Then on past Lake Pontchartrain and into Mississippi. Pretty country, but not much to note there. Then past Mobile and the battleship Alabama, sitting in the harbor as a historical monument.
Well, maybe there is something to note. Somewhere in Mississippi or Alabama (the latter, I think) a police car pulled out of the median onto the interstate behind us. It did exactly what I had just read about. It pulled up behind us in the next lane, paused long enough to type in our license plate, then pulled up beside us. I turned my head to see what was going on, and the trooper waved. I waved back and then he pulled forward and took off. Apparently this was an example of a phenomenon I had just read about. The cops track cars doing the speed limit, suspecting that they are ferrying drugs. If the driver does not respond by looking at the cop, the cop then pulls the car over for a search. I'm not sure what the probable cause would be. But if drugs are found, the cops glom onto the whole thing and pay for their stuff with it. Kind of justified piracy as they see it. Glad I looked over and saved myself the trouble of a search!
Finally we got into Florida, where E and I met each other years ago in graduate school. We were on our way to visit old grad school friends, G and M. We dropped off I-10 at Pensacola, finding our way along Route 98 (very slowly). It goes along a big sandbar island for miles and miles. We passed through Gulf Breeze, Mary Esther, Destin, and finally into Miramar Beach. It was kind of troublesome on the stretch through Destin. Apparently half the US population was there! Two lanes in either direction (Route 98 is the only major highway on this island/sand spit), and all lanes full of cars moving at snailish paces.
G and M live in a resort (Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort), alongside a golf course. Their home and surroundings are just beautiful (I'll try to catch up and include some pictures soon). The house is spacious and elegant and beautiful.
Our families had gotten together several times in the past, at the beach and elsewhere. From these times, G had stitched together home movies and stills into a really nice CD presentation which really brought back memories. For one, I was actually reasonably thin at the time (no longer). Our girls were young and cute, not grown up and beautiful like they are now. Derek and Patrick were entirely switched in height. To me G and M look the same now as they did then (except M's haircut now is fabulous!)
Our kids and theirs were born almost coincidentally, and it was fun tracking what had happened to each of them. The kids got along really well when we all got together.
We spent a day and a half in Sandestin, tootling around in their golf cart, visiting the beach and the resort activities. As hot as it was (in the high 90s), it is the height of one of their seasons here. The beach is a couple miles of resort roads and golf cart tracks from the house. Once you get there you are in the middle of major resort. The chair and umbrella combo can be had for $69 per day (set up by the hotel). Bring your own!
There were lots of people and activities, but no boardwalk. That's a good thing. Bring your pass so you can show it to pee.
Our chariot awaits. These things are fun. We should have one for Chincoteague.
M cooked dinner the night we got there, then I cooked chicken and dumplings the next night. It was great to see them! It seemed like we picked up just where we left off ten years ago, the last time we got together. We have all "retired" in some measure, but three of us still have jobs of some type, just slower and somewhat more enjoyable! Life is nice when we can catch up like this. We were sorry to leave, but we have a schedule we need to keep to get home on time. Though the Post Office purports to working in rain, sleet, and snow, they do not hold the mail for longer than 30 days. Last time we did anything like this they dumped it off in boxes on our doorstep.
No comments:
Post a Comment