It's summer and time to travel. This year we had a destination goal: my niece was to be married in Austin, TX on July 17. Averse to the annoyances of air travel we decided to drive, and take advantage of things to do along the way.
It would also be a logistic adventure, since we would start out traveling with one of our grown children, pick up others along the way with widely varying travel and flight schedules, and end up returning with another of the kids.
This would be a great opportunity to go to the beach. The Gulf of Mexico beaches, with their beautiful white sand, are practically on the way! We made our reservations on the so-called "Redneck Riviera" at Gulf Shores, Alabama about 365 miles from Atlanta. The rental condo was reasonably priced and very nice, on the 7th floor with a great view of the Gulf.
You may have heard that there was an oil spill over the past two months. You may also have noticed that CNN posted their senior weather reporter at Gulf Shores to report on the globs of tar washing ashore. The eternal optimists, and without a realistic beach alternative given our summer and fall schedules, we went anyhow. The condo owners were offering 100% money-back guaranties if we had to cancel or shorten our stay because of hurricanes or oil slicks.
The beach was beautiful, and only a little oil, mostly in pea-sized globs or smaller, was washing ashore, and then mostly at high tide. Leah and the two of us enjoyed about five full days; the condo owner allowed us to check in early the first day and check out late on the last day.
Everyone else in the world stayed home, and we had the beach to ourselves -- and the BP crews that came through every so often to sweep up the oil. It was incredibly hot, usually topping out at about 98 degrees F every afternoon.
After Gulf Shores, we took off to visit Yoyi's cousin, who had just moved to Houston. This would be about a 540 mile drive. I had planned the visit to Houston perfectly, arriving on Thursday, when admission to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts is free. But we ended up having more fun talking and visiting. I'll have to visit Houston some other Thursday.
We left for Austin on Friday morning, since we had to arrive in time to prepare for and attend the rehearsal dinner that night. We also had to pick up Moshe and Bela when they arrived at the Austin Airport that afternoon. But first, we had to pick up Leandro, Bela's fiance. He had flown into Houston to visit with a friend; we were already carrying his suitcase in the van. On the way out of Houston, we met him at a Starbucks and the four of us drove to Austin.
The road to Austin was only partly interstate. I enjoy driving on the surface roads; you get to see more interesting sights. Just in the 150 miles to Austin there were several things worth mentioning:
- The sign on the fence of a farm: "Hay Thief! Call 555-555-5555 if you have information." Somebody actually makes the effort to steal hay???!!
- A field full of bridge structures. Bridges were for sale of every description. Business did not look brisk, but how often does one go shopping for bridges? All our passengers were asleep, and I was driving. I should have pulled over to get a picture, but I didn't. Sorry.
As we drove into the airport, we saw someone who looked just like Moshe, walking through the parking deck. Hey! It was Moshe! We stopped in the middle of the driveway and everyone hugged and greeted; after all, we had not seen him for about a month.
At least he had made it to Austin safely. Now we would have to wait for Bela.
About the same time, she called from Tulsa to advise us that the flight was delayed. We decided to eat lunch while we waited. We scouted the airport for restaurants. Believe it or not, there is only one restaurant outside of security in the Austin airport. So, we left the airport in search of lunch.
Fitting everyone and their possessions in the car was a job for our engineers. The car-top carrier and interior of the cabin were now packed with the luggage and belongings, not to mention beach accoutrements, of five of us. Where would we put Bela's stuff?
After lunch, back at the airport, we drove through passenger pickup to get Bela. As we cruised the pickup area, someone said, "That looks like Grandma." Sure enough, she and Anita were standing at the curb waiting to be picked up. About that time, Jay and Trish drove up to pick them up. We had a little impromptu family reunion under the 5-minute security rule at the Austin airport. Shortly Bela came out, safely arrived
We had all made it in time for tonight's Rehearsal Dinner, and so far our logistical puzzle was falling into place.
