Aud's Vacation Almanac

[Audreyvgs]

Left on Friday the 23rd of July goin to Mima's cabin in North GA

Get all ready, even buy and program a new cellphone,(switch to nationwide plan for the month to avoid roaming charges) buy some new clothes, clean the house, forward all emails from 2 different locations so that if I get hold of a computer i can read my email...wait for Nico to get home from work...pack cooler with roadfood (twinkies, packs of costco mega-chips,cookies, sammiches, sodas, koolaid) pack car and leave. I pulled out of the driveway, got to the stop sign at the end of my street, and my cellphone fell in my Iced Tea glass in my mega-cup holder. I grabbed it out by the charger cord, which I unplugged immediately, I think only thetop half of the phone went in the drink, but it won't dial. Lights are on but nobody's home. Nico took the thing apart, dried it out on the inside of the cases as much as he could, replacing the battery so I didn't lose my numbers if the thing still works later.

It's like 5:30 in the evening at this point, a late start is better than no start at all, i guess. Mom phones me on Nico's phone, and insists that I drive the 700 miles straight thru to her house, I am stunned that my mother wants me driving at 3 in the morning, but I am a night owl, and convinced I can do this.

XM radio saves the day. Due to extreme foresight, I had it installed 2 days ago after having it for 2 yrs....and paying for it, just like that damn AOL acct. (sorry PFP i lost that disconnect number you gave me) I would recommend XM radio to anyone anytime. You never lose the damn station. I kept myself awake listening to old show tunes and comedy, i found that the rhythm of the 3 techno stations lulled me more than stimulated.

About 4 am, the boys have to pee, and I found a nice parking lot on a swamp...I checked the map in the back and forgot to close the hatch door, and as I was pulling back on the highway ramp, I heard something fall out the back of the car and slide on the highway, kind of unnerving. I had always wondered about those people who back up on ramps, and now had the answer. When I got closer, Nico ran back and saw what had dropped out, it was the megapack of chips that I got at Costco...it had floated out the back on a cloud of air and hydroplaned successfully for quite a ways, practically undamaged. I told Nico that I was perfectly ok with eating potoato chip and cheeto powder, cause I was the one that forgot to close the hatch.

We got here at like 4 am, and several deer crossed the path in front of the car on the way up the mountain to mom's cabin...what a nice place, I hadn't seen it yet, and mom is really proud of what she found, this place is something. We woke up at like noon, and can look out and see a lake, it's like a treehouse. Bink is giddy with the possibility of using his new scooby-doo fishing pole, I'll report on that later.

[sparticle]

Glad you got there safely; sounds like you're going to have lots of fun. Send pictures!

[priceyfatprude]

AOL Customer Service Toll-Free

888-265-8008

[Magpie]

Happy Traveling Aud! Keep up the reports if you can

Do YOU have a Dora the Explorer fishing pole?

[Smartypants]

Are you driving an "Audi?"

[melissa]

hahaha

[Avalon]

Audrey, You are my HERO.
I only took 1 (one) trip with husband and the kids. One. And it was only 4 hours long.

He's breathing on me. she is sitting in my space, ewwwww, he farted, I want the window this time, ARE WE THERE YET??

And that was my husband talking; you don't want to know the stuff the kids bombarded us with.

You are a gooooood woman!!

[Audreyvgs]

We forbade Bink from the are we there yet phrase, so he came up with "how many minutes?" gahhhhhhh

Thanks, PFP!

My second car was an Audi Super 90. TRY and find one! (loved it, zippy as hell!) Right now, I've got the new Honda Element, and I've had it since March, and it's got like 7000 miles on it already!! My sis had to borrow it for her trip too, I don't think I've put 10,000 miles a year on any car I've ever owned. Love this car.

Bink is just not taking the fishing seriously. He was laughing at us fishing last night, Nico had the Taz fishing pole and I had the Scooby-doo. Maybe Dora the E would have worked better. He dug his own worms and everything (they were going to go to the store for worms, and I told them to stick a shovel in the ground, they were freakin amazed) Fishing sucked. Not one bite, but the grasshoppers did bite me. I don't know why.

There are deer everywhere here. They run across the road and this morning they just stood and looked at us. Like 10 foot away from the car! Huge eyes and big wet noses. AND, i'll have you know, the only book I brought along to read to the Bink was Bambi!!!(the original one, with parts i'll have to skip over)

Today we went to the country to see a guy with european mules...He had a old model T in the barn he was fixin up, and a real turkey that made Bink nervous. The Mules were fascinating, huge.

There's an old 1956 Jaguar convertible in the garage here, it was my mom's husband's dad's, and its stunningly gorgeous. I got a ride this am, all over the mountain, everyone who sees it asks to be put in the will. There's 2 sons ahead of me, so I aquiesce my position. Actually, it's so nice that i couldn't afford to fix it if it broke! And I think it's what the deer were lookin at.

And no, I didn't ask if I could drive it. Too much responsibility.

We're here til Tuesday am when we start the trip to Chicago, that should be just like the trip here, but I have people waiting up for us when I get there.

Av, I don't think I would be taking this trip if I had two kids, I remember my sis and I, and it must have been horrific for my parents, I remember whining in the back seat, saying, "Williamsburg, I don' twant to see williamsburg, i don't want to see Monticello, I don't want to see ....etc" and now Im so grateful that i did! Lucky for me, Bink is totally into wherever we go, all he knows, is that he's on vacation, and he's got Dad and me to his lonesome for 2 whole weeks!!!!

[lapietra]

Originally posted by Audreyvgs
Fishing sucked. Not one bite, but the grasshoppers did bite me. I don't know why.

It's 'cos fish are like kids. If you don't start them on a diet of organic, good food, when you finally start giving it to them they don't wanna eat it. "I don't want wild Alaskan salmon fettucine!!! Where's my Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese? Where's my Big Mac?" They prolly wanted the store-bought worms...

Glad you're checking in. Great stories.

[daverbee]

Your description of the mountains of North Georgia makes me homesick for the Blue Ridge!
Keep sending reports!

[Avalon]

If you swing by here, I'll make dinner and pack a few playmates for Bink!

[priceyfatprude]

I have a job interview Thursday @ 2pm in Meno Falls. Just an FYI.

[melissa]

I have a job interview Thursday at 3! Let's hope that it's a good day for us to be impressive and get us some jobs!!!

[Aphrodite]

Aud if you come this far north, you have a place to stay and a tour guide willing to show you around, or just point you toward some good stuff.

Just let me know.

[priceyfatprude]

Originally posted by melissa
I have a job interview Thursday at 3! Let's hope that it's a good day for us to be impressive and get us some jobs!!!

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!!!

I just hope I can still meet my future husband & parents in law for lunch.