Day 2: Mobile, Alabama

I confess I was a little disappointed yesterday that our journey didn't start out as I had forcasted, and we actually made it out of the driveway and out of the state without much fuss. This morning was much more Lehman-vacation typical...

I was first awoken because my dad was messing with his phone, trying to figure out what time it was because of the time change and everything. I got up and showered, and then we pulled out of the parking lot around 11. About 11:20, my dad received a phonecall from, well, my phone, at which point I realized I had left my phone in the hotel room. This is when mass chaos erupted. My mom was trying to figure out how to answer my dad's phone and my dad was trying to figure out where to exit and how to turn around and I was trying to explain the technological age to my parents. I'm pretty sure my mom did answer the phone, and the person on the other line only heard my mother yelling about not knowing how to answer the phone and yelling at me for forgetting my phone. They probably thought we were taking someone to the hospital by they way she was panicking. At this point I told my mother to calm down, and everyone got a grip. It was pretty hilarious, after the fact of course. Is that all one word? Afterthefact? After the fact? I don't believe I've ever used that expression before. Hmm...

We went back to the hotel, got my phone, and headed off for Alabama. Once again I slept the first leg of the trip til around 1:40, and we had already crossed the Alabama border. I actually ended up driving for a good stretch of the trip. There was a ton of traffic for most of the time I was driving, which was pretty crazy, but it kept things interesting I guess. I think my favorite thing I saw was a water tower that was shaped and painted like a peach. I wanted a picture of it, but I was unfortunately driving, and getting my parents to successfully take a picture of anything when I am driving is near impossible. By time they get the camera out, on, and facing the right direction, the photo op is no longer an op. That or my dad can't even figure out how to push the button. Haha. Long day... Anyways...

We finally found the sun and the sixty+ degree weather about 7:00 tonight. We were a little over an hour away from Mobile when my mother discovered our route was literally 6 miles from the Florida border, so we decided to dip into Florida just so we could say that we did. We spent about 90 seconds in Florida, most of which consisted of us squabbling at each other and me getting out of the car to snap a picture of the "Welcome to Florida"sign. It was a pretty sunset anyway. We then headed back on our way to Mobile. We got to Mobile I think around 8:30, checked into the hotel, and decided to find some food. We decided we wanted to eat somewhere Alabaman(?) so we settled on IHOP. Adventurous, I know. It was good though. Just not sure how they make their pancakes so good.

We went to find some sort of souvenier shop so my mom could send Kacie and JD a postcard and I could get a keychain. We finally found a gas station that had some stuff, after the fourth try. We didn't find anything that said Mobile, mostly coastal stuff. We found one post card that said "Alabama" on it, and had a dolphin on it, which is kind of funny because I don't really think dolphin when I think Alabama. All their stuff dealt with the coast, even though only like, 10 miles of Alabama is actually coastal... I got a big red keychain that says "BAMA" and has a mirror on the other side. Now I have fingernail clippers and a mirror. Nifty.

Well, I am in the room watching That 70's Show. I was hoping there would be another CSI Miami marathon on, but instead, the channel that I watched last night has a marathon of a show where people get parking tickets... why on earth that sounded like a good idea to anyone, I'm not sure. Also, imperative information here, in the bathroom, there's this nifty little heat bulb or something. I think it should be law to have those in every home/dorm room in Michigan. It's like the sun. It's warm and bright, so in the winter, when we've forgotten what the sun is like, we just go in the bathroom and remember... Ha. I suppose they thought that maybe someone who is so fascinated with a heat bulb would be just as fascinated with watching people get parking tickets.

Tomorrow, we're hoping to leave a little earlier and spend some time in 'Nawlins.' My dad is still pronouncing it very North, New "Or-lee-ins." We're driving through there, after we cross the Mississippi River, and then spending the evening in Houston, Texas. I'm pretty psyched for tomorrow. Hope it's a little more interesting today. Maybe I'll even get some dirty south sweet tea. Mmmm

-Concensus: Alabama's pretty, sunnier and warmer than yesterday, but we pretty much sat in a car from 11:30 til 8:30 and ate at IHOP. And I still haven't seen "Sweet Home Alabama."

-Movies Watched: No movies watched today, but I did watch 3 episodes of The Office, 4 if you count the 5 minutes I caught on TV tonight.

After day 2, we have covered Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. That's 6 states in 48 hours, and by tomorrow, it'll be 9. Today we drove through Birmingham, Montgommery, and the outskirts of Pensecola. I think those are the only major cities we went through anyway.

P.S. Hope everyone had a good Pi Day!
P.P.S. Beware the Ides of March!

Happy trails to you...