Midday Friday, John, Lee (his son) and I settled into his car for a 4 hour drive. Our destination, Huntsville, AL to visit John’s mother and siblings. Clouds hung low for most of the trip and bad weather dominated the forecast but it was not expected until evening so we had an safe, uneventful trip.
As we arrived on the outskirts of Huntsville, we pulled alongside the above limousine. At a redlight, a young looking high school kid rolled down the window and poked his head out for a look around. He had the biggest grin on his face. His appearance made me wonder where a kid is going at 3:30 PM on Friday afternoon in a limo? Better yet, where else but Alabama can you find a jacked up limo pickup truck with those light thingies on the rollbar? Tennessee maybe?
John’s sister had planned to drive from Tuscaloosa to Huntsville after work but the weather turned disagreeable before she had a chance to get on the road. Fearing accumulating ice and snow, we talked her into waiting till Saturday morning. It just wasn’t worth the risk of driving on ice!
Crawford
Meals were compliments of John’s mother and a Huntsville institution, Gibson’s Barbecue. Gibson’s has been around for about 51 years and John still remembers family dinners there as a child. We grabbed the opportunity to pork out, I mean enjoy lunch, on Saturday. While barbecue is the house speciality, the catfish fillets are light, flaky and one fillet with a basket of hush puppies, coleslaw and french fries is about right. I am paying penance this week as my waistline expanded over the weekend….Gibsons, homemade mac and cheese, eggs-grits and ham, homemade chicken salad, you get the picture.
Saturday, while John’s brother David, an equine vet, and his wife Beth were caring for a new foal , we took care of their son, Crawford. Crawford is a bundle of energy! As a matter of fact, if TVA could figure out how to harness his energy, they could probably power half the state of Alabama. He is a fun, mischievous child and we enjoyed watching his antics! He kept his grandmother, Bebe, and Uncle Bobby busy. In the picture above, Crawford has discovered Uncle Bobby’s reading glasses.
John and Lee
John’s sister Laura arrived with her daughter Jessica, mid-Saturday afternoon. Above from left to right: David, Bebe, Laura and Beth.
Guess Who:-)
Sunday morning, Jessica and Caitlin (David and Beth’s daughter) decided to cook breakfast for the family. This was a lengthy affair as a proper menu (above) had to be posted, orders taken and breakfast cooked. I believe the process started around 9:00 AM and concluded around 10:30 AM when the last person was served. The girls had a great time and the family certainly enjoyed being waited on.
Caitlin taking orders
Jessica and Caitlin cooking
This is my breakfast…a #2, 3 and 4 (see menu)
Around the breakfast table. From left Jessica, Caitlin, David, Beth, me, John and Lee
Bebe and Crawford doing the dishes
With all this food, I was diligent getting in my workouts. Friday morning, before we left, I ran a quick 3-miles. Saturday morning, with temps in the 20’s, I got a great 6.2-mile run in via a series complete and partial 2.5 mile loops in David and Bebe’s neighborhood. It was flat and cool…my favorite running weather.
