So we got up bright and early to make the almost 5 hour drive down to North Carolina.
Required Christmas selfie.
And as we were walking down the sidewalk of our resort it struck me…..
I might not be the only one who cursed my husband’s choice of the behemoth rental car.
It was an uneventful trip.
But we saw lots of cotton.
Really, a whole lot of cotton.
And absolutely nothing else. Nothing for miles and miles… except cotton… and I was starting to sweat the steadily dropping level of gasoline.
Behemoths be thirsty.
I also took issue with Apple maps when the GPS put us in the middle of a National Forest and told us to turn around.
WTF?
When the rental beast was pretty much running on fumes, we finally found a service station to fill it…. and us, since we skipped breakfast. The only choice was Subway, where I ordered a rotisserie chicken wrap and managed to leak half of the sauce on my blouse resulting in a large greasy stain.
My first words upon arrival in N.C. weren’t “Merry Christmas!” but….. “Let me raid your closet.”
My second words were “What you would like to drink?” as I unpacked my carton of holiday cheer.
Destiny chose a bottle to match her sweater, because coordination is everything.
We gave them our gifts…. and Gracie liked the books.
Though I think she liked the pig a little bit more.
We spent time with our daughter of the heart’s step children, John being home on leave from the Army.
As you can see they aren’t young enough to be hers…. because like me, she married an older man. Which her mother thinks I’m responsible for and never lets me forget, but hey.
It worked for me.
An old Marine Corps buddy of the husband’s came with us…. and it was a laid back country Christmas with lots of love and laughter.
A few highlights:
My bartending skills were highly rated.
And strange toys were questioned.
Does a llama really need to shake her booty?
But more importantly, why was this horror voted toy of the year in Australia?
Watch the bizarre commercial that looks like a Saturday Night Live skit and decide for yourself.
Numerous pictures were taken.
Some with prominently placed bows. (These may have been alcohol induced)
Rick posed with his namesake shirt.
Dogs with serious underbites begged for treats from a wonderful brown sugar glazed ham dinner I completely devoured and forgot to photograph.
Sorry Martin.
Blame the carton of alcohol, not me.
Animated discussions of politics took place….. (Which might also have been alcohol induced)
But my husband smiled wider and laughed more than he has in a while, and that made my heart full.
Then before we were ready, it was time to say goodbye.
Hugs and tears….
And we were back on the road.
For the longest almost 5 hour trip ever.
The only bright spot?
This house…
That gave new meaning to the term holiday decorating.
Truly an extravaganza.
River's world..... 
Modern gas stations (with pay at the pump technology) will activate the pump even if the station is closed. ~ just for future reference
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That was the point… we didn’t find any gas stations. And more importantly… no food.
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Oooh – ***my bad
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Probably depends on the state laws too. I know all the pumps here (in Illinois) state that it’s unlawful to dispense gasoline without an attendant on duty…
That said, any interstate worth its mile markers should have at least one 24/7/365 truck stop per 25 miles. How else are podunk towns supposed to stimulate their economies?
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The roads we were on were far from the interstate. And podunk describes the towns perfectly. When we found one…
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Okay, I can understand that.
After stopping in states all along the east coast (sometimes late at night or early early morning), I just thought it was standard – for modern stations.
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I like the “combat parking”
We started doing that (as required) where I work, a year ago.
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Of course- when I do it, I back up till the tires touch the curb – then pull up at least two feet. Of course not all parking spots can safely accommodate larger vehicles. Many people don’t do that where I work – and the spaces are large enough, there.
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It wasn’t intentional… the beast was just too big.
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I can’t believe I have seen the Hubs smile!! Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that expression on his face, lol. What a wonderful holiday, and that house? Clearly they’ve seen the movie with Chevy Chase about his Christmas decorating, lol.
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Yes… his smiles were the best part of the holiday.
😊
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And a good time was had by all 🙂
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Indeed it was.
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OMG!!! It is Christmas time when food is everywhere and all we get are pictures of cotton, bows and drinks!!!
It is time for us to have a serious talk about priorities, young lady!
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I apologized…. that should count for something.
😉
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Love your term “our daughter of the heart” — my wife and I feel the same about the little neighbor girl (now a college sophomore) we helped raise since she was a baby.
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We couldn’t love her more if she was really ours…
💕
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That looks like a great time! 🙂
Love is hard enough to find, you start layin out criteria like age and stuff, you limit your chances substantially, may well lose out on the best one. I’m all for the looooooove 🙂
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Age. It’s just a number.
That always goes up, never down…. which is kind of annoying.
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You say that, but if the number went down, we’d all know when we’re going to die, OR we’d wake up age 5 or worse, 13 *shudders*
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At this point, I’d settle for 33.
😉
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And see, I wouldn’t. LOL
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Jose Cuervo was NOT a friend of mine. He used to lure me with his tricks of salt and lime. He went down easy, but came up hard, every time!
My wife has a disturbing fascination with llamas. She would love Boppi!
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Jose and I go way back…. and he always stays where I put him.
😉
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