed
- we clocked over 1000 miles on the RV and around 400 on the beetle
- I would like to acknowledge all of the hawks that were ever present
guides circling atop the pines as I took the wheel
- I only had one bag of boiled peanuts- monumental
- if I had to guess at a number of churches we passed along the way,
it would be in the neighborhood of 400+, oh yeah, and the used car
dealership in Shelbyville that was advertising a "free Bible".
- best Bbq tagline was from Gangsters "you can smell our butts from a
mile away"

I'm certain there will be more final thoughts but I will spare you for
now

To all of you that have followed us along the way- thank you for
putting up with
No spell check
Bad grammar
Run on sentences
Typos
Brain farts
Colorful statements
And too much blathering

It has been an amazing week- even with the break down adventure. I'm
SO glad we did this.

Mom and dad, thank you for the vehicles and for setting up our stops
along the way and for being amazing travel companions and for singing
"on the road again" everytime we pulled out and for saying "yes"
everytime I asked "so, what about some BBQ?". I love you both so much
and I will treasure that time with you. Mom, recover soon so we can go
play again

Heading west with a full belly and a full heart...already missing the
smell of smoldering hickory

Bye ya'll

p.s. Check back for overall ratings and photos- coming soon