We just got back from a big ol' trip...I choose not to post until I got back...
I suppose for the safety of it...
This post is from that trip.
We ended up leaving Huntsville about mid-day to head toward Atlanta...and we arrived IN Atlanta around 5pm on the Friday before Labor Day. But starting there, well, that's only part of the story...so let me back up a little. There are so many pictures from this time frame...I'm just going to throw them in here...
First of all, let me introduce my friend the Composer...(hey, look, another picture of me from this trip...)
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| The Composer and Me, at a football game... gee, it's like we're 16 again...sorta. |
Okay...so how do I know him? Well, years and years and years ago, when I was between 11 - 13 years old, we lived near each other and were friends. My best friend, Kehaar (who now lives in Wisconsin) and his best friend, Gator (who now lives in South Carolina) were neighbors in Stuart, Florida. As their best friends, we often went to the same parties and hung out together. When I was 16, I went back to Florida to see everybody and he and I went on a DATE...and then I went home to California and grew up, got married, had a family of my own, while he was doing the same thing in Florida and eventually Georgia.
 The very first night...see the video below...the composer decided to get all the kids in the band. |
The beginning of a beautiful friendship between Monkey-Face and the composer. She has a tendency to wrap grown men around her little finger...he had no hope, really. |
Fast forward slightly less than 30 years...we reconnected, maybe 5 years ago, on facebook, and have been "friends" in the "oh look, kids" sort of way that distant friends are "friends" on facebook...until Mother's Day of this year when we started talking. Obviously, we ACTUALLY became friends again along the way.
It was hot...it was muggy...but OOOOOoh, I love the trees in South Carolina. |
Bear and Drummer-boy got along pretty well over all...they are closest in age and have a similar humor that kept the rest of us laughing. |
Now, we'd been talking about intersecting on this trip for awhile and there had been a couple of snags along the way, but by the time it was set...the Composer and his two boys and a couple of their friends were planning a "Sissy" camping trip for Labor Day. See, they'd always roughed it...tents, etc. For this trip, they were getting a camper. Once we'd decided that we girls were going to be near the same place at the same time...it became a much bigger deal.
The Composer said we had to have a fire...my less-fun personality said, "Um, it's like 900 degrees out here"...I was disregarded. Turns out camping is NOT camping without a fire...period. |
Lunch...it's a roasted marshmallow on a peanut butter sandwich...not pretty...but yummy, nonetheless. |
See, with us involved, it boosted the headcount from 4 or 5 BOYS to possibly 8 or 9 mixed gender all trying to CAMP. We decided that consolidating us into one vehicle would be easier and more fun than driving two...so the Composer arranged to get a 15 passenger van to PULL the camper.
Our very "manly" 15 passenger van and the camper. There was a day dream going around that we were FBI Surveillance...boys are weird. |
Drummer-boy unhooking the camper from the van. Incidentally, we had two hitch issues on the trip...but not one once Drummer-boy started handling it...Coincidence? I think not. |
Only one problem, the Composer was not SUPER familiar with the ins and outs of pulling THAT much real estate down the road. Enter Grandpa Bob and Grandma.
See, Grandpa Bob knows all about pulling all manner of vehicles down the road...and he was in Florida the week before we were going to take this trip. Now, when I called Grandpa Bob about this potential dilemma I was hoping that he would CALL the Composer. Y'know, talk him through the questions that he had. In the end, Grandpa and Grandma DROVE to Atlanta to be with the Composer as he went to get the van and camper and then proceeded to teach him everything he could possibly need to know about pulling and setting up the camper. Let me take just a moment to say how very VERY thankful I am to have Grandpa Bob.
 Drummer-boy and Bear |
Perfect marshmallows, Baby! |
Okay...so the trip, in a nutshell, we got there Friday night. We packed and sorted and consolidated for much of Saturday. Thankfully, we did get there almost 24 hours early, if we hadn't, the consolidating and packing would NOT have gone as well. It takes a herculean effort anytime one camps, and if we really hadn't been there until midday Saturday, I'm not sure we'd have gotten it done.
Around 5 pm we were ready and took off with the Composer, his younger son, Drummer-boy, and a friend of Drummer-boy's (who shall remain nameless as he is someone else's child), and the four of us...the Composer's older son was unable to join us, so, in the end we were seven in all...to Spartanburg, South Carolina. We camped Saturday night, all day Sunday and Sunday night, and headed back to Atlanta on Monday.
There are SO many stories. Seriously, I never knew you could pack that many little tiny things into, essentially, 3 days. First of all, the kids got along great. No worries there.
This was NOT a road...This was a barricaded Horse Path...This included asking children to remove the barricade so that we could drive on this path. This lawbreaking was done without my knowledge or consent. I only found out after we entered the "road". This IS my favorite...funniest memory and too bad for you, I'm not sharing it here. |
Hello, Deer!! There were actually two of them. So pretty. |
The Composer is one of those, "Come do this with me" type of guys. You know the ones, if there is a kid within earshot, that kid is holding the flash light or pulling the rope or carrying the firewood. Honestly, I was kind of humbled by that. My, "OH, I'll just do it myself" nature really took a hit watching him set things up while keeping every one of those kids busy and underfoot.
"We're hot...hurry up!" |
Best thing ever...kids loading the van...the WHOLE van. Maybe the Composer helped them with the heaviest cooler...but I don't think so. |
One of the more memorable moments was my girls helping him set up the awning. OH.MY.GOODNESS. I laughed so hard. I wish I'd gotten it on video. To say that it didn't go RIGHT, would be a major understatement...but they all laughed (well, I did, anyway) and managed to get it at the right height and shading as it should.
This is actually taking DOWN the awning. It went pretty smoothly overall. Not nearly as funny. |
Please note the Composer. He is doing his very manly, "Happy to have CONQUERED the awning" dance. Sadly, another moment I failed to VIDEO. |
He is also a musician (hence the nickname) which came in handy several times. Whether it was teaching the girls a little guitar, bass, and drum that first night...playing guitar around the camp fire...or picking up the rhythm to the cup song IRRITATINGLY quickly, he fit right in with our bursting-into-song nature.
The creek that we managed to get to without driving illegally on a barricaded horse trail after all.... |
 I had to MAKE them be still...creeks are awesome. |
 Kids on a bridge. |
Yeah...I have no idea. |
It was a great sub-trip. My kids have been talking about it ever since and we all hope to have another opportunity some day. For now, it was great to see my friend again, and get to know him as a grown up and a father. I really am so blessed that we could reconnect and do this together.
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| What is a roadtrip without Cracker Barrel? |
See ya around...
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